Mijas day 2

It was very warm and muggy yesterday evening, the temperature 20c. We sat reading with Marge's side door open, forgetting the mosquitoes would be hungry, and as Angela found out during the night, they were ravenous.

Mijas is not the sort of coastal town you would expect on the Costa del Sol. It is unspoilt, with no smell of fish and chips or burgers. It's restaurants serve steaks, seafood, pasta, pizza and Cantonese meals.

This morning the sky was grey grey, and about a dozen raindrops fell. Soon after, the sun broke through.

Opposite us, a market had been set up. We walked over to take a look. John spotted some cotton clothing, a bit hippy, but perfect for warm countries with mosquitoes as they completely covered arms and legs down to ankles, a favourite of the mosquito. Luckily John saw reason and decided not to relive his youth. We have noticed other van people, also staying over-night in parking areas, wearing similar attire. Maybe we are all just one step away from a lay-by.

We decided, at lunchtime, we would stay another night here, it being Saturday and knowing from last night all would be quiet. We moved Marge to the space opposite, by the the fence of a golf course.

A warning sign warned of low flying golf balls. Let's hope there is no such incident. We know what Marge would say if anyone's balls hit her. Our afternoon was spent resting and reading, avoiding the heat. A couple of women passed by 'walking' their dogs in 'doggy pushchairs', what's that all about?

Early evening we decided we should take a walk out, sitting a while to people watch. Today's new arrivals obvious by their white legs, not having seen the sun since they were put in shorts on last years holiday. Others had already taken the sunbathing too far. bright red buttocks, with bikini bottoms straining to see daylight.

Tomorrow we are off to Almunecar, where among other interests, there is a plaque to commemorate the author Laurie Lee, which is the main reason for our visit as John is reading one of his books 'As I walked out one midsummer morning', about Laurie's adventures walking across Spain in the run up to the Spanish Civil War.

Mijas

What a night last night! The van never stopped rocking! Stop those thoughts readers. Suddenly in the night a wind like no another arrived. You could hear it building as it came through the mountains and up the lake. All a little disconcerting as we had trees above us.

The van shook, Angela shook, glad when the morning arrived, but still the wind persisted.

Behind Marge was a pathway which led to the famous Camino del Rey starting at the King's Seat. A walkway that is pinned to the steep walls of the narrow gorge in El Chorro.

We took a walk along the path through the trees and rocks. Then stopped. To continue, a ticket was required, and only one hundred people an hour are permitted to go in at a time. Tickets must be booked in advance, and are almost impossible to obtain as people come from all over the world to experience the camino so we didn't try to join the queue of hundreds at the ticket office.

Before we left Marge, there was a continuous flow of coaches dropping off people booked on the walk. We'd like to tell you that tickets were all sold out. But truth be told, we're a couple of lightweights, although John said he would have done it. Angela, well, someone has to take the photographs of everyone entering the lions den!

Walking back to Marge, we met lots of people heading towards the gorge, some so excited they were running, not realising a very large queue awaited them. We sauntered along, miming swinging walkways to them. Back at the van, a man who'd John had spoken to the previous evening, and was ecstatic about being able to do the walk had just returned. You could tell he thought we were a little sissy for not giving it a go. Angela's philosophy is, if you don't want to, you don't have to. We all enjoy different things, and fear is not one of them in her book. Saying that, she's experienced some frightening moments whilst driving Marge.

Anyway, after some discussion with the man about the walk, we discovered that he had also driven down the coast of Portugal as we had. He enlightened us on other countries he had visited, recommending, Greece, Sicily, Romania and Albania. Then we moved onto van waste disposal. He did not use his W.C., he said. They made alternative arrangements. We'll leave you to think about that one! But somewhere in the conversation was mentioned that dogs didn't have W. C.S.

We were thinking of spending another night up in the mountains, having struggled to get there, but the thought of another windy night, and more dragging Marge up steep inclines put us of the idea. So we returned to the coast. On route a vulture, flew over us, there are four different species in the mountain skies around here.

This evening Marge is parked amongst many vans in the town of Mijas, a suburb of Malaga. We think we may have found the 'bargain loving Brits'.

The small town and beach area here is lovely, and has a village feel. There is a large hotel, which you could see was full of British. We joked about staying on the Costa del Sol, and buying a bar. Don't worry children, your inheritance is safe, we're not that adventurous, or stupid. Too many times, we have seen English people on television put all their savings into such a scheme, only for it to fail.

We are in no rush to leave the warmth of Southern Spain, so will continue slowly now along the coast. Thinking about it, perhaps the bar we saw for sale down on the beach here would be a good idea. Just need to find a couple of relatives to run it! You didn't actually think we'd want to give up travelling did you?

Ardales

Last night we sat until bed time with the side door of the van open. The moon, cast a light of a hundred flickering candles, lighting the waves as they lapped the shore. Pure tranquillity. All this, a short way from the casinos and high life of Marbella.

This morning, we both sat up on our bed and watched the sun rise over the bay through the roof window. A huge orange spotlight, casting shadows over the sand. A beautiful orange dawn, among a blue horizon. We had spent a quite night, the only sound some local fisherman returning in the early hours, which did not bother us. We were sited at the end of a gated community. Everywhere numerous security cameras, security signs, security lights and security grills. The price to pay for the Marbella lifestyle.

Mid morning, we left. O.K. Marge. Fancy a trip up into the hills? After a slow climb, luckily on a decent road, Marge reached the summit. We were 1065 metres above sea level. Then it was mostly downhill to Ronda, one of the most spectacularly located cities in Spain. It sits on a rocky outcrop, straddling a precipitous limestone cleft.

Upon arriving, a warning light appeared on the dashboard of the van. Upon investigation, it materialised it was a problem with the cooling system. At first we thought Marge had, had a 'hot flush', resulting from the slow uphill climb. The internet is a wonderful thing, and after some research, it seemed it was more a case of altitude sickness. The change in altitude had affected the coolant level. Luckily, after a few hours rest, Marge was back to her old self.

We enjoyed exploring Ronda. The bull ring there, is one of the oldest and most important in Spain.

The highlight, the New Bridge, over the three hundred and thirty feet Tajo Gorge, joining the old and new towns of Ronda.

Returning to Marge, we kept our fingers crossed the warning light would not reappear as we fired her up, and it didn't. So we set off to a small town that was to be our overnight stop. After negotiating Marge down some narrow lanes to access it, we decided we did not feel comfortable staying the night. So it was back through and up the mountains.

Just before we arrived at our new destination, we stopped to photograph a beautiful lake. We thought the view was pretty decent.

We are now settled by the lake in Ardales National Park. The area is likened to the Lake District. Marge was parked in an area recommended for vans on the internet, further up the road outside the restaurant were three other vans, but according to the parking sign, they should not have been there. Which was obviously the case, as, as we were preparing our dinner the local police arrived, escorting the three vans.

Oh dear, we thought, they're going to move us on. But no, Marge was O.K., right where she was. This evening we walked out a while, passing the local hotel, where on the road outside the open bar were two grey foxes. They seemed a little nervous, but also quite hungry.

Tonight's stop is so different in contrast to last nights. No sound of the sea to lull us to sleep, but instead, the sound of the wind rushing through the autumn trees.

We have just received a video of our grandson Elliot, taking his first few steps, after which he took a dive. He'll make a good footballer then!