EL QUETZAL

FINCA EL QUETZAL

Since Finca el Quetzal was purchased in October 2005 after I returned from an abortive spell in Panama, Central America, many friends and acquaintances have asked to see what the finca is like, and what progress has been made regarding alterations and landscaping since the day of purchase.The finca is situated some 4 kms from the ancient town of Alhaurin el Grande. The town is located in the province of Málaga, Andalucia in southern Spain, 30 kms. from the provincial capital, Malaga, and at 239 meters above the sea level. It is one of the most picturesque villages in the Guadalhorce river valley. It is steeped in history and goes way back to the Roman days. Due to the whole area being extremely fertile, temperate, and surrounded by hills riddled with valuable mineral deposits, Alhaurin is the centre for all types of agriculture with large areas dedicated to olive production. Being situated in one of the most southernly points of Europe we are lucky to enjoy reasonably good weather.

As you will see in the slideshow, Finca el Quetzal has a large variety of fruit and trees. There are roughly fifteen different types of fruit including avocados, nisperos (loquat), oranges, lemons, limes, plums, apples, grapefruit, mandarins, figs and many more. There is also an abundance of olive and almond trees. Southern Spain is not always hot and sunny as you will also see in one of the photos, unfortunately, some of the more delicate varieties were lost in the unforeseen and severe frost this last winter!

Finca el Quetzal is nestled in an area of olive groves with a large selection of animals and birds. It is not uncommon to see eagles soaring in the blue skies above or a quick glimpse of a two foot long green lizard. The animals that live here on the finca were all adopted as they were abandoned. The two donkeys, Noel & Romeo have lived here for over three years and before that were looked after by a local animal rescue centre. Cassie, & Chester the boxer were found wandering the streets looking for food but now live an extremely pampered life. Rupert and Pumpkin, the two cats came to me over ten years ago when they were abandoned before they reached the age of two months old. It goes without saying that all of them will now live out the rest of their lives in an animals paradise.

Please let me know if you encounter any problems viewing the site so that I can correct it immediately. For the technically minded, I built the site on my Mac Book Pro with the aid of Rapidweaver v 5.1.1. Most of the photographs used on the site were taken with my Canon Powershot G9 and tweaked using Photoshop Elements v 6 for Mac.

UPDATE - MARCH 2012

Regrettably I am now forced to sell the property due to ill health, full details here.

EXPLANATION

I would like to explain why I chose the name "Finca el Quetzal" for this property. I have been asked by many Spaniards and non Spaniards alike what it meant.

The word "finca" in Spanish translates to a country property. "El Quetzal" is the name given to one of the worlds most beautiful and elusive birds. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama where I lived and worked for many years.
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Quetzals have a green body (showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet) and red breast. The primary wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. The male has a helmet-like crest. The mature male's beak is yellow and the female's is black.
It was thought that the Quetzal could not be bred or held for any long time in captivity, and indeed it was noted for usually killing itself soon after being captured or caged. For this reason it is a traditional symbol of liberty. The Quetzal is Guatemala's national bird, and an image of it is on the flag and the coat of arms of Guatemala. It is also the name of the local currency.