| Málaga – the beginning | |||||
| Day 1 - Leaving Spain | Day 2 - Chefchaouen | Day 3 - Fes | Day 4 - Er Rachidia | Day 5 - Merzouga | Day 6 - Tinghir |
| Day 7 - Aït Benhaddou | Day 8 - Marrakesh | Day 9 - More Marrakesh | Day 10 - Cascades (Ouzoud) | Day 11 - Ifrane | Day 12 - Tarifa |
| Day 13 - Málaga | Day 14 - Torremolinos | Day 15 - Torremolinos-1 | Day 16 - Torremolinos-2 | Day 17 - Caminito del Rei |
May 18th – Saturday
Map Link – 6.5 kms
Màlaga – Torremolinos
It rained overnight, and I lay in the bed enjoying the sound. Today’s plan was simple: have breakfast with the group, and then Dan, Ron, Sue, and I would head to our new holiday base for the rest of our time. I knew Ron and Sue from my time motorcycling in the Pacific Northwest. We had been friends for years, and when Dan joined me, he joined the friendship circle. He and I had invited them to join us for the Morocco motorcycle trip, and then I suggested that we follow it up with our own little holiday, where it was just the four of us. This went over well, and now that’s what the next few days would be.
Morning at the Parador
After breakfast, Hana and David returned to Coín, Gary was no where to be found, and the rest of us got together to kill some time before we had to check out. The timing between our current hotel and our a next hotel wasn’t bad, but it wouldn’t do to get there too early. Instead, we took the cool morning hours to go see the beach.
Windy – how does one play golf in this?
Our Uber driver dropped us off at the front door of Hotel Princesa Solar, kindly helping us to unload our embarrassing amount of luggage. The front desk staff were incredibly helpful and let us drop off our bags with them until our room was ready. And now: we had a new town to discover!
Torremolinos. I had never heard of this town, but it had a long and sunny history – literally. We were in the birthplace of the Costa del Sol. Things really kicked off in the 1950s, but hit its stride in the 60s and 70s, which was evident when we saw the architectural styles that dominated not just Torremolinos, but the neighboring coastal towns as well. It no longer held the limelight of one of the prime holiday destinations, but it was by no means forgotten. In fact, it had risen back into the headlines when it fully embraced the gay community. The BBC even said of it: Where Spain’s gay rights movement began. What I found was a vibrant, clean, and inviting town that was ripe for exploration!
Early views of the beach from the generous boardwalk
Artists created and displayed sandcastles in designated areas
The best kind of PET fish!
We walked to one of the beach (the boardwalk continued, but it went around a headland, and this we took as a good “turn around” point) and then walked to the other way. It was such a pleasant walk that we ended up in the next coastal town and didn’t even realize it. Benalmádena was a much more developed area, and the buildings that hugged the marina were fantastical.
The ferris wheel of Benalmádena
By now our breakfast was a distant memory and we were looking for lunch. Benalmádena had a lot to offer, and we chose Cantina Mexicana if for no other reason than I wanted a burrito.
Holy hell – now THAT’S a burrito!
More amazing architechture
We returned to our hotel and our rooms were ready, and the staff had even delivered our bags to our rooms! I was very happy with my choice of hotel so far. The rest of afternoon was quiet: we left Ron and Sue to their own devices, and Dan and I relaxed in our room, and then later up by the pool.
View from the hotel’s rooftop pool
Once we decided to move again, I convinced everyone to check out the Parque de la Batería. It looked like a very nice park just up the hill from our hotel, and would give us a great view of the coastline. I didn’t expect the grumblings of others as the “just up the hill” took a lot longer than anyone expected, myself included. But I think that it was worth it!
We left the park behind and this time aimed for the “old town” part of Torremolinos. We eventually found it, and so had everyone else: it was busy! But it was also nice, with small shops, clean pedestrian lanes, and a vibrant air about it.
Designs in the cobbled steps down to the beach
They look even cooler from directly above
Cat watering station
There’s no question that we’re in Spain
View down the coast to Benalmádena
We ended our evening happy with where we were. Even though we had spent half of the day exploring, there was still much more left to see and do with our remaining time.
Torremolinos in the evening
