Breathtaking Galicia

You live there. You work there. You see some of those places every day. Yet sometimes it's only when those sites are photographed or shot  in such a spectacular way that you realize just how beautiful your country, region, city or village really is. Enjoy Televisión de Galicia's (TVG) promotional video, which you can also view on the website of CIRCOM (European Association of Regional Television).

Nice news for Spanish real estate. It seems that Spain still tops the list for British citizens wanting to invest in a second home. Let's hope it stays that way.Click here to read more on PropertyWire.com

A near-zero energy house in Spain

Villa Ana, a sustainable private residence, was designed by architects Iván López Veiga and Juan R. Iglesias Babío in cooperation with Annabella Ortiz, José Álvarez and the engineering studio Indugal. The goal of this group of experts is to become the first Breeam Es certified sustainable building in Spain. This green construction project is located in Santiago de Compostela.

I’ve always imagined a project like Villa Ana on the landlot we offer on this blog and the idea of a near-zero energy house sounds very tempting, especially now that the electric bill has gone up again.

Are any of my readers ready and willing to take the plunge and create something like this green construction project in Caión? It would be adding to the already high environmental and landscape value of the village’s natural surroundings.

Luxury and beauty in a seaside apartment

 I can't believe that no one has yet made the property investment of their life by purchasing the landlot on sale here!

Maybe it's because my readers prefer a fully furnished, luxurious apartment in the same spectacular setting of Caión. If what you're searching for is a beautiful home with incredible seaviews, high quality finishes, top of the line wood flooring plus an unbeatable location in the heart of the villa, then you've surfed into the right blog post. To see details of this wonderful apartment, visit my ads on idealista.com and tucasa.com

 Don't let this opportunity slip past you.

I have a feeling that it's not going to last.

The realistic optimist

Realism means facing the announcements made yesterday by the new Spanish government regarding important tax hikes, drastic cuts and an unprecedented GDP deficit of 8%.

Optimism means relying on the new regulations that promise to stimulate the stagnant real estate market. Among the measures just established are the reintroduction of a tax benefit and a super-reduced VAT rate of 4% on the purchase of new homes.

In addition, the new Public Works Minister Ana Pastor has included a housing policy in her portfolio and made reducing stockpiles of unsold new homes one of her priorities.

These measures tell us that this may a good time to purchase buildable land like the plot offered on this blog.

We shouldn’t forget that investing in land continues to be an option that promises benefits in the medium or long-term, whilst gold and silver prices threaten to begin their downhill or at least unstable course in the coming year, especially if the European debt crisis continues.

Whatever the news, I wish everyone a happy New Year full of optimism, mixed with a bit of realism!

Good day for the housing market

We’ve gotten used to the markets’ to-the-minute rss feeds on how they respond to every bit of economic news released in Europe. It’s hard to get a firm footing in this financial storm.

However, this past Tuesday was a good day for the housing market as stocks surged, partly in response to positive economic data on the housing sector in the U.S. and positive indicators from the euro zone.

According to the N.Y. Times, the hopeful mood in Europe was sparked by reports from a study showing that “The German economy seems to be successfully countering the downturn in Western Europe.” as well as by the successful auction of three-month bills in Spain.

The promise made by Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s newly appointed president, to stimulate the housing market through a housing policy geared towards growth and cohesion is also seen by investors as a positive and encouraging news feed.

Raging storms and the warmth of Christmas

Winters are also a great season to visit Caión. And when Nature unleashes its fury, it creates astonishing visuals. So even if it doesn't snow in our village, Christmas can still hold a special charm when stormy seas are raging!

Rough? Yes, but relaxing, too, especially when you're lucky enough to be contemplating those images from inside your very own, warm, cozy home. If you decide to purchase the buildable land lot offered on this blog, you'll be one step closer to living moments like this.

The video above is of a tempest that hit our Atlantic coastline and the port of Caión. I would have chosen a different soundtrack; you can imagine your own.

As good as —no— better than gold!

