Spain now and then

A hot afternoon in Cordoba

2008-07-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

It was hot in Cordoba, pushing 40º but I was there on business. I have driven the stretch of road from Marbella, around and up behind Malaga, past Antequera and then inland to Cordoba many times and there was no real need to have the TomTom switched on but it was comforting to see the predicted arrival time would allow a quick meal by the Guadalquivier river in sight of both the famous cathedral in Cordoba and our destination, the private business administration university.

Three hours of oral examining with students doing the Cambridge Business English Certificate examinations (BEC) were to follow. It is always a pleasure to assess well prepared and highly motivated candidates and the time sped by.

One of life's many other pleasures is to drive through the rolling landscapes of Andalucia in the evening. On the way home the earth changed colour from shades of white through to greys, the olives trees gave way to vast yellow tracts of sunflower fields with the heads turning to face the setting sun. Now and again the smell of the olives from the co-operative processing plants washed through the car windows, open in the cool of the evening.

We stopped for old time's sake at the venta nearest the spring between Antequera and Malaga. Twenty nine years ago we would top up the car radiator here or bathe our faces and drink from the pure mountain water which runs all year round under the willow trees.

The setas con ajo and perejil were excellent. That's mushrooms in garlic and served with parsley. Two immaculately dressed Guardia Civil policemen came in for a snack. I turned the blue label of my cerveza sin alcol so that it would be more easily visible.

You will know by now how much I like travelling through Spain by car, bus, train or by plane and if I can help you with any queries you might have, please write to me using the tiny comments link below the blog and if you tick the box you will get a reply from me emailed to you directly. Nobody sees your email address and it's a great way to beat the spammers. I look forward to hearing from you!

Monday evening in Dusseldorf

2008-06-20T12:11:00.001-07:00

Bruce Springsteen: "GUTEN ABEND DUSSELDORF!"

Me: "Woooooooooow!" together with 38 000 other fans.

For more than 20 years I've listened to The Boss on LPs, cassettes, CDs, watched him on DVDs and TV and then there he was live on giant screens with his voice driving out at a million watts from towering speaker stacks.

I'm glad to share this experience with you even if just to prove I have a life between photographing bus stops. A quick trip taking in London, Stratford on Avon and then on to Dusseldorf to see him live at the LTU stadium next to the airport.

I've seen Freddy Mercury, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart and others in the Marbella football stadium but this was life changingly different. We had comfortable leather seats but I can only remember sitting down once. Maybe it was the hospitality suite just behind us and being welcomed on a red carpet from the car just below our seats. Perhaps it was the non stop refreshments together with the great company we were in. It might have been the brilliant camera work or the fact that the German fans knew every word in English. Most likely it was everything together with the brilliance of Bruce's performance and his enormous drive and energy during the 3 hour concert. Life just isn't going to be the same again!

Ryanair brought us back to Malaga from Dusseldorf (Weeze), our car was waiting in the free parking at the end of the airport and by 8.30 we were home.

Back to the business of local travel; to contact me please click on the tiny comment label below for help. Remember to tick the box which says "Email me any posts" so that my reply will be emailed to you automatically. Nobody sees your email address. It's a great system to beat the spammers. Give me a first name to reply to even if you make it up!

Write to me now if I can help you with any travel hints on the Costa del Sol or elsewhere in Spain

La Cala de Mijas

2008-05-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Meet Lydia who was promoting a live music venue at the La Cala de Mijas Saturday morning market last week.

I was in La Cala checking out some information for a traveller who had written in asking if it was necessary to hire a car when staying in La Cala or could one just use the bus.

Anyway meeting Lydia made a nice change to photographing the Marbella to Fuengirola bus and I certainly hope she gets lots of visitors to her bar.

On the way back to Marbella I checked out the Cabopino beach and camping stops for Chris who was wondering how to get from Torremolinos to Cabopino beach by bus. It was good to be back in Cabopino, I love the smell of the pines which stretch from the main road between Marbella and Fuengirola all the way down the beach, something very rare for the Costa del Sol.

