Decisions..decisions..

It's been a few days since I posted to this blog, partly because I have been making some decisions about living here in Spain over the winter and where the best place for me would be.  Well, I finally found the ideal location here in Frigiliana.  I decided,it was important to maximize my remaining days in Spain and booked a place in Frigiliana for three nights to really explore the place in more depth.  It didn't disappoint and kept revealing itself at every time of day.  From the magnificent sunrise and us set, to the majestic view of the Mediterranean to the south and the Natural Park to the north and east the little village keeps on giving. Rentals for the period of time i wanted are a little hard to come by. Most owners want a year lease, but I was lucky enough to find a rooftop apartment with two bedrooms and a large terrace with great views in the heart of the old town.  It's within walking distance of all the amenities and a 30 minute bus ride into Nerja, the closest town on the coast.  

I'll be heading back to Ashland on Weds to close out the year and pack my bags for my return to Spain. It's been an amazing three months and I have a lot to share beyond what's on my blog. 

Harvest moon over the Mediterranean

View to the south and the sea from the ruins of the old castle. 

View to the north in the National Park and loads of hiking spots

Benalmadena

The journey continues to explore a variety of villages and cities on the Costa del Sol as possible winter destinations.  Today was no exception and we ventured by a short train trip to Benalmadena, Arrojo and Benalmadena Pueblo.  This is a far more developed area than those we've already visited but the advantage is being near a rail line for ease of access to the airport and cities between Malaga and Fuengerola.   We spent some time taking a cable car ride o a beautiful vista point and falconry which presented an amazing bird show with eagles. The views from the top are spectacular and we've had seven days of continuous sunshine. 

The afternoon was spent in the Pueblo, the original urban center for the city of Benalmadena. I really love these little villages with their historical tone centers. What distinguished this village from others is the presence of a Buddhist stupa on the edge of town. 

Buddhist stupa 

eagle demonstration

Old castle in Benalmadena Pueblo

La Cala

B  We ent the day in La Cala de Mijas, starting with a trip to the Saturday market full of vendors selling just about everything you would expect--clothing, souvenirs, purses, belts, fruits and vegetables, nuts, olives, candy, and so on.   Then we headed off to the coast, just a short walk from the market and walked a long stretch of the boardwalk before eating lunch. There's a plan to have a boardwalk and/or sidewalk which stretches from Marbella to Nerja, a distance of almost 200km. It's about 3/4 complete as of 2015. 

La Cala was not as developed as Fuengerola and had nice beaches.  It lacked a town feel, more like a long strip of hotels, vacation rentals and restaurants toward the sea and retail facing the roads.  

Bother beautiful day in La Cala

The old and the new

Nerja and Frigiliana

The four of us took a drive about 100km east of Mijas to explore that area of the Costa del Sol. We stopped in the city of Nerja, a bit smaller and less developed than Fuengerola.  This area of coastline is punctuated by steep cliffs forming coves of sandy beaches. Very dramatic and more to my liking than long stretches of flat beach lined with boardwalks found in Fuengerola. 

Nerja is famous for its caves, which we didn't visit that day. Instead we had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean, with it's azure blue water and distant views of Morroco. The streets were lined with shops and cafes and less intimate than I envisioned for myself.

  It was late afternoon and Rich suggested we take a short drive to a village he had read about called Frigiliana.  It was love at first sight as we drove into the village with its dramatic views and white washed buildings. It had an energy about it that made me want to explore more.  I stopped at the visitor information office and picked up a booklet on all the hiking in that area.  We had drinks at a cafe winery the young waitress informed us she was British and had lived there nine years.  This is definitely top on my list of possible places to live. It has the hills, the coast a 15 minute drive and a good feel about it. We all gave Frigiliana two thumbs up. 

Beautiful white village of Frigiliana

View back at Frigiliana

rocky coast in Nerja

Nice beach in Nerja

Beautiful sunset driving back to Mijas 

Mijas Pueblo

Hi above Mijas Costa where Pete and Pam live is the beautiful Spanish village of Mijas Pueblo. It's full of charm, from the donkey taxis and horse drawn carriages to the park built within the old fortress walls, to narrow streets full of shops and cafes. There were also bus loads of tourists, mostly Japanese the day we were there,  visiting one of the many hillside communities with white-washed buildings and majestic views of the coastline.  

It was love at first sight and rich and I spent several hours exploring the village and wandering down the narrow streets. We were greeted by a street sweeper around one bend. There's not a speck of dirt or litter anywhere and pots of blue hang from every doorway. This is a village that takes pride in its image.  Even the souvenir shops have a more tasteful assortment of things to take home. 

Donkey taxis

Chapel of the Virgin Mary built into a cave

View from the walled old town

Looking back on the church, bullring, and coastline in the distance--a bit hazy today

Colchester to Malaga

Rich and I arrived in Malaga late Tuesday night. His brother Pete and wife Pam met us at the airport. Well be staying with them for two weeks as we explore the costa del sol.  We spent some time in Fuengirola yesterday afternoon walking along the coast. Thus is a fairly built up city and was busy even in November. We met a group,of Pete and Pam's friends who are all taking Spanish lessons together. Pete and Pam have a nice two bedroom flat, which they have owned for about 11 years, primarily as a winter get away place while they lived and worked in Qatar.  They're looking to relocate to the UK and use Mijas as their winter base. 

 View from the front terrace

Pete and Pam

Walk along the coast in Fuengirola

Great sand art

English village life--dead or alive?

I felt the desire to blog about English village life that I experienced over the two weeks I've been in Colchester. Not far from this bustling city is a life that Bill Bryson writes about and I witnessed first hand.  This is also in the context of a Camino walk through small villages in Spain and Portugal, where a different culture and language exist, but where core values are similar and in which their future lies.

Each village has a sense of identity based on the nature of its inhabitants, be they fishermen, shop keepers, farmers, ranchers or retires.  It seems the demographic is aging, and with that a loss of energy and vitality that a younger population exudes  I didn't spot many young people, unless they were working in a pub or restaurant or coming home from school dressed in their uniforms  The countryside is dotted with failed businesses and farmhouses that were past their prime.    Many of the outlying pubs were closed down due to economic difficulties and an inability to reinvent themselves.  Many have successfully  expanded into a pub with a nice restaurant and/or B&B, for  example   One headline in the Colchester newspaper alluded to,it's stagnating town center as more and more people cut back on consumer spending or shop online.

  I learned that many of the rail lines have closed down when austerity measures were put in place.. The rail lines historically linked town centers and gave villagers a means to connect with the greater English community.   Their sense of isolation is keenly felt and must factor into holding onto their traditions and values with stubborn resistance.  

Many of the seaside towns depended on tourism in the summer months to thrive. More and more British are taking their holidays abroad and Spain, particularly in the summer, due to more reliable weather and cheap air fares.  I saw partially completed developments turned into low cost housing projects.  

Clackton-on-Sea

Long Melford outside Sudbury

Pin Mill at Shotley where we lunched at the Butt and Oyster

Manningtree on a misty day

Late afternoon in Brightlingsea

Sunset in Colchester