Self catering and walking holidays
Self catering and walking holidays
Cortijo Opazo
Cortijo Opazo 

The Dogblog:  Glamping it up like royalty - Oska and Ella take a break.

Do you like the word ‘Glamping’?  I must say I am not a great fan, of the word, that is, but as for the activity, sleeping out in extravagant and alternative style luxury accommodation with a sense of escape from the real world but maintaining its luxuries of great comfort, well, what’s not to like? Count me in!

Green Mountain Yurt, set in a secluded corner of the garden at Cortijo Opazo
Every comfort a dog could wish for - not allowed on the sofa, obviously

The word 'Glamping' first appeared in the English language in 2005 - I have done what every casual blogger does and simply consulted Wikipedia, and there you have it (why bother to blog at all, one might ask?).  There was a particular phrase used that I thought was pertinent to repeat, and that is: “While the word itself is new, the concept that "glamping" connotes, that of luxurious tent-living, is not.”  The article then goes on to talk about Scottish dukes preparing a glamping holiday for King James V, and then it talks about the Ottoman sultans partaking in extravagant glamping expeditions all over their empire, of sumptuous safari treks in the early 20th century where every luxury was carried and provided under the canvas glamping palaces of the super rich. Read the article for yourself, it might make more sense than my ramblings:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glamping

 

Here at Cortijo Opazo we quite enjoy a bit of glamping when the chance arises at The  Green Mountain Yurt.  For us, we glamp in our hand made Mongolian style yurt, manufactured by a local craftsman in Cadiar.  The yurt itself, or ‘ger' to be more precise if I am talking about a structure in the Mongolian style, is made of fine Edinburgh heavy duty canvas, and includes a thick wool liner for heat and cold insulation.  Two thin cotton covers, one for inside and one for out, complete the fabric part of the construction.  The sturdy support is offer from from a clever lattice of thin chestnut wood supported by a central oak carved wooden crown.  Included in the structure are two floor to ceiling double glazed windows and a solid glazed front door. 

 

 

The interior is furnished with a full sized double bed, and an array of furniture including chairs and a table.  But the feature Ella and I most enjoy is the powerful wood burning Jotul stove; we’ve never slept anywhere so toasty and warm when the nights of Autumn draw in - which they must surely start to do soon.

So, how do Ella and I spend our typical glamping day?  We awake with the arrival of the sun as it enters the transparent roof crown - through which we had hitherto enjoyed the sight of the starry night sky.  Ella kindly offers to go out to the well equipped kitchen to one side and put the kettle on for a cup of tea - her excuse for a bit of a bark around the place.  Tea is followed by a gentle stroll around the garden in the cool air of the early morning, and a pondering of how the vegetables are growing in the near by vegetable garden.  Eggs provided by our close neighbours, the hens, are on the breakfast menu, scrambled, fried or poached.  We enjoy eating this first meal of the day as the rays of the sun start to spread out across our secluded terrace.  Time to start planning the day, a walk around the seven local villages of La Taha? Or perhaps a more demanding hike up to the waterfalls to be rewarded by a most refreshing dip in the natural ponds there?  Or maybe we just idle the morning away and look forward to a stroll into Pitres via the gorge of the Rio Bermejo to enjoy a nourishing Menu del Día - I think they cater for dogs too!  A siesta is certainly on the cards for the afternoon, we just have to choose our favourite shaded location, then intermittent dozing and reading of ones book is how the afternoon passes.

 

 

Magnificent view from the yurt terrace
Swimming up at the waterfalls
Howling in the hills

Later, if we need to contact the outside world then a wander through the garden of Cortijo Opazo brings us to the main house where we can link up with the free wifi there or find an outlet to charge up any mobile devices Ella and I might have. 

 

Now what device do you suppose we dogs need most?  Ella has no need for a phone, any friends she may have are certainly within howling distance. She had a go at the game Candy Crush but could not understand why she couldn't eat the little sweets, and her attempt to play Fruit Ninja met with disastrous consequences and she became uncontrollable hyperactive and started lunging at the cascading images of fruit - well she has always been partial to a satsuma.  Alas the mobile device has now been bitten into at least two pieces.  She is a crazy girl, I won´t let her use my iPad and have said she must make sure she sticks to her tablets from now on.   As for myself, I have found a very good alternative to the challenge of Pokeman.  Instead of hunting strange and rather ugly characters, my Pokedog game makes mountain goats and wild boar appear in the most unexpected of places.  I’ve recently chased one up a tree, and another into the gorge, but when I saw the appearance of a virtual boar disappearing into the local restaurant I had to give hot pursuit.

 

 

Breakfast courtesy of ´The Girls´
A home grown lunch perhaps?

The previous paragraph was a diversion from the main thrust of my blog, the delights of Glamping.  So I am brought to the evening, where once again the shadows lengthen and the sun loses its stunning strength.  The air once more becomes cool and we climb from our sun loungers and start to think of making a little light super, maybe have an aperitif first and take our place on the edge of the yurt terrace and gaze down to garden and across the mists that may be forming in the valley and look towards the majestic mountain of El Lujar in the distance and glimpse at the sea beyond.  Fortunately for us, we have booked in to the yurt for a full week, so tomorrow we can do it all over again.  Now, where is my dogpad, I’ve got to get back to my game, I am sure I heard the rustle of a Pokeboar and I am determined to get it this time.

 

Yours, glamping it up like a sultan,

 

Oska

 

If you would like to know more about Glamping at Cortijo Opazo then please click the link below. We still have some availability in September and October and we are taking bookings for 2017.

 

Glamping, as recommended by Ella, Oska and Noah Burrows.  Any comments, please see the box below the picture gallery.

Glamping, what's not to like?

Some of our favourite pictures from the gardens of Cortijo Opazo

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© Robert King