Checking my stats I can see lots of visitors on the way to Spain for their holidays. Don't hesitate to let me know if I can help you. Please use the comments link on the blog page below, it's not so easy to find but it helps me to beat the spammers. Tick the box where is says to email my reply to you. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Lagos Bus Station on the Algarve

2008-03-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

"Look there's the Lagos bus station!" called my wife as I was putting our suitcases into the boot of the car in the morning. We had spent the night at the Marina Rio Hotel in Lagos before moving on to San Bras de Alportel, inland from Faro for another two nights over Easter. She knows my interest in bus stations and bus stops!

I grabbed my camera and got a picture of the Marina Rio Hotel to show how close it was to the Lagos bus station in the background on the left. Coincidentally when I got back there was an email waiting for me from Katie asking about travelling to Portugal by bus from Granada via Gibraltar and La Linea , so refreshed by my latest trip to Portugal I put together a page for her about taking the bus from Granada to Faro on the Algarve

Let me just say along the way that the Marina Hotel which overlooks the marina is brilliant value for money. The hotel is clean and modern and the direct reservation and check in experiences were excellent. It was 67.5 euros for the night including a first class breakfast, the kind you want to linger over.

We had left Marbella in pouring rain on Easter Thursday morning, been stopped by a hail storm just outside Sevilla, braved the western exit from Sevilla and then driven to the Algarve, exploring Isla Cristina in Huelva just before reaching Portugal. It was from here that Cristopher Columbus set off from here in 1492 to discover the Americas.

The weather in Portugal was fine over the weekend, the usual big Atlantic rain clouds but the sun shone and the wine and sea foor was great as always. On the way back, still on the Portuguese side we explored the stretch of coast inland from Olhao to Monte Gordo on the very banks of the river Guadiana just over the river from Ayamonte in Spain. A very interesting looking area.

We chose the Utrera Ronda route back from Sevilla, always my first choice for scenery in rainy or cloudy weather. The traffic was surprisingly disciplined. Maybe it was the eye in the sky helicopter.

Write to me if I can help you with any travel queries. Use the comments link below. I'll be putting up a new contacts page shortly.

Three hours to Marbella

2008-02-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

"Three hours? Forget it!" You could drive from Seville to Marbella and back again in less time than it took us to walk from Istan to Marbella along a new track last week.

A new track for my walking friend Philip and myself because we worked out that we have now climbed La Concha, the mountain behind Marbella along 7 different routes.

Do you remember in my October blog last year I told of how low clouds and rain blowing in sideways forced us off the mountain? We waited as patiently as we could for the first opening in the weather this year before setting off again.

We left from just behind the hotel perched above Istan, the little pueblo blanco about 17 kms inland from the coast. A sign marks the departure point and indicates a walk of 3 hours to get to Marbella. It's a great route, very scenic and not at all direct, following the ridges, valleys and contours of the mountain above the La Concepción lake.

The picture shows the summit of the ridge seen from the other side above Marbella. We nearly didn't make it again, you can see the clouds curling from either side of the faint track.

Ten hours after starting out we dropped down onto the coast, just behind the big La Cañada shopping centre. Don't believe all the timings on the signs on the walking tracks you come across on the Costa del Sol!

Saturday morning in Sevilla

2008-01-29T23:30:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning in Sevilla in the shadow of the Giralda Cathedral saw these two grooms carrying out running repairs. One is holding the hoof whilst the other swings a small hammer. In the background a driver is discussing prices with two prospective clients.

I took the Málaga Antequera route to Sevilla this time, just for a change. It's about 30 kms longer than the route through Los Barrios down in Cádiz but it's faster. I like to go one way to Sevilla and make the return journey on a different road. One of my favourite roadside ventas is about 50kms before Sevilla. The coffee and local olive oil on toast is to die for.

I was back in Sevilla and checking out the two big bus stations. I get quite a few enquiries about buses from Marbella or Malaga to Portugal and I wanted to sort a few things out although when the AVE (Spains high speed train) connects Sevilla with Malaga later this month and brings the journey time down to 50 minutes, not so many will use the bus for this leg. If you are thinking of taking the bus from Sevilla to the Algarve I have put up some photos of the Estacion Prado de San Sebastian and the Estacion de Plaza de Armas bus stations

I love Sevilla on a Saturday. Smartly dressed Sevillanos proudly board their immaculate new trams and others sit in the sun all around the city sipping fino and eating tapas. They do it with such style as well!

I drove back via Ronda and on the way checked out Zahara de la Sierra. It's a lovely little pueblo blanco (white village) about 19 kms before Ronda, about 16kms from Grazalema and is perched on a peak above a large lake. I'll definitely be spending more time there soon. I have passed it countless times but I'm really glad I had a look around.

