A WHITE JEWEL AMONGST THE GREENS
As I said in an earlier blog (the “Expat in Spain: My View from the Otherside of the Camera” one) there’s just so many ways you can shoot a palm tree.
Filming urbanisations – although enjoyable – can sometimes severely test one’s creativity and it’s often difficult to come up with new ideas to set a particular one apart from the others. To a large extent urbanisations have the same things – palm trees, landscaped gardens, swimming pools and, oh, not to forget the apartments!
Wondering around in the heat capturing these common elements can also severely test one’s resolve. For example, on one particular day I filmed people relaxing around and swimming in four different swimming pools (luckily no one asked me what I was doing and I swear I only captured the young ladies in their skimpy bikinis in passing during panning shots – honest!) Needless to say when I returned hot and sweaty – from the heat, not from seeing the young, near-naked ladies – to my own apartment the first thing I did was jump into the pool. And what a relief it was, too.
It’s hot and thirsty work during the Andalucian summer and I am constantly on the lookout for something to really inspire my creativity and to make me forget the heat. Last week I found one: Altos del Golf.
This small urbanisation of town-houses is situated above and adjacent to the Duquesa Golf Course. Altos del Golf is a bit of an enigma, as it mainly comprises two pairs of crescent shaped buildings set in their own gardens on either side of an access road. The two halves have their own entrances and amenities making them independent of each other, and that adds to the charm: it makes them more peaceful.
I’m not sure how many town-houses there are in total (if you want to know you’d better contact Hamilton Homes, as I’m only a cameraman) but my guess is there’s not many. And that certainly increases the appeal of the place. It was the height of the tourist season and yet Altos del Golf was so quiet, so relaxing.
The architecture is a mix of pillars and beams, and because the buildings are curved they give a very slight hint – yes, only very slight – of the Royal Crescent building in the City of Bath, England. OK, maybe that’s not quite a fair comparison, as Altos del Golf is minute when placed alongside the huge buildings of the Royal Crescent. But if you ever visit this extremely pretty and charming urbanisation you’ll see what I mean.
The Altos del Golf crescents are painted entirely in white and on the day I was filming them there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The contrast between the white structures and the deep blue of a beautiful clear sky really inspired me and I spent longer than I planned roaming its lush and colourful gardens looking at all the angles.
For the golfer it’s a short buggy ride to the challenging Duquesa course where you can play your heart out on the rolling greens and fairways. But if you prefer smaller and less strenuous rolling greens then get yourself a house at Altos del Golf. The well maintained gardens undulate and in doing so add considerably to the appeal of this little haven of peace.
Definitely one of the nicest urbs I’ve shot to date…