Among Mojácar Council Tourism Department’s proposals to “live Mojácar” at the weekends, and among the activities suggested for travellers, the local authority suggests a visit to the “La Canana” house museum.
To this end, the Tourism Councillor, María Gracia Alarcón, went to the museum to meet with its director, Yulia Damye, and make a donation of different books about Mojácar, its history and its legends, as well as the latest official publication of The Most Beautiful Towns in Spain, of which Mojácar has been part for more than 10 years.
The “La Canana” House Museum is a restored house, recreated exactly as Mojácar’s houses were at the beginning of the 20th century. It gets its name, or rather, nickname, from its former owner, “La Canana”, who sold tobacco and groceries, as well as it being her habitual residence. In the 1950s, a local teacher, Doña Dolores, taught girls in this same house in the warmth from the fireplace.
The restoration was carried out with maximum respect for the materials and structure of the house, leaving it as it was at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, a reflection of the homes in the area at that time.
Yulia Damye and her husband bought the house in 2016. At that time it had been abandoned for more than 25 years. It took a year and a half of rigorous work until they could open the doors.
Care has been taken with even the smallest detail in this museum. All its elements are original and the electrical appliances all work perfectly: the radios, fans, switches and electric light cables are original, as well as the furniture, kitchen utensils, curtains, blankets, without forgetting photographs, paintings and books of the time.
In the basement you find the animal quarters: a stable, with a donkey included, which although not real, is saddled and children can climb onto it; goats and chickens, with its small patio to store farm tools.
The La Canana House Museum is a journey back in time. When you go in it doesn’t feel like being in a museum. It is so well set out that it seems to be in a lived-in house where, at any moment, its inhabitants could appear.
Children really enjoy visiting, says Yulia. They come across objects that they have never seen in their lives and that they don’t even know how to use. The old telephones with a handset and a dial to dial numbers are a mystery to them, as well as some kitchen utensils or lamp radios.
The elderly meanwhile remember with nostalgia many objects from their childhood, already forgotten and that were in their homes or in those of their grandparents.
Mojácar offers interesting getaways to enjoy as a family, in groups or as a couple.
As well as being able to visit the Casa de la Canana, every Saturday Mojácar Council suggests a guided hiking route, completely free, through different parts of the locality and with a level of difficulty accessible to everyone. These routes offer the opportunity to learn first-hand about its history or the natural environment.
On Sundays there is also the opportunity to take part in a yoga class on Lance Nuevo beach. From 11am to 12.30pm with a medium-low difficulty, you can enjoy a space to take a break from the stress of everyday life.
