I am El Pino
I am the Aleppo pine who has watched over this valley long before the first path wound its way up the mountain. When the earth trembled beneath my roots on the stormy night of December 25th, 1884, I was barely a century old. My trunk was still flexible enough to withstand the great earthquake, while the houses in the old town of Albuñuelas collapsed.
That same dramatic night, a young couple fled their cracked home and climbed the hillside in complete darkness, guided only by instinct and hope. They felt my presence, steady amidst the chaos, like an anchor and decided to start here anew after the storm. Thus La Loma, the upper part of the village, was born.
19th Century
Today, 140 years later, their great-grandson, Don Alberto García, now in his nineties, still remembers the story his great-grandparents told him — how they found refuge beneath my branches and built their life here.
20th Century
They recognised the cortijo’s potential and lovingly restored it, filling it with art, colour, and a creative atmosphere that, from the very beginning, drew art lovers and writers — among them the illustrious John le Carré, who wrote part of his novel The Constant Gardener here.
21st Century
In the 2020s, a Spanish–German couple, María-José Garcia and Christian Engelhardt, became the new guardians of El Pino. After walking the coastal route of the Camino de Santiago, they ventured south to María José’s family homeland. They say it was love at first sight upon arriving at the property - and a new chapter began.
He, an engineer with a precise gaze; she, a creative director with an eye for beauty. Driven by a shared vision, they restored the cortijo with care, blending Andalusian tradition, refined modernity and sustainable technology, all while preserving its essence - the serene luminous soul of the great Andalusian estates.
And I, as always, remain.
I am El Pino
I have witnessed the earth tremble… and I have seen it rise again.
Find us between Granada and the Sea