The hypermarket in Ronda on the bypass, just on the coast side of the railway line is well worth stopping at for a coffee before dropping down the coast.

Can I help you with any travel enquiries? Leave a question for me in the comment box below.

Christmas Lights in Malaga

2007-12-31T03:43:00.000-08:00

Marbella Old Town Christmas lights seen here in side street just over the road from the Plaza de Alameda represent both austerity and hope for the future. It'll take another eight years to balance the books after Jesus Gil's systematic looting of the municipal coffers.

Whereas Gil would spend 400 000 € every year on Christmas lights, (money which Marbella never had) and dazzle his supporters, Mayoress Angeles Muñoz has spent less than half of that this year. Less light bulbs and extravagance but Marbella's future has never looked brighter.

On the subject of Christmas lights, I got an email just before Christmas from Yvonne.

She wrote, " Hi, I want to travel to see the lights in Malaga, can you advise the best way to travel there? I live in Marbella, have a car and am willing to park and ride (train or bus) Also, what times does public transport finish at night (for returning)?

I'd appreciate your advice asap. Many thanks, Yvonne"

I wrote back to Yvonne the next day and I'll put my letter onto my local transport page in a day or so.

To contact me please click on the tiny comment label below for help. Remember to tick the box which says "Email me any posts" so that my reply will be emailed to you automatically. Nobody sees your email address. It's a great system to beat the spammers. Give me a first name to reply to even if you make it up!

Write to me now if I can help you with any travel hints on the Costa del Sol or elsewhere in Spain

Los Boliches Train Stop in Fuengirola

2007-11-25T09:42:00.000-08:00

I always pick up my emails when travelling and so it was that earlier this month whilst I was in London I replied to an email from a gomarbella reader.

John A had asked me “Can I pull my suitcase between the Los Boliches train stop and the Yaramar hotel on the Paseo Marítimo in Fuengirola, or should I take a taxi?"

Back on the Costa del Sol the very next day, I missed the midday Malaga airport bus to Marbella by minutes and rather than hang around for the next bus I decided to check out the advice I had just given to John and catch the train to Fuengirola, check out how far the Los Boliches stop is from the Yaramar Hotel and then take the bus home to Marbella from Fuengirola.

It was a great train ride from Malaga airport to Fuengirola. Los Boliches is the second last stop before pulling in to the underground train station and I was able to write again to John before he left the UK to come to Spain.

I was lucky with my connections and it worked out that by taking the train to Fuengirola and then the bus to Marbella I got home about 15 minutes faster than if I had waited for the next bus from the airport to Marbella bus station. I had fun on the way home too!

Got any questions about traveling on the Costa del Sol? Write to me on the blog page and I’ll do my best to help you. To contact me please click on the tiny comment label below for help. Remember to tick the box which says "Email me any posts" so that my reply will be emailed to you automatically. Nobody sees your email address. It's a great system to beat the spammers. Give me a first name to reply to even if you make it up!

Write to me now if I can help you with any travel hints on the Costa del Sol or elsewhere in Spain

Istan to La Concha (6 hours)

2007-10-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

Istan is a little white village set back about 17 kms from the coast overlooking the headwaters of the La Concepcion lake. To get to Istan, you turn off inland next to the mosque which is opposite Hotel Puente Romano. La Concha at 1217m is the summit of the Sierra Bermeja range of mountains just behind Marbella.

My walking friend Philip and I had a long standing date to try a route that was new for us from Istan to the top of the La Concha range. This morning I looked up from my terrace just before setting off from home and the clouds which had been hanging over the range seemed to be lifting. We had scheduled this route two months ago so that seemed to be a good omen, I should have checked the weather forecasts on the gomarbella webcam as well!

Setting off from the car park just behind the new Istan Hotel the path was reasonably trodden and marked with small cairns. Some readers might have done the route from Istan to Ojen (6 hours) up the ravine behind the polydeportivo, our path led off in a more south easterly direction to intersect with the top of the range.

A rare patch of sunlight lit up the Istan village in the photo above about half an hour after setting off. The Istan hotel can be seen in the foreground. A stream of clear water gushing from the mountain below us supplies drinking water to the village all year round.

