The sky was silver today – not blue, not grey, but silver. The Mediterranean was a shimmering haze, so it was hard to tell where the horizon actually was. The cool winds of the last few days were gone, and the marina was a mosaic of picture-perfect mirror reflections. Dressed only in t-shirts and jeans, and not a mink coat in sight, we went out for today’s adventure.

The car is garaged quite a distance from the apartment. The garage space is owned by a family of bicycle enthusiasts, who own at least five bikes, but no car. With Puerto Banus parking at such a premium, they rent the car space to others. So whenever we use our rental car, we have to manoeuvre it past the bikes – we haven’t hit one yet!

One of the advantages of the car park location, is the route is lined with shops and cafes. Today we went to ‘Soho’, a little café with a dress shop in the back, pastel pink napkins on the tables, and pink and green chandeliers. We shared a slice of tortilla and what a slice it was – 4 inches high and taking up at least one-third of a dinner plate, garnished with an entire tomato cut into wedges, drizzled with oil and balsamic. It was fantastic! The little abuela (grandmother) in the kitchen nearly cried with joy when Ross praised her cooking.

Today we went to Estepona. It’s a coastal town about 40 minutes away, and despite a population of over 70,000 people, it’s managed to maintain its village charm and character. The Paseo Maritimo (promenade) is wide and tiled, and runs the full length of the beach. It’s dotted with seafront bars and restaurants and bench seats, flower beds and raised garden beds made from brightly coloured mosaic tiles. Back from the beach, in the old town, the street cafes and tapas bars serve traditional Spanish delicacies (today we had octopus served on a bed of sliced potato, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice). The steep, cobbled, narrow streets are mostly pedestrianised and are embellished with pots of geraniums hanging from the walls. It’s not as expensive here as Marbella – we looked at apartments for sale (we always look at apartment for sale). It’s very friendly here! I love it.

Ross got his hair cut while we were in Estepona. The barber was busy, but as he was right across from our tapas bar (refer to aforementioned octopus).  He said he’d come and get Ross when he was ready. For a man with next to no hair, Ross managed to pay 25 Euro ($36) for a haircut! But he was shaved (with a cut throat blade), and trimmed and massaged (pummelled to within an inch of his life if you listen to Ross’ version). Plus, he walked out with a tiny tube of hand cream (and extra 12 Euros), which apparently cures every ailment from dry skin, to sun burn and mosquito itches – and it’s non greasy (the barber came out to the table and gave me a sample, along with the whole blurb, in Spanglish). Ross looks very handsome now, but it didn’t stop me from laughing at him for a good 30 minutes or so.

Puerto Banus is a place where people bring and display their cars – big beautiful, expensive cars. I know nothing about cars, but even I can recognise the high-end brands and the enormous price tags they involve. We often stroll around at night and look at the cars – Bentleys, Porsche Spyders, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis. Tonight we saw an S-Class convertible Mercedes – which apparently was very exciting. But my favourite car is a little red Fiat 500. We think it’s about 50 years old. It’s got the original leather suitcase strapped on the back (well it did last night – I hope no one steels it). Tonight it was parked in a different place, right next to a new version of the same red Fiat 500. I took a picture – it was then I saw the enormous yacht / motor cruiser in the background.

 

 

And that’s Spain. The wealthy tourists, the working Spanish families, the glittering tourist strips against the backdrops of the remote white villages, the enthusiasm, the fashion, the food and the wine. Not to mention the Spanish way of living life on the streets.

#IloveSpain