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A VIRTUAL TOUR, IN WORDS AND PICTURES OF

TWIN PEAKS CALLE CHAFARIZ 5, TABAYESCO, LANZAROTE

The view of the house from the lower road.

View of the house from the fish pond showing the twin peaks and the kitchen terrace.

Twin Peaks started out, 105 years ago, as a small Canarian finca in a local agricultural community. Approximately 35 years ago the hallway, another bedroom, and the top toilet were added. The current owner acquired the property 4 years ago and has made extensive improvements to it. The property stands on 1503 m² of land, just under 1000m² of which, although formerly used to grow maize is now a beautiful landscaped garden with a koi pond, a stream and several fruit trees as well as a multitude of palms and cacti. There follows a list of rooms in the house, to most of which I have added photos to make the journey easier to follow. I have also included approximate square meterage (and square footage for those not yet used to meters) and a small description of each room on the list.

The house can be entered through; the lounge, the front door or the kitchen but for the purpose of this tour we will enter through the kitchen.

Room 1. The Kitchen. (27m²- 270ft²) with high vaulted wood ceilings and everything plumbed and electrickeried (lol) ready for the intended fitted kitchen. (I had my own kitchen factory in the UK and still haven’t got round to it yet!) Included in the kitchen are 6 double electric sockets, a TV socket (carrying the signal from the lounge) and a telephone socket. The kitchen is reached from the lower road by concrete steps and is entered via a 16m² (172ft²) walled terrace. At the far end of the kitchen are 5 steps covered by a 1.5 meter thick arch leading down to;

This will be the main kitchen when I fit it!

Kitchen ceiling, typical Canarian beams.

Room 2. The Utility room (8.5m² - 91.5ft²) which the long suffering wife has had to use as the kitchen till I get round to the above! The utility room has a multitude of electrical sockets, a washing machine (plumbed in) and its own small electric water heater to supply hot water to the sink. It also has a large storage unit which I eventually plan to remove and replace with a double fridge freezer unit.

View of the utility room from the kitchen

Looking back up the steps to the main kitchen.

Passing through the utility room, one step takes us into; Room 3. The Atrium (10m² -107ft²) which has a 7.5mtr (nearly 25 feet) high wooden beamed ceiling with plants growing up from the centre of the green marble tiled floor and plants hanging down from the ceiling on a wrought iron cartwheel. This room has very thick Canarian walls and is a haven of peace and cool tranquillity on even the hottest day of the year. In order to clean the windows and water the high plants we had to build one of my favourite places in the whole house;

Atrium view showing plants and the walkway.

The atrium viewed from the walkway

The Triffid which grows up from the floor.

Concrete lined 1m³ planter built into floor.

Room 4. The Top Walkway. Not strictly speaking a room, more of an iron balustraded, tongued and grooved walkway which goes all round the Atrium at a height of 3.5 meters (nearly 12’) above the atrium floor. It is completely safe for even the smallest kids and affords a breathtaking panoramic views up the Temisa valley as well as views down to Arrieta beach.

Looking up at the cartwheel

Standing on the upper walkway looking down at the cartwheel.

Room 5. The master bedroom. (15m² - 161ft²). Back down in the atrium we find the entrance to the master bedroom. This room once again has thick Canarian walls lined with 9cm breeze blocks before the render coat making them over 1 meter thick. This combination makes it a very cool refuge from the summer heat and easy to keep warm in the winter. We deliberately decided not to have any outside windows in the bedroom because it gets plenty of light through the atrium door and the en suite bathroom and our lifestyle (working late at night) sometimes requires us to sleep through the hottest part of the day. It would be a fairly easy and cheap option to add a couple of roof lights if required. There are fitted wardrobes across the whole width of the room with a wealth of storage space above. We have made the wardrobes deeper than normal so that clothes don’t get bunched against the doors when they are closed. The wardrobes are constructed of the same teak stained wood as the ceiling.

Double wardrobes each side with storage shelves in the middle and full width top cupboards

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Connected to main master bedroom through a small door is;

Room 6. The en-suite bathroom. (12m² - 130ft²) A light and airy room with high tongued and grooved teak stained ceiling, an opening roof light and a fixed opaque recessed glass window. The suite comprises of; a large corner spa bath with 16 jets, a double sink unit with cupboards, storage shelves, and a huge mirror with built in lighting, a shower cubicle with power shower head and a matching low level WC. All the acrylic units are a dark charcoal grey which contrast beautifully with the carefully chosen floor and wall tiles.