After about 2 hours the clouds began to settle back down, obscuring the peaks. An hour later it was raining and there were clouds blowing upwards from behind us. When the path ended and the only further indications were cairns at intervals on a wet rock knife edge rising above us, with about 25 metres of visibility we took a reality check. I always advise walkers on La Concha to avoid the range when the summit is blanketed in cloud, it is easy to get lost and the work of the local rescue teams is complicated as a result. We turned back.

We'll do it again in the spring next year when we can see where we're going. Would you like to join us?

Spain now and then

2007-10-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Spain now and then seems to have been the pattern of my life recently.

Earlier this week I was in New Malden in London, teaching an 11+ exam revision course for the Extra Tuition Centre. I spent 3 days from 9am to 1pm helping well motivated young students prepare for their selective secondary school entry process and then from 2pm – 9pm each day I was with my 22 month old grandson. He is also selective about what he learns, preferring diggers and dump trucks to wolves sliding down hot chimneys.

On the way home to Marbella this morning, I enjoyed the BA check in procedure at Gatwick airport complete with touch screens and smiling, helpful ground staff and the leather seats, headrests and hot meals on board.

Last week I was in Essen over the weekend for a very pleasurable family birthday celebration. Taking the 6am Easyjet flight out of Dortmund on the way home I was back for in Marbella in time for my 1pm class at the hotel and tourism vocational training school. With 3 new classes starting next week, it’s going to be a little tighter to find time for European travel!

I always pick up my emails on my travels and so it was that last night from Battersea, London I replied to a gomarbella reader wanting to know if he could walk from the Los Boliches train stop to the Yaramar Hotel, Avenida Los Boliches s/n in Fuengirola.

To give him the best advice I thought it would be a good idea to check out the Los Boliches train stop personally and take the train from Malaga airport to Fuengirola on the way home today instead of the airport to Marbella shuttle bus. I’ll try to find time to get some pictures up this week.

In Gatwick’s carpeted North Terminal this morning the passenger assistance buggies moved sedately to and fro with blinking orange lights and muted bleeps. In Malaga airport this morning the buggies raced along the marbled passages honking passengers to one side and jumping the single immigration queue.

Wouldn't Europe be boring if we all acted exactly the same way?

Estación Benaojan Montejaque

2007-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is the down train from Ronda powering through the tiny rural train station of Benaoján Montejaque just 20 minutes down the line heading to Algeciras on the south coast.

The up train to Ronda from Algeciras runs on the lines nearest the platform. A sign on the platform politely asks passengers travelling in the opposite direction to Algeciras to cross the lines on foot to the platform on the other side, a reasonable time before their train arrives and aplogises for any inconvenience.

The Hotel Molina del Santo is just five minutes walk from the station. Right next to a small river gushing with the purest water straight from the Sierrania de Ronda mountain range, the hotel is an old olive and flour mill.

Hotel guests often take the 1.40 up train to Ronda, do some sight seeing and have lunch and then catch the 4.30 Algeciras train down train getting off at the picturesque Benaoján Montejaque station a few minutes later.

The Hotel Molina del Santo is equally accessible from the Costa del Sol. Los Barrios train station on the coast is the second stop along from Algeciras. From there the train winds through the lush vegetation of coastal Cadiz between stork nests high on power pylons before pushing its way up the Genal river valley on a memorably winding track.

When the train service along the coast is extended from Fuengirola all the way to Algeciras, this veteran rail line now carrying passengers and rail traffic to Ronda, Granada and Cordoba will only carry cargo. Take the trip while you still can!

Jeréz Airport

2007-08-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

I like Jerez Airport and driving there is always a pleasure. When you park the car the smell of the pines around the airport comes flooding in. Jerez town, Cadiz city and the Atlantic are all just minutes away.

Sometimes we pick up a €0.01 ticket to Stanstead with Ryan Air and the drive through the rolling cork oak covered mountains more than compensates for the extra hour spent on the road.

Last year we were putting our suitcases into the car for the return journey to Marbella one morning when we heard the snarling of Formula One engines at the track just over the Sevilla road. Three euros later and we were watching Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher testing their cars on the winding high speed circuit.

On this last trip a girl approached us in the check in queue in Jeréz Airport. She was a rep for Terravison which operates the Stansted Airport to London coach service. Seconds later we had a return bus ticket into London.

