It's amazing how getting out of a travel rut opens a whole new experience. Ergo, right? I'm speaking specifically about the
Costa del Sol in southern
Andalusia, Spain, where I've been visiting the last several years. For years, I've relegated myself to the cities of
Marbella and Malaga, all within a short bus-train or car ride away. Sure, I've taken day trips to
Ronda, Seville, Cordoba, Grenada, Cadiz or Gibraltar. But locally only Marbella and Malaga. Marbella is the smaller with its exquisite old town,
Salvador Dali sculpture garden and beachside promenade. Malaga, the birthplace of
Picasso, has a startlingly beautiful and immense cruise ship waterfront lined with bars, cafes and boutiques, a magnificent old town, Roman amphitheatre and Moorish fortress, which one can climb up to for a stunning view of the harbour, city and mountainous backdrop. But on my current trip I decided to break out of the mold and explore smaller coastal communities, discovering that many are linked by fabulous decorative paved promenades or boardwalks. These run from Marbella west to
Puerto Banus and then to
San Pedro de Alcantara, a several kilometre but pleasant walk, with restos and cafes (great seafood!) punctuating the way. The same for east of here, between
Fuengirola (the bus and commuter train terminus) and
Carvajal, and this past weekend between
Torremolinos and
Plaza de Mayor on Malaga's western flank. I walked up from Torremolinos' underground train station to find myself in a teeming square of restaurants and shops, and, um, numerous Irish bars, with lots of Brits wearing green hats for St. Pat's Day and watching - what else - football/soccer.
Due to health reasons my partner is unable to join me in Spain this year. So I rejigged my return airfare to Canada by adding a
multi city trip (box). How so? When I looked at booking a new one-way ticket home some itineraries had me change planes in "exotic" locales like
Palma (Majorca) and
The Azores. A lightbulb went on! How about I stay overnight for two or three days in each? The plane ticket wouldn't cost much more, I would just have to add hotels. So on the 31st I'll fly from Malaga to Palma for a couple of nights, then Lisbon for three and the Azores for two, then home.
- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller
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