Double sinks and a big mirror.

16 jet bath and the toilet (no jets in there!

Shower cubicle covered in towels Recessed window in en suite

Room 7. The dining room. (9.5m²- 102ft²) Moving back through the bedroom and into the atrium we find an open arch (over 1 meter thick) leading to a room we have been using as a dining room on the odd occasion we have had dinner parties. Quite a small room which can realistically only seat 4 people at the round glass table which adorns it at the present. This room would make an excellent library or television room. The very high ceiling and thick walls make it very cool in the summer. Up 2 sides of the dining room is an iron and wooden staircase leading up to;

Dining table + 3 chairs (No idea why only 3)

The stairway leading up to the computer room

View through the arch to the atrium

Room 8. The office/ computer room. (14m²- 150ft²) I have to say that everyone’s reaction when stepping into the computer room is…..WOW! The room has a vaulted wooden ceiling, matching tongued and grooved flooring, both stained in teak, but the main thing about it is that it is surrounded on all sides with huge panes of bronze tinted glass and offers 360º views of both the coast and the surrounding mountains. On one wall is a doorway leading to the atrium walkway (room 5) which is also surrounded with the same glass. Each pane being 1.2 meters high by at least 1.5 meters wide. (All the glass at the top of the house is 6mm thick and bronze tinted) The office is fitted with phone sockets, ADSL, and has 8 double electric sockets to facilitate most computer equipment. It is on its own electric circuit. In the wall at the top of the stairs is another door leading through to;

View from where I am sitting at my ‘puter.

View from the other ‘puter

Room 9 The sun lounge. (21m²-226ft²) A beautiful place to relax and catch a few rays whilst reading your favourite book or just having a cup of coffee with a few friends and enjoying the scenery. The sun lounge has 2 double opening windows and when they are open it makes the room feel as though it is air conditioned. At the end of the sun lounge is a solid wooden door leading through to the top sun terrace.

Sun Lounge photo taken from the top toilet roof

Inside the sun lounge.

Sun Lounge(right) & Top walkway (left)

The view from the corner of the sun lounge.

Terrace 1. The roof terrace. A (29m²- 312 ft²) walled sun trap on which one can quite safely sunbathe au natural. The views from the terrace are staggering, both during the day and particularly at night when I get immense pleasure from sitting out there enjoying the peace and quiet (except on nights when the only sound one can hear are one can hear are the waves pounding onto the beach) and star gazing. The nights are clear and dark, unencumbered by city lighting, and allow for excellent night sky viewing. One small daytime tip….If you do like to sunbathe topless, make sure you put your top on before standing up ladies, as the walls are only just above waist height.

The roof terrace

Northerly view from roof terrace

Views of Arrieta and the beach taken looking eastwards from the roof terrace

Reluctantly tearing ourselves away from the roof terrace we move back through the computer room, down the stairs and through the dining room till we find ourselves back in the atrium and ready for the remainder of the tour. Exiting the atrium we find ourselves in the lower covered walkway. Constructed entirely of thick wooden posts and beams the walkway is fully teak stained and has a tongued and grooved roof waterproofed by grit covered dark brick red bitumen material. Directly in front of you it stretches for 13.5 meters (45’) and is 1.5 (5’) meters wide.

To the right it ascends two sets of small steps and is 6.7 meters (22’) long by 2 meters (6’6”) wide and leads to the top toilet and bedroom 3.

In total the walkway gives an additional covered area of some 33.4 m² (360ft²). The whole length of the covered walkway is protected by plastic rainwater guttering.

A view from the lower terraces of the covered walkway running in two directions (The black lump on the walkway roof is one of the dogs)

A few steps above the level of the walkway are the inner courtyard terraces. (105m² - 1,130ft²) Terraces 2. The terraces are built on three levels and each level is separated by ranch style round wooden posts and railings. The whole terrace is surrounded by a high wall (2meters) and is completely private. We had plans to install a hot tub on the top corner terrace and to this end it has been reinforced and has its own electric circuit.

