I took the early morning flight to Malaga.
Nick and Renu met me at the airport. We drank coffee, added my name to the list of authorised drivers of the rented car and drove to Torre de Mar.
At La Mata on the Autovia de Mediterraneo we turned right and headed towards Torre de Mar.
The beach was not crowded and we could park close to the blue and white lighthouse and walk to the cluster of beach beds. It was warm and sunny but the sea was cold. Parakeets made a racket in the palm trees lining the beach. We drank San Miguel from a beach bar and chatted and watched the girls swimming in the icy water. Later, we ambled along the promenade to eat lunch at a seafood restaurant – heaps of prawns, cuttlefish, octopus, anchovies, sea bream and salads, washed down with more beer. The local Helado had good ice cream.
We bought wine and food at the Hypermarket and drove north on the A356 to El Canuelo, a semi derelict white village clinging to the mountainside, surrounded by olive groves. A single dirt track was its main street. It had a bar-restaurant and a swimming pool but no shops. Casa Campestre, my one bedroom stone cottage had incredible views over the valley all the way to the distant sea. Manolo, who seemed to do everything at El Canuelo , lit the log fire and Rani made tea. Outside, two men on horses stopped and said “Hola”, tied the horses to a pole and went in to the bar, closely followed by one eyed Manuel who lives in the cottage opposite to mine.
A steep, narrow path led up the mountain to Renu’s house. Dinner was cooked, bottles of Fino and red wine were opened and we ate on the candle lit terrace as the sun set and twinkling lights came on in distant mountain villages.
As I walked down in the dark to my cottage off the main dirt track that evening, I knew this was going to be a great week.
Torre de Mar
El Canuelo
Casa Campestre
Dinner
Notes
- I flew to Malaga from Leeds/Bradford Airport with Jet2, departing at 7am and arriving in Malaga at 11 am.
- The Yorkshire Premier Lounge at Leeds/Bradford is open from 5 am to 10 pm.
- My airport transfers are handled by AYS carriages. www.ayscarriages.co.uk
- El Canuelo www.elcanuelo.com
Bandi's Blog 