The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Madeira, Azores… We had already searched for a house in many places, but without success. The search itself is of course very nice; you come to places you would otherwise never go, and you get to know the local people.
But we both noticed that it was time to take the plunge. The only question was: the plunge to where?

 

A few years ago Rob had walked from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean, right across the Pyrenees. He said that he had also passed through some beautiful areas on the way. For example Ordessa, high up in the Pyrenees. I started looking online for houses in that area, but could not really imagine myself living there in the mountains. Remote, and far from a city. 

 

Then he told me that he had also been to Northern Spain once; to the Picos de Europa, a mountain range in the province of Asturias. According to him, it was also very beautiful there. But it rained a lot. That didn’t sound very appealing…

I went online to look for houses in Asturias anyway, and we made a first trip with our campervan  via Dordogne to Northern Spain. First we stopped in the Basque Country, near San Sebastian on the coast. I thought the Basque Country was very beautiful, very green and hilly. But the cities with all those ugly flats took some getting used to.

 

Via Cantabria we drove west, to Asturias. We were amazed: Asturias was so beautifully green, so quiet, so much space, sea and mountains close to each other. And it did not rain too much either!

 

I had found a number of houses in the coastal area, near Llanes and Ribadesella. In retrospect, I know that this is a relatively expensive area in Asturias. But it is very beautiful. The coast is really stunning, it looks like Ireland, but with better weather.

 

We cycled along the coast and looked at a number of houses. It was difficult to find houses with sufficient land, and we also noticed that the taste of the Spanish does not entirely match ours. The use of colour, the many tiles, and the interior of the houses are not always very stylish. In our opinion.
And because only Spaniards actually live there and come to spend their holidays, most houses are furnished according to that typical Spanish taste. Well. That makes the search more difficult because many newer or renovated houses are quickly eliminated.

 

We looked at a number of old houses in the coastal area, but they were all very problematic. One of the houses was really beautiful, but there was a big hole in the roof. The staircase underneath had already rotted away so much that we could just about climb to the first floor, but the second floor was inaccessible. We did make an offer, but the owners did not want to lower the price. The house is still for sale.

 

We had also found another house in the mountains, quite a bit outside the area where I was searching. Further from the coast, and more remote. The photos showed a very old, pink house with a dark wooden balustrade. They were quite unclear photos, but in the end we decided to go and have a look. We had to cross a very steep mountain pass with the camper van, and we didn’t dare to drive to the village because we were afraid the road would be too narrow. We drove the last part with the estate agent and visited the house for the first time.

 

It was like a museum. A Palacio from 1712, with quite a few outbuildings and enough land around it. The house was old, neglected and dirty, but it  felt very pleasant in that place.
Only: it was quite far from the coast. And those people in that village; would they be welcoming to foreigners?

 

We eventually drove back to the Netherlands, but with the idea that we would soon return to Asturias. 

 

So we did exactly that not long after. We had our eye on a house on the coast near Ribadesella, and we were still thinking about that beautiful old house in the mountains. We first made an offer on the house on the coast. That offer was accepted, but unfortunately the purchase fell through because the paperwork regarding the house was all wrong. Taxes had not been paid for years, and the house was still in the name of the deceased grandparents of the seller, and more like that. All in all it was too big a risk, so we let it go.

 

We decided to have a look at the old house in the mountains one more time. We had the same emotions: we liked the house very much, but were afraid of the reaction of the local people to foreigners coming to live in their village. Foreigners who did not speak any Spanish.

 

When we were walking around the village we saw an English car driving by. We ran after it and spoke to the driver. The driver was Cristina, a Spanish lady who is married to an English man. They had been living in the village for just over a year, and were busy building a house. Cristina told us that everyone in the village is very helpful and friendly, and that they have always felt very welcome.
This really convinced us. We eventually made an offer on the house, and that offer was accepted!

 

In the next blog I will tell you more about the buying process, and about our move to Asturias.

 

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