Getting back to the Costa del Sol needs some concentration, but if you make for the Cadíz Sevilla road, then Cadíz Algeciras, then Algeciras, then Los Barrios you can't go wrong.

Tell me what you think about Jeréz Airport or ask if you need some information on how to get there.

The rain in Spain

2007-07-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

My daughter in London sent me this photo yesterday afternoon. I had the air-conditioning on and the blinds were down to shut out the afternoon sun when the picture came through. It was really hot outside on our terrace in the afternoon heat of southern Spain.

Each time I visit London I take my grandson on foot under this railway bridge and we head for Battersea Park. Next time I am across there might even be flood water level markings on the walls.

Sitting in the cool of our apartment watching flood warnings, trapped motorists and helicopter rescues across Britain it was difficult not to feel detached, as if this was happening in Bangladesh or somewhere in South America.

Is this a result of global warming? If it isn't, why not play safe anyway and take just that bit more care of our planet wherever you are?

If you pass me the remote for my air con system I'll turn it down to save electricity. But only one degree mind you.

Oh! Yes and thank you for asking, my daughter's kitchen did get flooded that same afternoon.

Mexican braves Costa roads

2007-07-11T03:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I was near Dunnes in Fuengirola when I heard the sound of Mariachi music pumping out just behind me in the car park. Looking round I saw Jorge parking his rig.

He was more than happy to pose for me and we had a good chat in the shade of the shopping centre. Jorge is from Monthlery in Mexico and has been on the road for two years now.

Biking up through the USA he crossed to England then pedalled up to Norway before making his way down through Germany, France and then right down to the south of Spain to the Costa del Sol where he is staying till the end of summer.

His bike carries a great sound system powered by a small generator and a GPS navigation system sits just above the front wheel. He tows all his belongings behind him in a streamlined shell.

I told him of my worries for his personal safety everytime he gets onto the roads on the coast but he laughed saying "I've got eyes in the back of my head!"

Jorge will need that extra pair of eyes. The standard of driving on the coast is not high. Next time you get behind the wheel of your rented car on the coast, don't expect the courtesy of and patience from other drivers that you normally get in a city in the UK for example. Rather prepare yourself for impatience, intolerance, unexpected manoeuvres and minimal road sense and you'll stay alive much longer.

Oh and look out for Jorge too. Having cycled all this way he needs all the help we can give him to get back to Mexico in one piece.

HOGS rule Costa roads

2007-06-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

These weren't the the usual brainless Costa del Sol boy racer road hogs but genuine Harley Owner Group bikers from all over Europe including a couple from the USA.

Eight thousand of them got together this weekend and using Fuengirola as their base cruised majestically in and out of the towns on the coast. Wherever you were you could hear the rumble of big V twin motors.

A lot of the Harleys were trucked down in massive transporters whilst other bikers rode for up to three days from all corners of Europe to get down to the hot late spring sun of the Costa del Sol.

You could see gleaming customised bikes resting on side stands outside luxury hotels in Marbella, on every corner in Puerto Banus and as far inland as Ronda.

Police led a two thousand strong procession of Harleys through Fuengirola to kick start the weekend and there were stunts, demonstrations and outings for the three days.

As I drove home, just as I got to the bridge over the Rio Real golf course just before Marbella, I was overtaken on the tight bend by a HOG biker hanging from high rise ape hanger handle bars on a stripped down highly chromed Easy Rider bike.

Just behind him was a low low gleaming customised yellow Harley ridden by a girl biker with her blonde hair streaming behind in the wind from her black helmet. I managed to wind the window down to listen to their throbbing bikes just as another giant Harley with tassels and flags flying pulled past me with an enormous Harley biker astride. What a way to go.

You can do it too! Come on down to the Costa del Sol, hire a Harley and feel like a king for a day!

¡Es la feria!

2007-06-08T07:41:00.001-07:00

It's feria week in Marbella this week. Exactly at 12 midday every day during the feria, the music starts and the dancing begins in the Alameda Park in the very heart of Marbella.

On the 11th June we are celebrating dia de San Bernabe, the patron saint of Marbella. Every village, town or city in Spain has a saints day during the year and the celebrations go on for a week.

Banks work shorter hours, offices and warehouses close earlier and certainly on Friday afternoons. You wouldn't phone anyone else in Marbella to ask for the money you are owed and equally you can be sure that nobody (at least from Marbella) is going to phone you to ask for money.

