About Us
One rainy day in January 2002, David and I left York, North Yorkshire for the Canary Islands in search of 'somewhere special.'
With a one-way flight from Manchester to Tenerife, we had sold our home, put our furniture into storage and set off clutching our suitcases and aspirations.
Little did we know that it would take five months of searching! Needless to say, it was a somewhat longer adventure than we had planned ...
... as a result of which we travelled to each and every one of the Canary Islands in our quest. But we met many lovely people along the way and learnt a lot about the Canaries and renting houses and apartments.
On La Palma we stayed in both the east and the west for six weeks at a time, Mazo, El Paso, Tazacorte and more, but still couldn't find exactly what we were looking for. In our spare time we took the opportunity to walk many routes on the island and we also joined a local walking group who took us on great adventures such as the natural springs of los Tilos, the GR130 Camino Real and the GR131 El Baston. And we went swimming of course :)
However, although it was an interesting learning curve, we did start to wonder just when we could unpack our suitcases for the last time. And then someone mentioned a house in the north for sale.
'Not the north!' we cried. Whilst the north had long held a place in our hearts as being the most beautiful part of the island with incredibly dramatic scenery at every turn, it wasn't a place we had considered to live. We would see neither a sunrise nor sunset, there would be nothing to do and with more goats than people, we held out little hope for scintillating conversations with neighbours. Hardly a dream come true.
But the owners of the finca were very sensible people. They didn't extol the virtues of the sweet little Canarian house already beautifully restored, or the large farmhouse ready and waiting for us to put our imprint on it with our own restoration, or the stone-built bodega perfect for candlelit evenings, or the lovely old stable buildings or an acre of land. No, they just showed us the view.
Footnote: It wasn't too long before we discovered the great benefits of living in the north. Here, we can really enjoy being surrounded by nature and listening to the birds sing without the background of car engine noise. We feel privileged to live among our Palmeran neighbours who treat us as family (and ensure we don't expire from a shortage of potatoes!)
A lack of something to do has not of course been a problem and luckily we brought some skills with us. David is not only a mechanical engineer but had already restored a country cottage in the UK and a farmhouse in France. As for me, well I was brought up on a farm so was used to being free range, my motto being 'don't fence me in!'
As a job, I worked in hotel management .... mmm, that might come in handy somewhere ... and then as a SCUBA/Commercial diving instructor.
But now we had our own little place, an acre of land with two houses and a couple of stables. So we added a few extra touches to the already restored Casa Gloria such as hot water and two patios, we restored the main farmhouse, cultivated the land ... went walking ... snorkelled in most places where the sea met the land and got chickens which bred until there were almost too many to count.
And we got Pancho, our little cat who bit most people, attacked any stray dog, caught wild rabbits, lizzards, mice and birds.
And then there was our wonderful neighbour Pedro who showed us a trick or two about country life. We loved him dearly and he became the Spanish uncle we never had.
And, the icing on the cake is that during four months of the year,
from 8 May to 01 August, we have both the sun rise and the sunset.
I have to say - it was well worth the wait!
In 2010, we walked the whole of the GR130 El Camino Real route around La Palma. As I'm fond of saying, the Camino Real is a bit like life - full of ups and downs! But as a result and after plenty more walking, we started to offer comprehensive information on the walking routes on La Palma along with luggage transported walking holidays.
In 2014 Casa Gloria was registered as an official VV, (vivienda vacacional / holiday home) and additionally our enterprise 'Holiday La Palma' was officially launched with the Canarian Government as Intermediarios en Turismo. You should now imagine a big smile on my face!!
In 2021, we decided to put Holiday La Palma on hold which was mainly due to Covid.
By 2023 we were both pensioners. Very reluctantly we decided to sell the whole of our property, Finca Franceses, which includes Casa Gloria, our two bedroom house, outdoor buildings, 4,000m2 of land and very much more! If you would like to buy a finca in the Canary Islands and specifically on La Palma, just contact us for more information!!