Vejer de la Frontera

occupied by moors up to 1250, it has a strong Moorish character and a maze of narrow white streets. You enter the upper part of the village through the original Moorish gates...near this hidden by the surrounding houses is a Moorish castle, with a horseshoe gate and recently uncovered Moorish plasterwork.

"Michael Jacobs, A Guide to Andalucia

This is probably the most delightful of all the 'white hill towns' that are so prevalent in South West Spain. Certainly it is an important tourist destination for both foreigners and Spanish people.

We lived there in a rented flat for about a year,.just off the main square - in Merced. It had a beautiful view from the terrace across the Straights of Gibraltar to Africa.

It was an OK experience despite a landlady from hell, smelly toilets, a naff TV system and freezing cold in winter. Probably all right as a holiday let if you are not too fussy. The old town itself is attractive but very hilly and you should not come to Vejer if you are not reasonably fit! There are plenty of bars and restaurants all over the old town and a small supermarket in the new town. There is an excellent hotel in Plaza Espagne called the Califa. It was far and away the best restaurant in town and probably the best hotel. The cost of eating in it's delightful courtyard exterior - interior restaurant was surprisingly modest and the food delicious. You always have reserve a table in advance so I'm not the only person who thinks the place is good.

The following is what they say about themselves

The Caliph's Garden' is recognised as one of the province of Cádiz's prime eating destinations. You will be served fabulous North African & Middle Eastern food in a tranquil & unsurpassed setting in the heart of Vejers' medieval quarter. One of the unique features of our restaurant is not only the original menu but the very different areas in which you can enjoy your time here. Once you come off the Plaza you walk down through a rocky tunnel (or alternatively a flower lined alleyway) into the Jardin. The restaurant is set in a quiet pedestrian area of tiny alleyways lined with cobbles. How about a romantic candlelit dinner in the 'Jardin' under the starlit skies? Or perhaps a mint tea & arab pastries in the dome of the 12th. C. 'Algibe'. Alternatively perhaps you'd like an oriental cous cous served in the ambiance of the 'Templo' a 15th.C. stone barrel vaulted dining room. And if that isn't enough we can offer you the relaxing atmosphere of the jasmine entwined 'Pergola' in the garden. If you join us during the day the shade of our Walnut, Lemon & Nispero trees are the perfect place to relax after a morning visiting the sights of Vejer. The thickness of the centuries old walls - in places many meters deep - keep our building cool throughout the summer & warm throughout the winter. A splashing fountain, scented plants & the haven of this quiet corner in the heart of Vejer will provide you with many memorable moments.

We found the estate agents to be very helpful. Antonio is Spanish, Duncan and Kaly are Brits and have been in the Estate Agency business for decades both in the UK and Spain. They had a good selection of property both in Vejer and the surrounding district.

We loved the place but felt it was just too small and isolated a town for a permanent home.

The tuna fishing port of Barbate has a marina and beaches all about 30 minutes drive from the old part of Vejer. There are lots of surfers beaches in the area as it is on the Atlantic coast rather than the Mediterranean.

Avoid Ronda Propertries and Serrania Services like the Plague!!!

I have just been to pay a three thousand Euro fine to Malaga Cultural department because, the building works carried out for me by

RP- Ronda Properties aka Serrania Property Services

were totally illegal!.

RONDA PROPERTIES - La Serranía Services 29400 Ronda, Málaga

and after they finished the terrace it leaked!

They had used the cheapest possible waterproof membrane and because it was laid on top of a maze of electrical wires they perforated the membrane.

I have now had to pay to have a new legal staircase put in, the terrace totally rewired and retiled.

if you want to know more about this horror story then read:

ROLLED IN RONDA

I highly recommend builders, who recovered the terrace disaster and installed the inside staircase with all the works done to the highest standards at very, very reasonable prices.

They cover the entire Andalucía area and Carlos speaks perfect English & German. Email:- jcsalas@salasduran.com

BANKING

You will need to open a bank account. Bankinter have at least one person who speaks English.

Transferring money from the UK to your Spanish bank account or to pay for property etc can be a minefield and unnecessarily expensive. I expect there are other good ones, but over the last 15 years or so, I have found to be inexpensive, easy to use, very fast with payments and cheaper than anybody else.

The big difference with TORFX is that they guarantee there will be no charges at the receiving end. With bank transfers and indeed companies like MoneyCorp, the bank that receives the money frequently makes a substantial charge for doing this. Worse still if you pay a bill to a lawyer or individual or even your own account in your new country, you can end up with a charge at the receiving bank - so will still owe the recipient money. More importantly the exchange rate is displayed as per the UK money market so you can choose to buy your Euros as you see the rate rise or fall. They have very efficient staff to help you at first then afterwards you can do it all on line quickly and easily. There are no charges at the Spanish end of the operation unlike normal 'swift' transfers and the money normally arrives within 2-3 days.

OORFX tell you by email or text that they have received the funds from your UK bank and that they have sent the funds to Spain and its eta...Normally a few hoursd

You can of course use this system for the currency of any country in the world.

Ronda is where I now live and is a beautiful town up in the mountains and about an hours drive from the sea. Wonderful place to be in.

Vejer de la Frontera is a white hill town near the entrance to the Straights of Gibraltar. Probably the most unspoilt of all the hill towns - white villages in Southern Spain

Boat Import tells you how to handle the importation of your boat legally into Spain and how to avoid paying the 12% matriculation tax.

Car Import tells you how to change the plates to Spanish registration, and if its a near new car how to avoid the 12% matriculation tax -

How to Register gives full details of how to 'clock into' the Spanish system if you are going to become a resident

Northern Spain is just that - a wonderful cruising area for yachties and far removed in every way from the 'Costa's'

Banking in Spain give some helpful info on what can be expensive and complicated. With the current 'crises' it's quite a 'cash' society so you need easy and cheap transfers.

French Canal Routes to the Mediterranean