Celia on the left posed her friends for me. I was lucky to get the picture because normally the guys hold onto their girls when they are dressed up in their flamenco dresses. Perhaps the men were having a cold beer and talking football at one of the nearby refreshment tents.

The feria starts with fireworks on Tuesday evening and then the feria de día takes place every day after that. At night there is a big attraction park for the kids with more dancing and fun until 3 or 4 in the morning.

If you still have the energy at the weekend, on Saturday you'll go through from midday to 7pm in the hot sun, dancing Sevillanas, drinking mojitos and singing the latest summer song. You'll meet all your old school friends who will have come back from all over Spain just for this weekend. At 7pm the street sweepers move in. By 9pm it's spotless and ready for you to do it all again on Sunday and again Monday which is a holiday! On Tuesday it's back to work.

Come on down! It's feria week in Marbella!

Marbella has a new Mayoress!

2007-05-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

The Partido Popular party came through with a clear majority on Sunday in Marbella signalling the return to normality in a town which has lost so much at the hands of corrupt politicians.

You are looking at an electoral table during last week's election. That's me, the President of the table in the middle. To my right, the two women like me are chosen by the Town Hall for the elections. To their right are the two PSOE representatives.

To my left, that's to the right of the picture are the PP political representatives. Pablo Mora on the extreme right is one of the new Town Hall's counsellors.

It was 15 long hours of work, from signing in the representatives at 8am, opening for voting at 9am, checking credentials all day long (identity cards are a good thing) closing voting at 8pm, counting votes then taking the results to the local magistrate at and signing off at 10.53pm. I got paid €53.20 for my time. No signature asked for.

Nobody beat me up as I left the electoral venue. No thugs stuffed the ballot box after closing of voting. Nobody's houses will be burned or bulldozed by the government as a result of the election. These are all features of Robert Mugabe's present goverment in Zimbabwe, my country of birth and the last country I voted in before coming to Spain.

The Children's Home in Malaga

2007-05-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Easter Fun in Support of the Ciudad de los Niños Children’s Home in Malaga

The second Annual Easter Barbecue of the CN Malaga Supporters finally took place on Sunday, 29th April in Parque Nagueles. Twice postponed due to the recent inclement weather, it proved to be well worth the wait, as the day proved perfect for a family day out in the park. Attended by more than 130 adults and children kids activities included an Easter egg hunt, face-painting by the wonderful Debbie and her helpers, egg and spoon races, Splat the Rat and a Pin the Tail on the Easter Bunny for the kids. The grown-ups tussled with a tricky Easter quiz and a raffle, with great prizes donated by Homecare on the Web, The Mortgage Bureau and Paint and Fun, San Pedro. Fabian and his team of chefs catered for the crowd with superb BBQ food.

A total of 780€ was raised for the Ciudad de los Niños Children’s Home in Málaga.

The group´s next event is a Pirate Party in the Hogan Stand, San Pedro, Saturday, 19th May, with live music from the Crow’s Nest Five.

For more information on future events in aid of this worthy cause, contact 637 739 201 or 627 924 324.

Meet Marbella's new Mayoress

2007-04-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

This is the face of Angeles Muñoz surrounded by well wishers at last Saturday's meeting to present her electoral team. From May 25th she will be Marbella's next Mayoress.

And what a meeting it was! As slick as any presidential campaign we waved flags and for 40 minutes watched large screen multimedia presentations of Angeles Muñoz visiting the different neighbourhoods and associations in San Pedro and Marbella.

It took her 10 minutes to work her way down the aisle in the large Palacio de Congresos in Marbella, followed by the two national Partido Popular heavyweights Javier Arenas and Mariano Rajoy who had come to back her campaign. Listening to her speak eloquently and with conviction it was worth the wait.

I believe Angeles Muñoz will lead us back into the mainstream of politics in Spain after years of isolation and that she will normalise and restore the relations with outside institutions which have been missing for so long.

I also believe that only Angeles Muñoz and her new team of Municipal counsellors will be capable of giving Marbella back the dignity and prestige that it deserves.

As I walked out it was good to feel that Marbella is on the move again and that a a new group of honest and hardworking fellow citizens are ready to work in the best interests of the town again after so many years.

