Just a twenty five minute drive inland from the beaches at Nerja, yet only eight minutes from the picturesque 'pueblo blanco' village of Frigiliana, and you're in a different world. You're in the real Spain - Rural Spain - Quiet, slower moving, more tranquil. El Ranchito de los Suenos (The Little Ranch of Dreams) is perfectly named. It's a lovely country house, built on the hillside around a flower scented courtyard, nestling against the National Park of the Sierra Almijara and Tejeda mountains, in the valley below, below Fuerte mountain which is criss-crossed with mule tracks, one leading through the now abondaned village of Acebuchal. This was a resting place for men and mules who long ago carried fish overnight from the coast, through the mountians to the city of Granada. The house itself has been constructed using old traditional materials, tiles and timbers. It's rustic and rambling and has captured the atmosphere of hundreds of years of comfortable living. The gardens and surounding land, originally an olive grove, are planted with lemons, pomegranate, almonds, figs and fragrant shrubs of buddleia and mock orange. There are bamboos and lemon grass, and the drive, which meanders through the olive grove, is bordered with sweet smelling lavender. There are two totally separate apartments, with separate entrances, distanced from each other by being at opposite ends of the main house but joined by a natural path that runs alongside the pool. One apartment overlooks the pool and is like an extension of the main house. This apartment has a large airy twin bedded room, an en-suite bathroom, a kitchen and large terrace. The second apartment is alongside the pool below the houseand consists of a large double bedded room, a sitting room with an open fire, a kitchen and shower room. And, there's a very private terrace just outside the entrance located under an ancient olive tree. It gets bathed in the morning sun and is perfect for taking breakfast outdoors. Maybe enjoying the golden eggs from the free-range hens kept at El Ranchito. The pool. which is shared with the owners and other guests, is very user friendly with steps, not ladders. But, when you're tied of 'lotus-eating' around the pool then walk in the national park where there's an abundance of wildlife - deer, mountain goats, wild boar, fox and badgers and birdlife including eagles, vultues, hawks and many varieties of songbirds. And, if you tire of cooking yourself or eating out, your hostess can conjure up a range of innovative dishes especially dishes for people with dietary regimes - vegitarian, vegan and coeliac. For a holiday in Spain that is very different come to the Little Ranch of Dreams.

Prices per week 2007

2007	£'s	€'s
January	250	360
February	250	360
March	295	425
April	295	425
May	325	470
June	350	505
July	350	505
August	350	505
September	350	505
October	295	425
November	250	360
December	250	360
Xmas:   £300   €435	.
Easter:  £300   €435