Mark Adkinson, as you can see, a very Galician name, is the first Englishman I know who fell in love with our country, who saw in this corner of northwest Spain a delicious paradise.
It was 2004 when this man from Manchester who says "nós os galegos" decided to make a radical change in his professional life and pursue a new project — a dream with which he wanted to give back everything our land had given him over more than 40 years. In reality, his dream began a little earlier, when he bought a house that had been abandoned for decades, in ruins, which had caught his attention for years, close to the river, as one might expect. And after that challenge came the creation of the place where he felt he wanted to spend the rest of his days, while building the headquarters of a family business whose mission would be to help others achieve a new way of living in one of the most beautiful corners of the planet. In the northwest of Spain, in green Spain, in GALICIA. .
I remember it: I was pregnant with our youngest daughter, Mark saw a fantastic project where I only saw a house in ruins and cobwebs — he with his typical English humour and the love that overflows from every pore when he talks to anyone, when he looks, when he gets his hopes up, when he believes in something: humour and love, the key to success. Stunned, I listened to his visions of open spaces, warm light flooding the front of the house all day, the warmth of a fire, underfloor heating, the recovery of all those ancient beams, as many windows, shutters and doors as possible, those magnificent wrought iron balconies made from a single piece, works of art in their purest form, all those stones that centuries ago were carefully stacked by hand, and plastered over as the ancients did to prevent infestation; everything was at the mercy of the imagination of whoever could see it. And then his words: "Have I ever told you I would do something I wasn't capable of? NO" — he had never misled anyone with his words, so there was zero margin for error. All that remained was to trust, roll up our sleeves and go for it. No plan B.
The two of us did it, in just 18 months — an exhaustive restoration where the work was without measure, hours and hours on top of our respective jobs, effort, focus, laughter and shared purpose. I will never forget how, on my birthday, I asked for a concrete mixer to help me make all the mortar that my hands would then use to lay the walls of the house. Can you imagine? We did it! We always knew it would become the home it is today.
Mark not only understands but adores the land, its stones, its history, the idiosyncrasy of its people, who regard him as "that giant from Manchester, the Galician one" — big, very big in every sense (he stands almost 2 metres tall). President of Ríos con Vida, an environmental association and national environmental award winner in 1998, a platform from which he has protected and continues to protect nature and catch-and-release fishing, because his philosophy is none other than "The River of Life". That is where you will find him in essence. I remember him perfectly, sitting in one of the corners of what is now the living room of our headquarters, trying to understand what the internet was all about, this thing that was connecting us to the world... if the world has changed so much in such a short time. All of this was only yesterday.
And that is where we launched ourselves, with a modest website called Grupo Country Homes www.galicianrustic.com, which has turned us into a channel to the world. The experiences we live exceed any expectation. A PORTAL that has managed to connect people from all over the world with our land, our culture, our essence, our way of life. Combining several of the founder's passions, what is today a benchmark in the sector of rustic, exclusive and characterful properties was created. A family business that from one of the smallest municipalities in Spain is able to connect with every corner of the planet, and from which every day hundreds of people reach us through every means at our disposal.
My name is Rosy Costoya and, for what concerns us here, I am co-founder of this wonderful company and life partner of Mark, mother of two of his three daughters. I am the daughter of Galician emigrants, which is why I was born in France (Annecy), and from a very young age I felt the pain in my chest when our people abandoned their places, their children, their lands to seek a way of life — they could not be satisfied with just surviving.
Daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Galician traders, daughter of the land, of its roots, I know how much it hurts to look back and wonder why such a fertile, productive and wonderful land must be left empty because there is no work, because you cannot find a decent way of living. I remember it. It still beats in my heart.
That is why I became a qualified veterinarian — the gift I gave to my clan, as I felt it at the time. The vet was a very important person in our villages. I have been a student of human nature since I was born. I have pursued various areas of training throughout my life, and today I know that all of them have been pointing towards this moment.
I am where I need to be, fulfilling the life mission that I recognise with absolute clarity: to be a witness and active participant in giving life back to this emptied Spain, becoming the channel that magically connects stories and people from any part of the planet who feel the call to realise themselves from their deepest sense of self.
The two of us — founders Mark Adkinson and Rosy Costoya — have joined our efforts. We train, we study, and the effort continues and spreads to those who wish to be part of our team. It is a sine qua non condition. These are not mere economic transactions; they are LIFESTYLES, they are EMOTIONS, they are leading by example.
I always knew I was preparing for this. And that is our personal mark — unique, genuine, inexorably true.
We are a multidisciplinary team, in constant evolution, sharing the same objectives and enduring values, driven by enthusiasm and passion — this makes us unstoppable. That is who we are, and that is how you will come to know us. We are behind every email, every call, every aspiration. With names and faces, each of us defending our position within the group, complementing one another to be more effective and to help you in your new adventure.
We feel deep gratitude and pride for every property entrusted to us for sale. We defend it with honour and honesty, and represent it with a whole team that safeguards and champions it. Our seller clients are always represented by a team that looks after their assets beyond the terms of any contract. Their story and their legacy matter to us. And we take very seriously the task of finding the candidate who is a worthy successor to such an important challenge. I must confess that reality often exceeds our expectations: the buyer clients who come to us frequently surprise us with their human quality, their originality, their projects, their desire to honour the heritage of our land and their wisdom, which only enriches the places they come to inhabit. Perhaps a genuinely good person is better than any projection could ever be.
