Three weeks in Spain with Bob and Marg

Tanya met Marg and Bob in the arrivals hall of Malaga airport whilst Craig did blockies around the airport in Hotwheels. We were all very happy to see each other. We drove south along the beautiful Costa del Sol to Istan in the hills behind Marbella. 

Our accommodation for 4 days was a lovely 2 bedroom multi-storey apartment with stunning views. We arrived on a clear afternoon and could see the Rock of Gibraltar and the coastal mountains of Morocco in the distance. The lake and hills in the foreground were equally beautiful.It rained for the next few days so we made use of our early Christmas present, a game of Scrabble. 

We ate fabulous Spanish delicacies whilst assuring ourselves optimistically that the cloud and rain was lifting. 

On a warm sunny morning we walked the beach and marina sea wall at Puerto Banus. The beach umbrellas and deck chairs were laid out on the highly groomed white sandy beach. The sun glistened on the Med and the super-yachts sparkled. 

On another clear day we drove to the beautiful hilltop city of Ronda. It's deep gorge traversing the city is both stunning and cooling. 

En-route to Gibraltar we grocery shopped. Four people grocery shopping in a very large international supermarket on the Costa del Sol two days before Christmas, along with the thousands of others is an interesting experience. An experience in joy, frustration and congestion that could be studied in the psychology department for academic purposes. 

Gibraltar was unlike what any of us had expected. On one side of the runway you have pork pies; fish, chips and mushy peas; retailers selling cheap jewellery and alcohol; and red telephone boxes. On the other side it is Spain. The runway is the only artery into and out of the territory.  It is closed when planes land and take off. Otherwise the runway is crossed by cars, scooters, bikes and pedestrians; all going through a pointless and inefficient but expensive to administer immigration process. 

We walked the Rock and saw the Macaques. After exploring the botanical garden and southern end of the island we found a beach-side bar where we ate fabulous seafood tapas in the sun.

Christmas morning Bob, Marg and Tanya walked whilst Craig cycled to the top of the Rock.  We spent much of the day on the deck of our apartment eating tapas (cerviche; shashimi lobster; fried sardines on tomatoes and chickpeas; olives; quail eggs and anchovies; jamon and swiss cured beef)

Near the city of Cadiz we stayed in a lovely two bed cabin on a commercial tomato farm. Bob exchanged farming practices and picked tomatoes each day. From here we day tripped to Cadiz, Vejer de la Frontera, Conil de la Frontera,  Barbate, Cape Trafalgar, the city of Jerez and Medina Sidonia. Each day out we'd share a few plates of tapas, as we convivially tasted local wines, beers, sherries, vermouths, etc. 

From Cadiz we drove via Villamartin; Olvera with its beautiful hilltop church, castle and cemetery; and Archidona with its octagonal central plaza to Granada.

In Granada we stayed some 8km south of the city in a beautiful authentically decored older hacienda complete with fire places. It was from here that we explored the grounds of the Alhambra; the Old Town and the snow capped Sierra Nevadas. 

We met Tanya's Houston friends Deever and Megan in Malaga and spent a couple of hours exploring the city and catching up before departing the city.