No, it doesn't shine like gold, it's not the same color as gold and it certainly hasn't got the same texture as that precious metal. And we all know that you wouldn't be able to wear this fabulous piece of land to your next dinner date because it just wouldn't look right.

On the other hand...

Smart investors know that this real estate asset is as good as—or even better than—gold. I keep wondering how long it will take for that perceptive buyer, knowledgeable about the market, to purchase this buildable property.

Real Estate Investments: As Good As Gold?

In these economically uncertain times, many people are turning to gold as a safe investment. But is gold as brilliant a choice as it seems?

... some argue that investing in real estate continues to offer the security that investors are searching for in recession-plagued Europe or even the U.S.

Read more: http://technorati.com/business/article/real-estate-investments-as-good-as1/#ixzz1g86jEKGI

The Ultimate Christmas Gift: Real Estate

The Ultimate Christmas Gift: Real Estate

article published on technorati.com

Galicia segue sendo unica--Galicia is still unique

Sit back and enjoy the Galician images, words and music!

Listen.

Butterfly.

What do you see?

Manor house.

What do you see?

And streets?

Time.

Galicia.

Do you feel it?

So much left for us to tell.

So much left for you to live.

Galicia.

It remains unique.

Song "Tu gitana" by Luar na lubre

Sea of Caión: Short documentary films about Caión

 

I recently discovered some very interesting videos (in Spanish), which offer lots of historical and current information about the village of Caión and its people.

Proud of the land on sale

Every once in a while showing off a bit doesn't do any harm, does it? Anyway, you don't feel like a show off at all if what you're boasting about is as great an investment as the land on sale here.

Just out of curiosity, today I did some "land lot browsing" of my own and realized what a truly fantastic buy this piece of land would be for anyone willing to invest their ideas--and ideals in it. It's not that there aren't interesting buys out there, but so few of them can compare to this spectacular plot of land situated in an area full of history, of beauty, of opportunities! In fact, the words "unique opportunity" keep popping into my mind.

Look around--surf around--and you'll realize that you shouldn't miss out on the chance to build your dream house on this bit of Galician coastline--or an apartment complex if you see this as an investment opportunity. Come on! Take the chance and purchase this risk free land lot. You'll never regret it!

By the way, the weather today is simply perfect for some surfing in Caión's waters. Wish I were there!

Time for a newsfast

According to the latest news, property sellers and buyers alike have no other choice but to wait patiently for a recovery of the economic scenario. Since I know that you can only win with this investment, I'm waiting for a creative, enthusiastic buyer with a talent for risk taking to come along— and I'm sure that he or she will. Instead of a financial or real estate expert, the buyer of this property might simply be a person captivated by the beauty and peaceful lifestyle of our coastline. Whatever the buyer's profile, it's first come, first serve! The person willing to purchase this lot will be the one to enjoy its singular beauty, which in this case is no cliché! You won't find a better spot for a newsfast, something I think we would all benefit from now.

Galicia. Unlike any other place in Spain

It's true: No matter what people say, the southern coast of Spain is still one of the hottest spots in Europe, but there's another beautiful, not so hot (literally speaking) spot for you to explore. If you're searching for a unique, great place to live and invest in a coastline property, you'll love Galicia--and of course Caión. As it says in IdealSpain.com:

"Galicia is now an increasingly popular destination for those Spaniards who don’t want the heat of the Andalucian, Murcian or Valencian summer but do want the scenic beauty and culinary delights. Along the coast, Galicia has a flourishing economy which now includes its own brand of tourism. The coastline is popular with all manner of outdoor activities that cannot be found along any other coast. It is still a place in which you can enjoy Spain at its simplest and its best."

Harvesting seaweed: an eco-friendly fertilizer

Women working in the fields (Caión)

It's not common practice today, but in a not-so-long-ago past, my family, like other inhabitants of Caión still used this marine resource to fertilize their farmland. My dad would go into the water and haul the seaweed towards the beach, while his sisters gathered it into piles on the sand. They always said that this organic fertilizer was what made the potatoes and famous sweet onions of Caión so tasty! Now this tradition is being studied as a natural alternative to other types of fertilizer (news article in Spanish).

