During the last week we continued our jaunt along the Spanish coast line, leaving the Costa del Sol and venturing into a small area called the Costa Tropical, also known as Costa Granada. Interestingly, it has a pleasant micro climate here of both mild winters and mild summers, due to the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, resulting in more rain and shelter from the Northerlies; abundant irrigation has created a lusciously fertile countryside, I presume giving it its Tropical title. We are certainly making the most of the mild winter, with temperatures reaching 19 degrees, and for now the shorts are staying on.
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| The Pompidou Centre, Malaga |
We enjoyed our stay in Malaga, a lovely city, with great beaches and a vibrant feel to it. It seemed markedly different to the holiday resorts of Torremolinos, Marbella and Fuengirola, which were a lot brasher and less cultured. We spent three days in Malaga in total, the first couple of days we parked within walking distance of the city, and just a stone’s throw from the beach. Malaga is very well maintained and all along the wide promenade there are communal exercise areas, manicured grassy mounds with palm trees to offer shade, water fountains, electric scooters for hire and lots of ‘chiringuitos’, partially open air fish restaurants, situated directly on the sand, and offering up great sea views. These places were always busy and no wonder, if the amazing smells that wafted through the air were anything to go by. On one afternoon a section of the prom was closed to passers by while some filming was taking place, which was fun to watch for a while.
There was lots of free parking to be found in and around Malaga, with many campers looking settled in for the long term, or winter at least. Along the coast we have started to encounter a lot more full time travellers and those leading an ‘alternative’ lifestyle, rather like us I suppose.
For the third night in Malaga we moved out of town, to the east and parked at El Candado, a beach we had been recommended by some Dutch travellers we met the previous week. This part of the coast is popular with divers and well known for its wide variety of fish.
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| Art Gallery, Nerja |
Our next stop was at Nerja, a place which came highly recommended. Nerja is the last stop on the Costa del Sol, and has an altogether different feel than its better known neighbours. Less touristy and far more traditionally Spanish, Nerja has a lot to offer. It hasn’t been ruined with high rises and the buildings have been designed tastefully to complement the original architecture of the place. The main town is quaint and pretty with narrow streets, lots of shops and a wide variety of restaurants. One thing we noticed on the Costa del Sol was the amount of Indian restaurants; elsewhere we struggled to find one, although we noted they are much pricier than in England. During an evening stroll in the town, a strong whiff of leather hit my nostrils and we came into a district where dozens of shops were selling leather goods, which must be a regional speciality. It was tempting, but I resisted the urge to splurge, as we are short of space and on a budget! While there we happened upon a great little art gallery laid out over two floors in a beautiful old house; I love chancing upon places such as this - it satisfies my inner culture vulture.
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| A variety of travellers, Nerja |
Again, parking for free was not as issue as Nerja is a popular place for travellers. There is a large community of hippyish people living in vehicles; their children, who I assume are home-educated all looked so happy and healthy, running wild and free. Here we met a friendly family of three from Poland, travelling in a huge old school bus. We saw them in the town first when they came over to say hello to Nina, being fellow English Bull Terrier owners, and then we found them the following day parked a short distance away from us. The stretch of beach where the campers reside has a couple of bar/restaurants, a small convenience store, a boatyard and public toilets -everything you need really; I imagine that many people located there don’t have the need to go into the town itself. It had a shanty-esque ambiance about it and it was the first place we felt comfortable in a long time to send the drone up, without fear of offending anyone.
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| The BIG yellow bus |
After Nerja we came to our current location, La Herradurra about half an hour along the Coast. La Herradurra translates as The Horseshoe, and thus named because of the shape of the bay. The weather has been glorious since we arrived, if a touch windy for my liking, though evidently not for the many surfers out yesterday.
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| Stunning Views across La Herradurra |
There are lovely walks to be had in the hills around here, and breathtaking views make the steep climbs totally worth it. We are parked nose facing the ocean, the closest we’ve been yet to the sea. It is so soothing dropping off and waking up to the sound of the waves - I’m sure it improves the quality of my sleep.
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| A sunset photo |
On New Year’s day this year I made the audacious claim that I would photograph the sunset every day this year. I’m happy to report that so far I have not missed a one, and with only a few days left of January, I am nearly a twelfth of the way through the challenge. This endeavour has given a really satisfying purpose to each day, and I’m proud that I have committed myself to it. If you’d like to see all the sundown photos head on over to my Instagram account @emmaleeperadon. The Good Squad (that’s Us!) also has an Instagram account @the_good_squad where we post photos from our travels.
Well that wraps up this week’s news - hasta luego Amigos x
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