FINCA EL MORO

where the world is quiet.

What we offer...

Holiday Rentals

Yoga Retreats

E-Bike Adventures

Catered Bespoke Holidays

About Us

 

In 1973 just before Franco died when Spain was a very different country Hermione, aged 17, spent a year in Seville.

In June, at Pentecost, she joined thousands of people on horseback and in bullock carts making the 3 day pilgrimage to the Virgen del Rocio in the wild salt marshes of the Coto Doñana. It was to make a lasting impression.

In 1979 she met Nick and they spent the next 10 years working in Africa and the Highlands of Scotland but always she dreamt of returning to Andalucia and El Rocio. Finally they sold up, packed their belongings into an old Land Rover, and set off to Spain to find a farm and make a life.

After 30 years at Finca El Moro farming cork, sweet chestnuts and olives and welcoming guests to ride, walk and take yoga holidays, their daughter Daisy has taken over from Mum and Dad and we hope this quiet valley high in the hills of Southern Spain will look after her as it has looked after us.

Your Hosts

Taking on the mantle, Eliott and Daisy continue the El Moro legacy…

Eliott is french and grew up in the mountains. His family’s passion for mountaineering shaped his life and took him to live and work in the mountains of Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan before finally settling in Switzerland. Snowboarding in winter and downhill biking and climbing in summer, his enthusiasm for exploring is contagious.

He will be guiding the bike rides, making sure the bikes are in the best possible condition and offering professional riding and technical advice!

Daisy was brought up in the protective embrace of Finca el Moro. She grew up on juicy figs straight from the tree, helping Mum and Mariluz bottle tomatoes on hot summer afternoons, fix fences and bring in the sheep. She was also expected to serve the guests at dinner, and attend to their needs in the unfamiliar surroundings of the local villages.

Schooled in the local village and in the wonderful city of Seville her roots run deep in this corner of Andalusia and it adds a special sense of authenticity to the experience provided to our guests. Daisy looks after the land that looked after her while she grew up and cares for it and our guests like they’re family.

The Great Animal Exodus

The Great Animal Exodus Letters from Finca el Moro. Dear Friends,  It has been a while since I last wrote, we’ve been pretty busy over here at Finca el Moro. Since Eliott and I packed up my van (Ali) at the end of the winter season and drove down to the farm, it’s...

Billy’s Big Day Out

February, oh February. February is the highest of seasons in Verbier and therefore we are all expected to work pretty much non-stop. Around this time of year it is common to see ski instructors walk around town with blank stares and dark circles under their eyes after...

Ice Axes and Long Drops

Dear Friends, Greetings from a very warm and not so snowy Verbier. Eliott and I got back from Japan last Tuesday and since then we’ve been waking up at 4.30 every day. I thought jet-lag was reserves for people who had private planes and attended international business...

Cork Harvest

The Cork Harvest "Nicholaaaaas". The accent was firmly on the last syllable.   A group of village elders were keeping well back inside the open door of Niño's Bar to escape the rain. I crossed over under the wet February sky - something was up. They poured me a...

Sausages

Sausages Now that the majority of households have freezers, there is obviously not the necessity to salt and cure the whole pig, but the tradition of making ‘chacina’ , sausages, is still very strong and families come together for the annual ’matanza’ as they would...

Romerias

Romerias   Romerias are pilgrimages where the Virgin from the local village church is taken out and processed to usually a shrine in the country. They are great colourful days out that happen once a year for each village and are very special. people plan their...

Bread and Tomatoes

Bread and Tomatoes “No hay nada mas largo que un dia sin pan” ... “There’s nothing so long as a day without bread”, said Eugenio as he broke open his daily loaf to accompany breakfast of a fresh picked rosy beef tomato and a strip of very streaky home-cured bacon,...

The Olive Harvest

Letters from El Moro #1 THE OLIVE HARVEST   Dear Friends,   I hope you are well and enjoying the beginning of winter wherever you are. Here at El Moro the chestnut leaves have already fallen to the ground. Most of the people in the pueblo are complaining...

Three Wise Men on Bicycles

Dear Friends,   Happy New Year and more precisely Feliz día de los Reyes Magos. In Spain, Santa Claus is thought of as far too mainstream and instead we celebrate the Three Kings or Wise Men. Personally, I think three rather glamorous looking Kings, bearing three...