Big bikes and a fluffy poodle

2007-04-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Big Harleys from out of town, a fluffy poodle and its owner at the entrance to the Puerto Deportivo in Marbella this morning. What a fantastic day it’s been. If only all our Easter visitors last week could have had at least one day as good as this.

Just out of sight to the right of the picture at the entrance to the Puerto Deportivo the deckhand selling tickets for the boat cruise to Puerto Banus and back was doing brisk business. What a great morning to be out at sea with a gentle onshore breeze looking in at the Golden Mile which stretches between Puerto Banus and Marbella.

By midday the beach bed attendants had set out their beds and cushions, the trampolines had been set up and the bouncy castle was filling with air. The little tourist train trundled along the Paseo Marítimo whilst the power walkers and weight watchers worked up a thirst, sweating slightly in the warm sun.

It was that time of day when your taste buds tell you it’s too late for coffee but just right for tapas and cold beer or sangria in the beachside bars.

This was Marbella at its best.

24 hours to Tulsa

2007-04-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

In Gene Pitney’s 1963 hit song the traveller never gets home to Tulsa because he meets someone else along the way. Happily my 27 hours on the road to Essen in Germany from Marbella over the Easter weekend were completely trouble free.

I was taking a car up to Germany with my daughter where she is going to live, study and work and we left on Good Friday at 9.30 am arriving in Essen on Saturday at midday.

It was a memorable trip, we alternated at the wheel, two hours and two hours off. There were no cars at all on our side of the road north through Spain and again during the early hours of the morning as we pushed up through France, our side of the road was empty.

I flew back this afternoon from the ultra modern Dusseldorf airport (see picture) with LTU the German leisure airline. Before take off there was a sushi bar and then a massage seat in the departure lounge. Entertainers drew faces on children and gave out Easter eggs. On the LTU plane it was great to be served a hot meal with drinks included by well dressed, civil cabin crew. Of course I haven’t fallen out of love with Easyjet but not being asked to dump empties into an orange sack is very civilized.

“Which of the two trips did you prefer?” I hear you ask. I have to say to you that despite the ultra smooth German check in, the pleasurable wait at the airport and the quick, comfortable flight back, I enjoyed our 27 hour car trip more.

I missed our companionship and feeling of adventure as we set off on our 2400 km trip. South of Jaen we drove through rolling olive farms and passed through heavy rain storms in central Spain. We crossed the snow covered ranges north of Madrid in the late afternoon and in the fading evening light our little diesel purred through the secretive green valleys of the Basque country. We entered France as night fell

We listened to French radio stations in the early hours of Saturday morning on the long straight to Bordeaux and drank coffee at 3am at a fuel stop with a tall white-bearded Norwegian Harley biker riding through the night on his way home. We skirted Paris as the dawn broke negotiating the ring roads like rally drivers.

We crossed First World War trench lines north of Paris as the sun warmed our faces and passed roadside war graves on the border. Turning east towards Germany the Saturday morning shopping traffic in Belgium slowed our progress and dulled our escapade. It was a good trip as trips go.

From Malaga airport home to Marbella I took the faithful Malaga airport to Marbella bus service. Because of the rain and the last of the Easter traffic there were no taxis waiting at the Marbella Bus Station so I chose to walk the last couple of kilometers. Somehow it kept the pleasure of the journey alive just that bit longer.

More pillows please Housekeeper!

2007-04-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

You might be asking one of these newly qualified hotel housekeepers for an extra pillow or blanket somewhere soon in one of Spain’s top hotels.

Graduating today after an intensive six month course in the Hotel Escuela Bellamar vocational training school in Marbella, the proud and happy housekeepers are shown here with some of their teachers after a farewell lunch.

Some of them will be starting work on Monday after Easter as far away as Gerona or Zaragoza. Such is the prestige of the course and the demand for trained hotel housekeepers in Spain that most students are offered contracts before their course ends.

Your housekeeper is there to make your hotel stay more enjoyable. Stop and chat next time you are passing in the corridor. Behind the uniforms and professional facade they’re ordinary people with hopes and aspirations just like the rest of us, They will appreciate your contact.

Okefenokee and Marriotts Marbella

2007-03-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

As a kid I had read about alligators in the Okefenokee swamps in south Georgia in a National Geographic magazine so imagine my surprise when a very pleasant Okefenokee dweller, Pauline, wrote to me last year to ask how to get to Marriotts Marbella on the Costa del Sol from Malaga Airport. I mean do you correspond with anyone from Okefenokee?

