26 
Rojales - House of Mussels (La Casa de las Conchas)
Imagine that one day you start collecting shells on the beach and in a few decades your house will become one of the most visited attractions of the whole coast. This is exactly what happened to Manuel Fulled Alcaraz in a small Spanish town of Rojales, where his innocent passion for sea treasures grew into something that fascinates thousands of visitors today.
At the end of the 70s, Manuel and his wife moved to Rojales, a quiet town about 30 kilometers from Alicante. He was an ordinary man with an ordinary house on a hill in Calle Rodeo. But Manuel had one peculiarity - he loved walking on the beach and brought a handful of shells at each of them. At first he just stored them, but then he thought, 'What if I decorate one wall of the house?' . Initially an innocent thought.
Manuel began in 1980 with the only southeast wall of his house. He carefully glued the shell behind the shell, created patterns, experimented with colors and shapes. He got up every morning, went to the beach to collect mussels, in the afternoon sorted them by size and color, and in the evening he continued his mosaic. The children from the neighborhood initially laughed, then began to stop and look. And Manuel has always been willing to explain to them where she has she's mussels and why he placed it right there.
The turning point occurred when Manuel's own children, originally embarrassed from her father's "strange" hobbies, began to add. Son Carlos recalls: 'We were ashamed at first. My friends made fun of us that we live in a 'shell house'. But then we saw my dad happy, how it fills it. And we started to help him. ' Isabel's daughter adds: 'Dad taught us to see the beauty in ordinary things. Every seashell has its own story, its way from the sea to our home. That's something beautiful. '
The project, which was supposed to be a small decoration of one wall, gradually grew to the whole house. Manuel has built six terraces at different levels that adapt to the sloping terrain of the hill. Each terrace has a different character, different patterns, different shells.
The most impressive is the main terrace with its railing, which looks like a sea wave frozen over time. Thousands of shells of different sizes and shades create a hypnotizing pattern that changes according to the point of view and daylight. But the real surprise awaits inside. Manuel did not miss the walls or ceilings of some rooms.
Gradually, Manuel's house began to talk. First only local, then tourists from the area, later foreign visitors. Manuel never wanted to make the house a commercial attraction, but when he saw people's interest, he decided to sometimes let the visitors inside.
'People are fascinated,' says Carlos, who manages the house today after Manuel died in 2015. 'They ask how long it took, how many shells we used, if it's all right. Dad would be happy that his work brings the joy of so many people. '
For more than four decades Manuel has used over 2 million shells. Every day he went to the beach and brought home an average of 50-100 pieces. In the summer, when the sea was calmer and more shells, he was able to collect several hundred per day. The most valuable are the large shells of the deeper waters that Manuel received from local fishermen. Some of them measure over 20 centimeters and make up the dominant features of the whole composition.
Manuel has developed his own technique of bonding shells. He used special moisture and sun -resistant cement, thoroughly cleaned each mussel before gluing and sometimes painted to endure longer. First he created a sketch of the pattern on the wall of the pattern, then gradually glued from the largest pieces to the smallest.
'Dad said that every shell has a place, you just have to find it,' Recalls Isabel. 'Sometimes he spent hours looking for the right shell to the right place.'
How do you live in a house covered with shells? 'Strangely beautiful,' laughs Maria, Manuel's widow who still lives in the house. 'In the summer there is a pleasant cold, the shells reflect the sun. And the sound when the wind blows ... it's like the murmur of the sea. '
Maintenance is not easy. Every year, some shells need to be replaced, because the sun and rain are gradually destroying them. Carlos and his family continue their father's work - not only keeping existing decorations, but sometimes add new elements.
Today you can visit La Casa de Las Conchas almost every day. The exterior is freely accessible from Calle Rodeo 8, but a real experience awaits you when you ring the bell. If someone in the family is at home (which is usually), they will be happy to guide you through the interior for a symbolic entrance fee of 5 euros.
'We don't want to make it business,' explains Carlos. 'We only use the money to maintain a house and care for mum. Dad wouldn't want his work to become a commercial attraction. '
The most beautiful is the house early in the morning or before sunset, when the oblique light creates a fascinating game of shadows on the shells. At noon, the view of so many white shells can be almost blinding. Shooting is allowed everywhere, but respect the privacy of the family. The best images will be made of terrace overlooking the city of Rojales and the surrounding landscape.
How to get to La Casa de Las Conchas? Rojales lies 30 km southwest of Alicante. You can't miss. There are several free parking spaces around the house, but in summer it may be a problem to find free.
La Casa de Las Conchas is more than a tourist attraction. It is a story about how an ordinary person with an extraordinary passion managed to change the piece of the world around him. It is proof that art is not only created in famous galleries, but wherever one puts a heart into your work.
