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Winter in Marbella Spain (Part 2) by Lary Hansen & Diana Holmes

While we were in Marbella we took the opportunity to explore some of the countryside. Like anywhere you end up, the more you see, the more you find out there is to see. I know that we just scratched the surface of the area but with the help of The Rough Guide to Andalucia we were able to appreciate what we saw.

The LAGUNA DE FUENTE PIEDRA is the second largest nesting ground for flamingoes in Europe, second only to the Camargue district of France. We visited the lake at the end of January and already there were over 2,500 birds there. The wardens said that by the end of March there would be over 8,000. The birds are quite well protected and except for the park wardens, visitors are kept at a distance of about 1 km. Binoculars are available to rent but we had our own. An impressive sight.

Antequera is a city that was old when the Romans arrived. The Municipal Museum has lots of relics from that time, the most impressive is a first century AD Roman bronze of a youth. There is also an eerily lifelike, 17th century carving of Saint Francis of Assisi. There were other museums and churches that we visited but the most impresssive was the 16th century church of Santa Maria. Its proportions are immense and it has now been converted into a concert hall. It was lovely to walk through the church listening to Spanish classical guitar music being piped through the sound system. There is also a fine view of the PEÑA DE LAS ENAMORADOS (Lovers’ Rock). It resembles the profiled head of a sleeping giant. It got its name from two lovers (a Christian girl and a Moslem youth) who threw themselves from the rock when their parents forbade their marriage.

El Torcal Natural Park, 13km from Antequera, is a geographically arresting park. It is a high plateau of glaciated limestone that has been sculpted by the winds and rain over the years into remarkable works of art. There are several hiking trails through the park and on the day we were there we saw several rock climbing groups practicing their skills.

We had seen an ad for a package trip from Malaga to Mallorca in the Balearic Islands for the very reasonable price of $175 per person for five days with half board. We leapt at the chance to see a different part of Spain. Our flight out of Malaga was delayed by six hours which caused us to arrive in Palma de Mallorca at midnight. The hotel was good enough to lay on a cold supper for us and we happily fell into bed after this snack.

We started exploring the next morning. The cathedral, started in the 14th century, rises above the seafront and is charming with its tall buttresses surmounted by pinnacles. Palma was the centre of several large trading groups and the owners built mansions commensurate with their importance in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some of these are still occupied by the same families but many have been taken over as business and bank offices. It seems that only the large banks can afford to restore these houses to their former glory. At least there are no «Golden Arches» in front of any of them.

Over dinner the first night we met a charming couple of expat Brits who now live in a restored 18th century farmhouse in a country village above Malaga. We spent the next couple of days touring with them. One day we took a Victorian era train from Palma to Puerto de Soller. The port lies in the curve of an almost circular bay, its sheltered harbour ideal for both pleasure and fishing boats. We saw fishermen mending and making fish nets on the pier as well as yachts coming and going from the harbour. It was a fun day and we shared picnic lunches on the beach. Another day we rented a car and explored Mallorca’s west coast, known as the «Rocky Coast». In 8 1/2 hours we drove 260km and we saw some incredible views over the coast as well as Moorish fortifications and some modern developments. The modern developments have been quite well controlled and there is not the spread of high-rises and sub-divisions that is rampant on the Costa del Sol. One more day exploring Palma and all too soon our trip was over. We had seen lots of interesting things and made some new friends. A good trip.

Our new friends invited us to come to their house in the village of Colmenar to see a CANDELARIA. This is a religious ceremony where a massive float, bearing a figure of the Virgin and Child, is carried through the streets of the village from the church to a hermitage where it is kept from one year to the next. The float base is solid silver, it weighs about one tonne and is carried by 80-100 men in a 6 1/2 hour procession. Colmenar is a small village but still people travelled from all over Andalucia to witness this rite. There are similar processions in many of the towns and cities in Spain during SEMANA SANTA, Holy Week, proceeding Easter, the most famous being held in Seville and Malaga.

In February the rain stopped but a bank of fog and cloud settled over the coast that was just as depressing as the same type of winter weather in Victoria. We found that we could escape the fog very easily: drive 10km inland. It really was a small band of fog and inland the sun was shining, it was warm and everyone’s spirits soared. We took advantage of this with several day trips to visit more of the White Villages of Andalucia: Ojen, Istan, Monda, Coin, Mijas and more. We would sometimes take a picnic lunch with us but frequently ate in a small restaurant with the locals. There is always a fixed price Menu del Dia which includes three courses, bread and wine and normally costs between $8.50-$12.00 per person.