This is the terrace we planned to site the hot tub on. I might build a barbeque where that chair is instead. The walls have since been re-painted by the way! As you exit the atrium door immediately to your left is a doorway leading to;

Room 10. The hallway. (8.6m²- 92.5ft²) At 4.2 meters (just under 14’) long and 2.05 meters (just under 7’) wide this area presents a sizeable area in which to welcome people to the house. We have plans to install a rustic two seater settee and a couple of rustic chairs along with a coffee table and loads of plants to turn it into a microcosm of the style of the house. At the moment it is being used as a furniture and building materials storeroom while I do some work on the front of the house, so in the pictures please ignore the mess and use your imagination. There is a working phone socket in the hallway. Both this room and bedroom 2 still have the original 10cm thick Canarian tiles. I plan to retile over both surfaces which should be a quick and very easy job as one is working on a completely flat surface. At the far end of the hall is the front door leading to, what I have to admit, are fairly steep steps down to the front level. At the other end, close to the door back through to the walkway is the door to;

The hallway as it looks today. The units on the left Are eventually destined for the adjoining bedroom.

I included this picture of the way the hall looked when we bought the house because it gives a better idea of the actual size.

Room 11. Bedroom 2. (17.5m²- 188ft²) A comfortable sized twin bed or double bedroom with a typical Canarian shuttered window supplying light during the day and plenty of room for wardrobe and storage space. Because our son only comes out twice a year, for two weeks at a time, and uses this room, we have not done a lot to it apart from using it as an ironing room for the other 46 weeks. So, for the time being, you will have to look at it as a blank canvass on which to impose your own personality.

This wardrobe is part of the set in the hall.

Leaving bedroom2 and the hallway we are back on the covered walkway, turning left and strolling along enjoying the sunshine for 7.5 meters (25feet) we arrive at a set of double doors leading to; Room 12 The lounge (30 m²- 323ft²), which has a working glass fronted wood/charcoal burner, (very efficient) two sets of double glass paned doors as well as a large picture window with views down to the local beach. We have built a concrete and welsh slate tiled unit to house the TV, video recorder, DVD etc. under this unit are 4 double electric sockets, a TV socket to carry the signal to the kitchen, and a phone socket. The floor of the lounge is tiled in a black, silver and green marble effect tile which sounds revolting but looks beautiful. The fire surround for the built-in glass fronted fire is unique and above it are two shelves made to appear as if they are jutting from the wall on thick logs. There are eight recessed ceiling lights in two banks of four, both of which can be individually dimmed. The double doors on the outer wall lead to an imposing set of steps with a huge wooden canopy supported by large round posts. The outside lights and the walkway lights can all be controlled from the lounge which also has full length green and gold regency style curtains on all doors and windows.

Sometimes it even gets cold in the evenings on Lanzarote

Back out on the covered walkway you are faced with a set of wide tiled steps leading up to the first level of the terraces. To your left is a metal gate leading to;

Room 13. The dog kennel. (16m²-172ft²) of which 8.7m² - 93ft² is covered and at present houses a three piece suite to make sure our pampered dogs are comfortable. To call a kennel a room might sound a bit strange but it has very high walls, its own lighting and is the size of some small apartments. If you don’t have dogs it would make a superb workshop or alternatively, if you have relatives who insist on visiting when you would prefer peace and quiet….bung them in here! Strolling back along the covered walkway which, for reasons which will remain unexplained, we call Charley, we find ourselves back outside the atrium door. Turning left we are faced with the other half of the L shaped walkway and immediately in front of us, up two small flights of steps are;

Room 14. Bedroom 3 (11.2m²- 120ft²) A single bedroom currently under reformation (so there are no pictures as yet) as it has been used as my workshop during the past 4 years. When finished it will have two opening roof lights and an opaque glass door giving plenty of light and air on even the darkest day. Because it was my workshop this room has 6 double electrical sockets which even the most technocratic teenager would have trouble using up. Next to bedroom 3, and finally, is; Room 15. The top toilet/shower room, (4m²- 43ft²) which contains a washbasin in a marble surround, a large mirror with three lights and various shelves, a shower cubicle with its own hot water supply and power shower head, and a matching WC. The waste water from the basin and shower (as well as the utility room sink and washing machine) is spirited away to a green water holding tank and automatically pumped up into the garden.

