Those who live in Almuñécar will rememer the first time that they saw a house that looked like a large merchant ship, on the road leading up from Chinasol to the mainroad.

The man behind it, José María Pérez Ruiz, known to his friends as Pepe Pérez, passed away yesterday after a career at sea on merchant ships.

He had long had the dream of building a house in the shape of a ship before he had it build in the 70s with the nautical name, M.V. Barco España.

His ship of brick and mortar had a length of 75 metres and was covered in marine decorations, from a large anchor, portholes and a ship’s mast, amongst other ‘toques.’ Amongst his prize possessions was the fife rails from the tailships Juan Sebastián Elcano and the Galatea.

His daughter broke the news about his death on social media with these words: “Hoy se nos ha ido al amanecer. Que la mar le sea leve. Descansa en paz, tus hijos, tu familia te quieren“. (Today he left us at dawn. May the sea be kind to him. Rest in peace, your children, your family loves you.)

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Pérez Ruiz, House Ship, Avenida Mediterranea, Obit, Merchant Ship

Reader’s comment: “Thanks for that. I’ve often wondered about the history of the boat house.” – Melanie Briggs Kidd