Just a few kilometres outside of Malaga is the Historic Botanical Garden de la Concepcion. It was established in the 19th century by a Spanish nobleman and his wife, and expanded by a Basque businessman after 1911. It was taken over by the city and is a lovely collection of trees and flowers as well as some Roman artifacts and statuary. Because we were starting to see a lot of wild flowers in bloom we thought it would be worth a visit. It was worth it but most of the cultivated flowers were late because of the heavy rain we had had over the winter.

We have seen two different horse shows over the last couple of months. The first, in Torremolinos, was called RITMO AL CABALLO, The Rhythm of Horses. This show featured some very good high school dressage as well as demonstrations of how the Spanish cowboy uses his horse to herd the fighting bulls. There was also a parade of horses with ladies, dressed in spectacular fiesta gowns, riding pillion. We went with friends from the campground. He is a retired City of London mounted policeman who grew up on horseback in South Africa. His comments on the calibre of riding and the horses added much to our evening. The second show was was in Jerez at THE ROYAL ANDALUCIAN SCHOOL OF THE ART OF HORSEMANSHIP and was titled «Como Bailan Los Caballos Andaluces» or, How the Andalucian Horses Dance. This was held on the grounds of a 19th century mansion with riders in 17th century costumes. The show had much of the same displays that we had already seen, but the standard of riding and dressage were at a higher level. This show also had a display of carriage driving. Both shows were worth the price of the ticket but if I only had time for one, I would go to the one in Jerez.

Finally, on the 18th of March, we moved the trailer. Di was starting to think that it, and I, were putting down roots. We decided to return to sherry country, and then Seville, that we had seen, but not enough of, last summer.

First stop was El Puerto de Santa Maria where we were able to make a couple of nice day trips. Sanlucar de Barrameda, Columbus sailed from here on his third trip to the Americas and Magellan set out to circumnavigate the globe in 1519. The local museum has a good display of what life was like on board these ships. We took a four hour boat trip from here through the Coto Doñana Natural Reserve. The reserve is the largest area of land, without roads, in all of Europe and is home to many flocks of birds that either winter over or arrive for nesting. There are also wild pigs, deer and lots of other wildlife. The trip included two stops to let us look at the park. The first was at an old settlement, now pretty much abandoned but still used by some residents of Sanlucar as a weekend get-away. Here we could see some old thatched buildings and a charcoal manufacturing place. Although it is a National Park and Nature Reserve it is used as the path for a pilgrimage by up to one million people during the Romeria del Rocio held on Whitsunday. It takes up to four days for all of the people to pass through the area with decorated ox carts and horses, and really lays waste to the countryside. Unfortunately not all of the participants are out for the religious experience and the parties are riotous.

We took the opportunity to visit two sherry bodegas (wine cellars). The Gonzales-Byass cellar in Jerez and the Osborne cellar in Santa Maria. Both were informative but the Osborne tour was better and certainly the tasting was much more generous there as well.

We had been in Seville last summer but had not been able to see the Cathedral or some of the other sights. The cathedral (below) was built 1402-1506 and is now classified as the largest in Europe. It had been in third position after Saint Peter’s in Rome and Saint Paul’s in London but someone figured out how to do a cubic measurement of these buildings and Seville came out on top. It is bright and airy and the Giralda, or clock tower (left), is a great way to see the city from 98m/322ft up. You climb the tower on a series of 35 ramps that are wide enough for a pair of horses to pass each other as they climb and descend. The Alcazar was the home of the Moorish rulers and later also the Spanish. General Franco stayed here when he visited Seville.

In Seville I noticed that the trailer hitch seemed to be riding a bit lower that it should. A technician determined that there was indeed a problem and we spent the best part of a day in a SEAT dealers getting the problem resolved. The trailer now tows much better.

We returned to Camping la Buganvilla in Marbella to check our mail at American Express and also to book our ferry passage from Italy to Greece. Greece is our next destination and I’ll tell you all about that next time. Happy camping.