After years of looking for a piece of simple land—a place we could learn from rather than develop—we finally came across a listing for a plot tucked into the hills near our country home outside Barcelona.

Technically, the land is unbuildable. but the listing mentioned a small stone shepherd’s hut and a cave, and something about it felt right. We bought it based only on a couple of photos online.

Once on the land, we realized how much more there was hidden in the hills. Besides the cave we’d been told about, Nico found a second one tucked into the slope, as well as narrow “fingers” or tunnels branching off from the main hut—almost connecting the hut to the second cave. On the outer wall of the dry-stone shepherd’s hut, we found engravings carved into the stone, dating the little cabin to around World War II.

We also began noticing clues of a long-abandoned food forest surrounding the hut: old fig trees, olives, carob, and wild treats like mushrooms and asparagus. With time, we hope to encourage this forgotten ecosystem back to life—reviving the orchard, cultivating the olives and a small vineyard, and maybe even producing a little wine and olive oil someday.

Nico spent his first nights camped in the open-air cave, sheltered by the mountain even as fall temperatures dropped. While there, he took notes on improvements we’d like to make to the cabin—still keeping within the strict limits of an uninhabitable structure.

One idea is a transforming wooden slat door, inspired by our friend John Essery, that can open fully when we’re there and close securely when we’re not. Another is laying a stone floor inside the hut using river stones gathered (with permission) from the nearby stream.

This is the beginning of a slow, experimental project—part archaeology, part stewardship, part learning to read the land. And we’re excited to document the process as the place continues to reveal itself.