Murmuration En El Olivar

En Casa de Gracia is an extension of its founder’s personal project. Prompted by the need to share and expand her journey, Gracia opens her home and welcomes you to embark on an adventure that will take you to a place where you will be re-energized and further inspired to make the impact you want on the world. Surrounded by a beautiful land, carefully accompanied by the expert Murmuration leadership coaches and facilitators, and supported by a group of similarly motivated participants, you will be inspired and stimulated to transform and grow.

En Casa de Gracia is hosted at Viña del Cura, home of the owner and her family, who arrived here twenty years ago. It is situated in a ‘lagar,’ an olive grove, in the surroundings of Trujillo, Spain, extending over 50 hectares (120+ acres) of gentle hills amongst chestnut and cork trees, which are dotted with broom, cistus, strawberry trees, thyme and ‘cantuesos’, the region’s elegant wild lavender. Its perimeter houses a large olive grove from whose fruits we extract our own oil every year following the age-old technique of cold pressing, as well as a small vineyard cultivated with our Tempranillo and Cabernet grape varietals.  Seasonal beehives provide a tasty native eco-friendly honey, and the organic garden supplies the kitchen with vegetables, cherries and quince, with which we produce preserves, jams and pies. There is no better tandem for the local jamón ibérico, so characteristic of the area’s Extremaduran meadows, than Casa de Gracia’s free-range hens’ eggs and harvest potatoes. Pistachios, recently adapted to this land thanks to the efforts of Ronald, Casa’s green-thumbed caretaker, have joined the native crops of almonds and pine nuts. During the long days of the pandemic, a years’ longed challenge reemerged and could not be postponed any longer. Today we are proud to share our pandemic project with you: Viña del Cura’s electrical power comes now entirely from a different kind of farm, the solar farm that generates our self-sufficient house energy.

Gracia was eight years old when her father, an architect and urban planner, loaded his family into a classic Renault 12 and headed for Extremadura, to work on the restoration project for the historic town of Trujillo. Upon their arrival, the town was celebrating El Chíviri, the grand finale of the local festivities for Easter. Gracia was determined to immerse herself fully in the celebrations. Today she reminisces about that young girl dressed in pastora attire as she gazes at the picture of herself near the fountain in the main square, around which she and the local mozas had just been dancing. While living with her family in England, Gracia and her husband (an American from Vermont) would take many road trips down to Trujillo in search for a place where their children, family and friends would gather to enjoy Spanish customs and traditions during the vacations. “The finca found us on our first day of searching,” she says, “and it didn’t take long for Jake to also fall in love with the place,” as he was drawn to its vast horizons of silver olive groves, lush meadows, and ancient cork trees. They had found it. Together, and without thinking twice, they pooled their savings and made an offer to the owner of this old, abandoned olive mill, where grapes had been trodden and olives pressed for centuries. The original vineyard was transformed into an olive grove when the phylloxera virus wiped out most of the area’s grape vines in the 19th century. Today only part of that vineyard has been recovered, echoing the name of the property. The original construction had a vaulted space made of granite blocks for storing wine and oil, and it’s deep cracks left no doubt about its urgent need for restoration. Luckily, Gracia’s father took on the task and the unstable vault was dismantled, each of its ashlars numbered one by one, and laid down under the chestnut’s shade in the garden until it was rebuilt again, converted into the space that today houses their family gatherings. Thus, the dream of Gracia and Jake became a project and the project a reality and today, after twenty years, Viña del Cura houses a fully functioning organic olive grove, a small vineyard, an organic vegetable garden and a free-range chicken corral and a solar farm all forming part of our locally grown near zero-carbon footprint lifestyle. That dream now includes this global family’s numerous guests. Many birthdays, anniversaries, and reunions later, their way of living and sharing has been embraced by many who have stayed here ever since. Gracia would now like to continue to widen the circle and share the beauty of this very special place and the wonderful energy that emanates from her home and from this land.

In addition to nearby Conquistador’s Trujillo, the Roman, Arab, Renaissance and contemporary Cáceres (Museo Helga de Alvear), the Roman Mérida and the UNESCO’S Guadalupe Monastery are some of the excellent options that the area offers to enjoy cultural and culinary getaways from Viña del Cura (all less than an hour away by car). For nature lovers, the Monfragüe National Park , one of the world’s great jewels for bird watching, offers the chance to enjoy eagles, hawks and vultures in their wild habitat. The Barruecos Park and the Museo Vostell de Malpartida de Cáceres are a surprising combination of nature, tradition and avant-garde art. For our foodies and wine lovers, the well-established three Michelin star, Atrio in nearby Cáceres and Bodegas Habla have been a wonderful surprise in many national and foreign tasting forums, both deserving a visit. The Iberian Peninsula offers an incomparable wealth of history, culture, food and nature to enjoy at the end or at the beginning of your journey. Even if you cannot extend your trip too long, we encourage you to spend at least a couple of days discovering Madrid or Lisbon, both well known for their culture, nightlife and diverse food offerings.

You will arrive at Viña del Cura taking the A-5 from Madrid. We are halfway between Madrid and Portugal’s Lisbon. The nearest airport is Madrid-Barajas, 2 hours and a half away. Lisbon airport is 3 hours and a half away, and Seville airport 3 hours from us.

Accommodation on the finca is diverse and is described below according to category and options. Depending on the use of the rooms (single or double) the house has capacity for 10/16 people. It includes three buildings: La Casa Grande, La Casa Pequeña, and an independent house/studio, La Casita Ibicenca, on the same property. For larger groups, there is the possibility of extra accommodation at the local hotel downtown, only ten minutes away. La Viña del Cura will become a sanctuary where all participants will gather to immerse themselves in seminars and courses, to relax with yoga or wellness sessions and to eat and unwind with a glass of wine and tapas enjoying one of the most spectacular sunsets that you have ever witnessed. During the warm months of the year (end of May to September) the pool is open. The house has a separate gym and a sauna. See Pricing & Registration for room rates and descriptions. 

Gracia divides her time between London, Spain, Africa and Vermont. She is an accredited Advanced Executive Coach by the Møller Institute, Cambridge, and an Embodied Systemic Coach. She was trained in History and History of Art, having completed her master’s in Museum Studies in Madrid and her doctoral courses in Art and Education at Columbia University, New York. While working at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, Gracia founded the Teacher Information Center and designed its first training programme. As part of the MoMA team, she collaborated in innovative educational research in partnership with Harvard University among others. She has coached hundreds of educators and cultural administrators and collaborated with some of the most outstanding cultural institutions in Europe and America, such as Victoria Albert in London, the Guggenheim, the Reina Sofía, the Thyssen-Bornemisza or Patrimonio Nacional in Spain as well as with other Latin American institutions such as the Museum of Decorative Art in Buenos Aires among others.