I'm lying in a hot tub, aching limbs being massaged by jets of warm water as I look out at the Alpujarras mountains stretching into the distance. Stick a glass of sangria in my hand and it could be any other holiday on the southern coast of Spain. This time, though, I had got up at an hour when most self-respecting revellers would just be stumbling into bed, and donned a hard hat for an energetic morning's horse riding.
Rancho Ferrer, a riding stables in southern Spain run by an energetic British couple, Mike and Annemarie, may only be a couple of hours' drive from Malaga airport, but it's a world away from the high rises of the Costa del Sol. Guests stay in pretty, whitewashed houses converted from what was once a rural Spanish village, and the nightlife is centred not in some heaving nightclub, but around a small bar adorned with nature books and horsey memorabilia.
Two decades ago, El Ferrer was just one of dozens of abandoned smallholdings and villages dotted around the countryside of southern Spain. Now all but a handful of the buildings have been turned into houses. Many of them provide accommodation for holiday guests - I stayed in what would once have been the wine store - although a few are owned by full-time residents of the village.
The remote setting, in the lower Alpujarras mountains, makes this a perfect place for trekking on horseback. We came across scarcely a handful of cars on our rides, and those that we did encounter were patient enough to stop while half a dozen horses ambled past. You ride on dirt tracks rather than roads, and the spectacular scenery and steep ascents and descents make for a thrilling journey even at a walking-pace.
For speed freaks, though, the gallops will definitely be the highlight. After a good ten-year gap since I last climbed on a horse I took the first day slowly, but by day two of my stay was raring to join the others on a canter. "Hang onto anything you can - and be ready for them to take off," warned our guide for the day, Rhi. "They pretty much go from a walk to a canter; there's no in-between." Sure enough, scarcely after she finished yelling the words "are you ready?" they were off - a Pavlovian response that left me feeling like something out of a Western.
Rancho Ferrer isn't a riding school, but it caters for all abilities and they'll happily provide tips - much-needed in my case - as you ride along. You'll be given a horse suited to your levels of experience and the rides build up in length over the course of the week, so you'll start off with a gentle couple of hours on the first day and go from there.
And this place is not just for riders - the village is also popular as a base for mountain bikers, who bring their own machines but have a local guide on hand to show them the myriad goat tracks and mountain trails. In the winter months, there's also skiing in the nearby Sierra Nevada, and in summer, saddlesore guests can head instead for the nearby beach at Calahonda where there's a different kind of thrill-ride available. That's where Mike and Annemarie keep their boats for waterskiing, or (for the more juvenile among us) getting towed along at high speed on a giant inflatable banana.
Less energetic activities on offer include a visit to the nearby "Mini-Hollywood", where Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars was shot, and a tour of the nearby Cuatro Vientos winery, where you can watch the wine being made then enjoy a glass or two with some of the local specialities in the restaurant attached. There's also plenty of walking to be had, enabling you to take in the countryside at a slower pace.
Even in this remote part of Spain, though, there are signs of development all around. The nearby seaside towns of Castel and Calahonda are full of placards advertising second homes in new high-rise buildings, and the extension of the motorway from Malaga - due for completion in 2006 - is another ominous sign. The ubiquitous greenhouses that dot the valleys are also a bit of a blot on the landscape.
But outside the peak months of July and August the beaches are mercifully empty, and you don't have to try too hard to find completely unspoiled valleys where the only sounds are the bleating of the goats and the buzzing of bees around the lavender and thyme bushes. And, perhaps, the "yee hah!" of the odd overexcited rider.
Way to go
Getting there: Numerous airlines (some of them budget) operate frequent services from various UK destinations to Malaga. Claire Cozens flew with Monarch from Gatwick.
Accommodation: At Rancho Ferrer prices range from £45 a night for non-riders to £685 for a week's horse riding, full board, in peak season. See the Rancho Ferrer website for a full pricelist.