Fisherman and daughter gathering seaweed

When the seaweed—called golfe in Caión and other parts of the Death Coast—appeared on the seashore, each person would haul it inland and set it into piles on a part of Salseiras beach called "auga redondo" (round water) or the "ribeira", near the port. The piles of golfe were marked to make sure other late-comers would not take them; then the "owners" of the piles would stuff the seaweed into a square piece of hand-made sack-cloth and carry it on their backs to the farmland, where they would spread the seaweed on the soil. There was no machinery to help with this tough job that both men and women of the village had been doing from time immemorial.

From the property for sale there are wonderful views of "auga redondo" where seaweed still gathers. The villagers used to walk on these mounds of seaweed because they believed it was very healthy and good for their bones. I've done it myself. The smell is bad but not unbearable, so if it's really as good for you as they say it is, then it's worth putting up with! Today some people harvest seaweed from Caión for use as fertilizer, while others gather and sell it to pharmaceutical companies, who value it for its medicinal properties. Follow this link to see a short 3 minute video about seaweed gathering and uses on the Galician coast (in Spanish & Galician).

Pirates just aren't what they used to be!

In an earlier post I talked about the good and bad changes that this village had undergone throughout the years. One of the good changes is that pirates are long gone... at least the old-fashioned kind. Yes, pirates did visit our coast in the past. I wonder where they came from?

Things got so complicated that the Augustine monks who had settled in Caión in the 16th c. decided they could no longer fight against the invaders. They were tired of struggling and recovering from the pirates' destruction of the crops they had so carefully planted and lovingly cared for, so they finally moved to the nearby city of A Coruña.

Now that there are no more pirates to destroy our crops and our houses, it's no longer a risk to live so close to the sea, as close to it as the monks did!

I should say that this is the story that my great-grandparents used to tell my dad and his sisters, because I've read a pretty different story (in Spanish).

Past, present and future: towards a sustainable urban development

I can't believe how much Caión has changed! Some of those changes are positive, others not so much. At times I wish this fishing village were still the isolated, solitary, wild and unique paradise it once was! But then I realize that this romantic idea isn't consistent with urban growth and development, which are not only inevitable, but necessary.

Women mending fishing nets.

Small boat (chalana) arriving at Caión harbor.

Still, as long as that growth and development is responsible, sustainable and respectful of the environment, I'm willing to let go of my romantic ideas—or maybe not entirely. I guess I'm just an urban romantic who's convinced that a sustainable urban development is vital to the health of our own and of other communities.

No one can deny that coastal apartments are, even today, a capital investment. What they should not be is an example of what we call "feísmo urbano" (urban ugliness). Even if we can't prevent others from contributing to the destruction of our historical heritage or our urban and natural resources, I am convinced that we can support and improve our environment through sustainable projects such as the one we could develop on this exceptional plot of buildable land. There's nothing to stop us from enjoying a home here in the midst of an alluring sea and landscape while at the same time making an excellent investment that can help Caión to continue growing and developing in the best and most responsible way possible.

There is very little buildable property left in this fishing village and with the sea as a backdrop! I would personally love to build a small apartment complex or even a private house here, but it's not within my reach at the moment and besides, I'm involved in other projects of a different sort. This is why I am looking for an enthusiastic, enterprising investor willing to purchase the land, accept the challenge and "build" their hopes up high in this wonderful place.

Monuments

This small fishing village can also boast of its monuments, such as the 16th c. Augustine convent located in the main square, of which only the church remains intact. In the same square is the Manor house of Bermúdez de Castro, also from the 16th c. and finally, the shrine of Our Lady of Miracles, which pilgrims visit every year between the 6th and 9th of September.

Whale bones and other stories

My father could still remember when, on a stormy day, the sea would cross the main square of Caión. He also recalled when whale bones were placed there to be used as benches—whalebone seats for a lazy afternoon. You might not know it, but Caión was once a whaling village.