Dad's here!
On Friday, we checked out Málaga, stopping at my favourite Antigua Casa de Guardia which I mentioned here. Then, we drove to Fuengirola for lunch and checked out the beaches in Marbella. On our way back, we went through Mijas, a white mountain town popular among rock climbers.
This weekend, we've been driving through the Pueblos Blancos of Cádiz. Our first stop was Setenil, a small town with a few cave-houses left over from the 15th century. In the last week, there had been flash flooding through the area and some houses had been flooded with mud due to rain mixing with the calima (see pics below)). The cave-houses were pretty cool (and damp).
We had lunch at La Quinta in Ronda (in Málaga province). La Quinta was super low-key, with only one waitress and an all-Spanish clientele. We ordered the Menu del Día (two courses, bread, a drink, and a dessert) for €9.50 each (which was way too much food, but a great way to taste the local cuisine). The four dishes we had were, paella mixta (with meat and seafood), sopa de ajo ('garlic soup'), solomillo al queso gouda ('tenderloin with cheese'), and San Jacobo (schnitzel filled with ham and cheese). Ronda is atop El Tajo gorge and there is the impressive Puente Nuevo ('new bridge') which was constructed in 1759.
We spent the night in Ubrique, probably not a must-see, but a very white town nonetheless.
Today, we visited Villaluenga del Rosario where we happened to catch the last day of the Cheese Festival! It is a peaceful village below an impressive rocky ridge fully equipt with a church, school, cheese factory, and bullring. Last night, there had been a bull fight, we could still see blood in the sand...
In Olvera, we visited the museum and Arabic Castle. Despite there being English translations of street names, the museum had no English information. The castle was a steep climb and had spectacular 360° views.
We made it back to Torre in time for lunch and then realised we would not be able to buy food for dinner as all the supermarkets close on Sundays!
Notes:
- Timing in Spain has been a big shock for me. Mediodía or 'midday', is actually at 2pm! And aside from the obvious mealtime differences, many shops operate from 10-2pm, then close for siesta and reopen at 5-8pm. 24-hour time is also the norm here.
- More calima pics:
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