Anyway I only give advice on what I know about so I tooled out on my motorbike one Sunday morning to find out exactly where Marriotts Marbella was. OK it’s true that on April 7^th of this year I will have lived in this part of the world for 27 years, but I don’t know everything about the Costa del Sol.

Now and again I am asked for information on getting to Marriotts so I took the opportunity of taking a few photos of the area and put together a page with suggestions on how to get to the popular time share resort Marriotts Marbella. I hope you find it useful

Pauline, thank you again for writing in from Okefenokee. I have dedicated this page to you. Watch out for those pesky alligators now.

This is Tarifa

2007-03-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

I am never sure at what point exactly I fall under the spell of Tarifa. I think it happens somewhere between the last roundabout behind Algeciras before the winding climb through the straits and just before I catch my first glimpse of the long white sandy beach stretching away from the walled frontier town to the foot of the giant dunes on Punto Paloma in the distance.

It could be that I am revitalized by the energy radiated from the humming generators nesting high above the road on wind turbines. First there were only six and now there are hundreds of the giants lining the hills and blown ceaselessly by the levante and poniente winds sweeping this most southern point of Europe.

We make for Hotel Restaurante La Torre where we have often stayed before. They have a special offer this weekend, dinner bed and breakfast for € 45 per person. It is a 100 year old house which has been extended and decorated in warm earthy colours. After our welcome we unpack and make straight for Punto Paloma.

Kite surfers slide across the cold clean foam flecked Atlantic waters with their sails soaring high above them. The butterfly coloured sails of board surfers flick backwards and forwards across the bay. On the beach elite wet suited athletes chat or lie entwined in the heat of the late afternoon Saturday sun. This is Tarifa.

At 9pm we are first down for dinner. The dining room is almost deserted. Our waiter explains apologetically "Real Madrid is playing Barcelona this evening". I catch the replays of the six goals by craning my head back to see a screen in the lounge. The meat roasted in a wood oven is delicious. Two good looking young men photograph each other and then examine the pictures approvingly. The wine is excellent and our room is comfortingly close above the dining room.

We go down to Sunday breakfast at ten. We have toasted rolls with olive oil and brushed with newly cut tomato. Fresh orange is followed by cups of coffee. Our waitress, different to the local girls is a Madrileña, a curly haired young woman with exotic features.

Checking out we make for the Hurricane a few hundred metres along the beach. The colonial style hotel is set amongst tall trees and tropical gardens. It is a beautiful morning and we pick an outdoor table overlooking the sea on the beach restaurant terrace.This becomes our base for the day.

Between excursions to the beach we have a salad and paella lunch piled high on our plates. We queue for large glasses of hot tea. No one is in a hurry, this is Tarifa. You will get your food and drink. At some point the magic of the clean Atlantic waters, the white sands and surrounding hills will wash over you.

On the way home we drive slowly, it has been a perfect weekend. As we climb back over the straits the whisking sails fade into the distance behind us. The enormous blades of the windmills are still turning. Across the straits we can see the flat roofed houses on the African shores. The peace of Tarifa stays with us long after we enter the sprawl of the Costa del Sol.

Madrid 11th March 2004

2007-03-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

The King and Queen of Spain today inaugurated this monument in front of the Atocha railway station in Madrid, to mark the third anniversary of the 11th March 2004 Islamic terrorist attacks on the regional trains in the capital. 192 victims lost their lives and nearly 2000 others were injured in the 10 bombings on different trains in the vicinity.

Situated at the confluence of the Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, Avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona and Calle Alfonso XII, the monument stands 11 metres high and is made of glass pieces which required special treatment to withstand the changes of temperature in the capital.

A transparent membrane suspended across the interior reflects different messages of condolences written in different languages, selected from amongst the thousands of tributes received after the bombings. Depending on the position of the sun during the day and at different times of the year, rays of sunlight project and show a different message on the membrane.

During that terrible day three years ago and for the week following I was too intent on following the tragedy on the national television and in the papers to notice that the statistics on visits to the webcam page from all over the world had soared off the scale. Belatedly I apologize to readers for not updating the page during that week and thank them for their concern for the victims and families of Spain’s worst terrorist attack ever.