Friday 9th December 2011 Spain

We went to have a look at  Torremolinos which was described as a laidback fishing village in the sixties by James A Michener in his book "The Drifters". When all the world arrived to see it, the developers and hotel chains followed in the seventies. Since then it has been the conventional wisdom that Torremolinos has been ruined by delevopment, but I still found it to be a pleasant place. There are a lot of hotels and appartment blocks, most of which appear to be empty, but it seems to still have a relaxed feel about it.

Marbella (pronounced Marbaya) is said to be the playground of the rich and famous, so we went to to see it. It has a great promenade, with some very expensive looking houses. We did a 2 hour walk along the promenade and didn't cover it all.

We also went to see Gibraltar, which was very interesting. We were not allowed to take our hire car out of Spain, so we walked across the border and into the town. It is a 20 minute walk which takes you across the landing strip of the airport. The rock is quite a sight, soaring vertically up from sea level. We took the cable car up to the top where the Gibraltar Barbary apes live. They are actually tail-less monkeys, not apes. As we came out of the cable car, one of them sneaked up and stole a carry bag out of the pram belonging to the lady next to me. I tried to retrieve it, but the ape went over the cliff to a ledge out of reach. He rifled through the bag presumably looking for food, only to find some nappies and a baby blanket, so he just dropped it on the ledge.

Les´ grandfather was stationed in Gibraltar during the war, and my father passed through Gibraltar on the way to Singapore when he was in the airforce, so it was interesting for us to see it.

We visited the cemetry where a lot of of those killed at the battle of Trafalgar were buried. It's remarkable that we keep experiencing these coincidences of places relating to Horatio Nelson. From NZ to Belgium to Norfolk, to Hereford and now Gibraltar.

We are having the most glorius sunny blue days with only the slightest breezes. It's so nice to walk along the beach at sunset without any wind.

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Torrox and Granada

We have enjoyed the Spanish tradition of having a drink and tapas on the promenade. Every town has a promenade, usually on the beachfront, where one walks up and down in the late afternoon assessing the various bars and restaurants for a suitable place to sit. While this is happening , all the patrons are sipping their drinks and eating tapas, and watching the passing parade. Once you have chosen your spot you stop being watched and become a watcher.

We have just spent two days visiting Granada and the incredible Alhambra in the heart of Andalusia and at the feet of the Sierra Nevada.

Granada has been ruled over thousands of years in turn by the Iberians, the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors and finally the Spanish Christians. The Moors ruled for about 700 years ending in 1492, and the Alhambra is their most astounding legacy. They started building it around 1237 and it was still being added to in 1490, just before they were expelled from the country. The buildings are truly amazing, with beautiful filigree style stone carving. The original idea was to create a kind of heaven on earth, and the whole effect is really fascinating.

We have also visited Malaga which we found to be quite pleasant. The A7 freeway along the coast known as the "Avenue del Mediterranean" is very impressive. It has many viaducts and tunnels which allows one to travel at 120 kph. I'm sure that it has cut travelling time by many many hours, especially when you see how steep and winding the old road was.

Tomorrow we return to Torrox via the scenic route through the Sierra Nevada which is the highest mountain range in Europe after the Alps