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Property |
Location |
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Salto del Caballo |
Valencia de Alcantara, Extremadura, Spain |
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One-off feature |
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Casa Salto del Caballo, a 19th century finca and former smugglers headquarters right on the Spain / Portugal border, with fantastic views towards the Serra de S. Mamede national park in Portugal. The front entrance is in Spain; the back door opens onto Portugal! A beautiful spot for a holiday. |
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Property Info |
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Accommodation Type:
| Apartment |
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Property Setting:
| Mountainous / Village / Rural |
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Holiday Type:
| Relaxing / Family / Sports & activity / Culture |
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Bedrooms:
| 2 |
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Guests:
| 5 |
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Catering:
| self-catering |
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General Info |
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Casa Salto del Caballo, situated in the small village of La Fontañera, offers stunning views towards the Natural Park Serra de São Mamede and the Castle of Marvão in the Alto Alentejo of Portugal. The building dates from the late `19th century. It is slap bang on the Spanish Portuguese border. You can literally come in from the Spanish side and walk out through the other doors onto the magnificent São Mamede Natural Park in Portugal. Not surprisingly, this strategic position has lent it a past always connected to the smuggling trade. Up until 1992, when the borders opened mainly coffee and leather boots, but also bread, garlic or whatever was wanted on the other side was smuggled. As the front entrance is in Spain and the backdoor opens onto Portugal, it was a “casa de la duda” – a house in no-man’s land. Ultimately the Spanish ended the confusion by incorporating the whole property officially into Spain. |
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Details on the area surrounding the property/accommodation |
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Discover Portugal’s unknown Extremadura! Locally, there are three UNESCO world heritage sites to visit: Evora in Portugal and historic towns of Caceres and Merida in Spain. Sign-posted walks from the doorstep, lovely romantic villages, bird-watching or just pure relaxation! You look out onto stunning views towards Marvao Castle and surrounding rolling hills, cork oaks and olive groves, stone walls and old chestnut trees, in between huge granite bolders and gentle paths. Hearing tinkling goat-bells and the gentle babbling of a stream and simply nothing else. The owners of the house have a donkey and are very happy to arrange donkey trekking - particularly useful for the children's tired legs if you are out walking! |
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Getting there & away/local amenities |
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Getting There:
| Cross the Bridge Vasco da Gama or the Ponte 25 de Abril and follow the A2 highway heading south to the Algarve; approx. 40 km ahead you will find the sign for the A6 Évora /Espanha. Keep on this highway until Estremoz. Once there you will see the signs for Portalegre IP2; once you arrive in Portalegre you will see the sing for Marvão/Castelo de Vide; follow them; near Marvão and before arriving you will see the signs for Spain, follow them. 1 Km before the border make a left heading for Galegos; go to the center of Galegos where you will find the public toilets that should be lighted until late: take the dust road behind these toilets and approx. 1 km ahead you will arrive at “La Fontanera”; the first house on your right painted in Yellow is the Casa Salto de Caballo.
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Nearest airports:
| Lisbon 200 km |
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Nearest train station:
| Marvao-Beira 8 km |
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Nearest ferry terminal:
| Lisbon |
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Nearest bus stop:
| Portalegre |
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Car Hire:
| Essential |
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Nearest restaurant:
| Meals available in the house |
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Nearest shop:
| Valencia de Alcantara 10 km |
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Nearest market:
| Valencia de Alcantara 10 km |
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More Info |
Owner Info |
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Name |
Eva Schuster |
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Contact Phone No. |
0034 927580865 |
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Accommodation details |
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Activities Nearby |
Birdwatching / Climbing / Cycling / Fishing / Horse Riding / Walking
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Interior Facilities |
Air Con / Cot / Highchair / Internet Access / Linen provided / Log Fire / Television / Washing Machine
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Interior Details |
From the rear courtyard, an external staircase leads to the upstairs first floor, self-contained flat (apartment ‘Spain’), comprising two double bedrooms with balconies, two bathrooms, a large fully equipped kitchen with dining area and a living room with a large fireplace. The whole area can comfortably accommodate 4-5 guests. A second building provides another holiday flat (apartment ‘Portugal’) with a big double bedroom and a smaller twin bedroom, both with two en suite bathrooms and a large well equipped kitchen and breakfast room spread out over two floors, ideal for families with kids. Both apartments have washing machines. Both apartments also have wood burning stoves and heating. You can book either to self cater, or B&B. A small library and satellite TV as well as ADSL internet is available in our communal TV-room.
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Exterior Facilities |
BBQ / Courtyard / Parking / Swimming Pool / Terrace
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Exterior Details |
The patio formed by the two main buildings, provides several shady or sunny sitting-areas. There are sun loungers around the pool (small, but big enough for a cool refreshing dip!) and 2 barbecues available.
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Further Details |
The Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede is a protected nature reserve of some 31000 hectares in the north eastern tip of Alentejo on the border of Portugal and Spain. Much overlooked but easy to reach from the new Lisbon to Madrid highway.
The 44km long park was created in 1989 with the aim of protecting wildlife and unusual plants and preserving local traditional life.
The park contrasts with the rolling plains of grain and oak that typify the Alentejo. Within this protected region the mountain range known as the Serra de São Mamede at 1025 metres overlooks the vast plains of the Alentejo and into Extremadura in Spain.
The convergence in these beautiful mountains of the Mediterranean and Atlantic climates has given rise to a fascinating range of natural vegetation and wild life. Wild flowers are abundant in the spring and early summer. The forest of cork oaks, oaks and olive trees still covers large areas of the Serra. Sweet chestnut trees provide shade and ample nuts for animal life and the chestnuts are used in the traditional recipes of the area.
Wild boar and deer still roam the park. Kestrels, Bonellis eagle and Egyptian vultures are a common sight circling high overhead. In fact the area supports more than half of the species of birds that breed in Portugal. It is also home to the largest European colony of bats.
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Conditions of
Rental |
You can book an evening meal, are very welcome to eat in our communal dining-/breakfast room or on the terrace. The owners is very happy to cook for you – traditional food or any other requests. For a day out we can organise a baby-sitter for you, so you can go for a hike or walk by yourselves. No extra charge for pets. Tailor made Spanish language lessons can be arranged with a qualified native Spanish teacher.
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Other Information |
Babysitting available / Child Friendly / Cook available / Pet Friendly / Short breaks available
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What visitors have said about Salto del Caballo |
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"Very nice, special and atmospheric house, with the most friendly owner, who helps with every possible means to make your stay unforgettable! Quiet and private, beautiful with a sea of plants and a small pool. The area is wonderful: spain as well as Portugal. To be recommended!!!"
Barbara D., Belgium 
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Perfect Bliss. My Husband and our 14 year old daughter and her 16 year old friend and I just returned from a blissful week at Casa Salto Del Caballo. We stayed in the Portugal apartment which was fully equipped with all the comforts of home. The kitchen is lovely and new and the bedrooms and bathrooms are fully appointed and more than comfortable. Eva, our host, is absolutely lovely and we took full advantage of her knowledge of the area to enhance our stay. The area itself is perfect, quiet, serene with pleasant people in the village of La Fontanera. We would not hesitate to recommend this home to anyone. The pool was welcome refreshment and a relaxing escape at the end of a long day of sightseeing all the beauty this area of Spain/Portugal has to offer and the patio and barbeques are a great place to spend your evening. Thank you so very much Eva, Nigel and Leon for all your hospitality. We hope to see you very soon.
Denise Jones, Ontario, Canada, Jul 2011
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