All water supplies, throughout the house, can be turned off and on independently as can all the electric circuits. (9 in all) At the top right hand corner of the lower terraces there is a huge set of wooden arched doors leading (on the right) through to another (uncovered) path along the back of the house with an exit gate to the main garden. This pathway is soon to be tiled to match the terraces. (part of the stuff being stored in the hallway!) There are garden watering taps on this path as well as in the kitchen terrace) Through the double doors to the left we find a series of steps leading up to the car parking area. (currently under construction) Car park. The car park will eventually allow parking for around six cars. At the moment it is something of a mess and a much loved digging area for the dogs. It will eventually be a circular driveway with a small roundabout at its centre. A large palm tree and several smaller semi tropical shrubs are planned for the roundabout. (The water from one of the green water tanks will automatically keep the plants on the roundabout watered) The driveway is accessed through a 6 meter (20ft) sliding metal gate and the whole parking area is surrounded by a white-painted, arrow tipped steel fence to discourage unwanted guests. Not that this is any kind of problem in this sleepy village. The whole area measures approximately 250m² (2700 ft²) and at the bottom left hand corner is a car port cum garage of 6 meters x 6 meters (20ftx20ft) which only needs a few more blocks and some rendering to finish it off. The frontage of the house is around 75 meters (250 feet) and although the house itself (now around 36 meters – 118 feet) was quite plain to start with, I have tried my best to make it look more ‘rustic’ by adding a sloped canopy over the lounge doors, cosmetic wooden shutters on all the lower windows and am in the process of ironstone cladding part of the front. The waste from the toilets is piped to a 1200 litre, three - chamber, anaerobic. digestion tank which is covered by a block and wooden sloping structure and produces no smells whatsoever.

Water for the house is pumped from the huge aljibe (water holding tank) which is hewn out of solid rock and holds enough water to last 6 months. I keep it topped up on a regular basis from the mains water supply (I have plumbed in an automatic means of doing this) but prefer to get my water this way as during its stay in the aljibe the chemical taste of the treatments reverse osmosis produced water receives before being pumped into the mains system tends to dissipate and leaves the water both cool and sweet tasting. Neither my wife nor I, nor any visitors for that matter have ever experienced any upsets caused by the water. Some people might see the fact that the house is in the north of the island as a minus point. We lived for 6 years in Puerto del Carmen before moving up here to escape from the constant noise and the escalating crime rate. We would only be dragged back screaming defiance. We have a supermarket only 3-4 minutes away by car, in fact I am looking at it as I type this in the computer room, and because of the vast difference made by the new road to the north these are realistic travel times while sticking to the speed limits. Lol

The beach…………………………..2 minutes Arrieta…………………………… 3 minutes Costa Teguise……………………..10 minutes Arrecife……………………………15 minutes Puerto del Carmen……………25 -30 minutes In compensation we now enjoy; beautiful views of both the Atlantic, the shoreline and also the surrounding mountains of the Temisa valley; the kind of peace and quiet one can only dream of when living in a built up area; freedom from the worry of break-ins; and life in a friendly Canarian village where the people go out of their way to make you feel welcome. It is quite common for one of the locals to knock on the door and present us with boxes of potatoes, onions, grapes and even bottles of the locally produced wines for no other reason that that they had some to spare and thought we might enjoy them. In return we have had several villagers round for Sunday dinner and enjoyed watching them try to work out what they should do with a Yorkshire pudding. Life in Tabayesco can be summed up in one word……………………………………NICE. We will be loath to leave this idyllic existence. It would be so nice just to snuggle down into this lifestyle and forget about the rest of the world but other plans call and the recent decline in the number of tourists coming to Lanzarote is making work in the entertainment industry harder to find and the work season shorter and shorter. As you might have gathered we do not want to sell the house but see it an inevitable part of our journey into the future. Whoever ends up with it we will both wish them as much happiness and fun as we have shared here during the past 5 years and would ask just one thing…………….. Please look after the garden and the fish! Whilst on the subject of the garden, which has become something of a tourist attraction and has been featured in many continental magazines, what follows next are a few pictures of both garden and fish pond. Enjoy! Michel J Howard & Christine. December 2006.

When you start a project such as this it seems to progress very slowly and there have been many times over the past 4 years when Christine and I became so frustrated and began to believe we would never get the job done. It is only when we started to look at the pictures taken at the beginning that we realised just how much we have achieved in a relatively short space of time and on a limited budget. It seems incredible now to try and remember that this (see below) is what we started with;

And that in just over 3 short years it should end up looking like this;

Over the past 2 years the garden has matured beyond belief and, as soon as my camera returns from the repair shop I will be adding some more up to date photos