Buying a beautiful villa in Spain
When I first saw the listing for La Esperanza Granada, it was more of a dream than a plan. First, it was not called this name, which means “hope of Granada” in Spanish. The original name was something much more unattractive, meaning dry lang and very little water. Of course, I changed that as soon as the ink was dry. I had just bought a beautiful villa in Spain sight unseen amidst the pandemic, and it was my own piece of hope that someday the world would be all right again.
Keeping busy during the pandemic
With almost all of us in lockdown, the world had shrunk to a small circle. Curfews and lockdowns meant that each day simply merged into the next. Happily, I escaped all the expected boredom by busying myself with projects and possibilities. I am just not the type to sit down and think that life is over. Or that a path is closed or a chapter ended without another beginning.
I distinctly remember the exact moment Spain became part of my life. I was on a Japan Airlines flight bound for Tokyo — literally escaping the pandemic — when suddenly a thought came into my head as I sipped my third glass of plum wine (40% alcohol): “I must buy a property in Spain.”
Finding my beautiful villa in Spain
Upon arriving in Tokyo, in a home I had not seen for four months, I did not even bother unpacking. Instead I took out my computer and typed the word “properties for sale in Spain” on Google Search.
This beautiful villa in Granada with the name alluding to dry land and little water was the third one I stumbled on. However it immediately called out to me as if we’d been long lost friends. I scrolled through images of this hacienda in Granada, just thirty minutes from the city center. It was a place I’d never been, but this did not matter at all. All I could think of was this grand Mission-style villa amidst olive trees and wild lavender. There was an aura of quiet strength, an elegance that needed no words.
The La Esperanza Granada Dream
Making an offer on La Esperanza Granada was both impulsive and inevitable. Without seeing it, I took a leap of faith and claimed it as my own. In the stillness of the pandemic, it became my sanctuary in waiting, a place I could only imagine yet had come to think of as my future home.
Three months later, I was finally on a plane to Granada, filled with the thrill and nerves of seeing La Esperanza for the very first time. Flights had just restarted and I found myself on an empty Boeing 777 with three other passengers. There was minimal contact with the cabin crew. The other passenger in business class and myself were given boxed meals of cold food.
DRIVING TO GRANADA FROM MALAGA
Finally I was in Malaga Airport and on my way to the Lecrin Valley, which is 90 minutes away by car. As I drove through unknown villages, I felt like I was traveling not just to a destination, but to a whole new life. When the car finally drove through the gates, I looked to the left to see two strangers cooking a seafood paella to welcome me on a makeshift grill by the swimming pool. At that time, the kitchens were not in working order so we cooked on charcoal outside.
Seeing La Esperanza Granada for the first time was like having a painting come to life. The morning light bathed the hacienda in gold and the terracotta roof glowed against the deep blue sky. And, yes, the color of the sky is certainly different in Southern Spain.
Ancient olive trees stretched out like old friends along the path and I could smell the rosemary on the breeze. The arches, the stonework, the gardens—everything was beautiful but even then I knew that what this property needed was life. La Esperanza was a beautiful villa in Spain but its story was just beginning.