A Costa del Sol Holiday

The streets of Torre del Mar

After a long gray winter in Budapest, I felt a month long holiday on the southern coast of Spain was just the ticket to putting a spring back in my step. Several friends, that I meet up with each winter in Chiang Mai, Thailand, have repeatedly invited me to visit them in Torre del Mar which is about a half hour away from Malaga on the coast of Spain. It was going to be my first visit to the Costa del Sol and I looked forward to my month in the sun.

Finding joy on the Tapas Trail.

Promenade along the Beach in Torre del Mar

Torre del Mar is a charming low key beach community. Well, it was low key while I was there for the month of May, but come summer I understand it is packed with sun worshipers and families filling the promenade, beaches, seaside restaurants, and high rise condos overlooking the sea. My trip coincided with Tapas Trail – an annual event where 27 or so participating bars or restaurants offer a free signature tapas with the purchase of a 2 euro glass of wine or a beer. My friends, who all lived outside of town in little villages or homes in the hills, would come down for wine and tapas almost every day. There was an added incentive you see – a chance to win money and free dinners. As we stopped at each participating cantina for our wine the server would stamp our small Tapas Trail booklet. Once each place was visited and the appropriate stamps applied we could then turn them in for a drawing at the end of the month and the grand prize is 300 euro.

Almost everyday a small group of us would meet up for a visit to whatever cantina was still on our list of “yet to be stamped” places. Quite often we would run into another group of people we knew and join up with them for a festive afternoon of wine, tapas, and conversation. All great fun! Plus, where else could I get a dinner and a nice buzz for six euros in Europe.

Cervantes slept here…

Las Zorrilla –The village in the hills where my friend Julie lives.

Torre Del Mar is part of the city of Velez-Malaga and is located in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. It is a great location to explore the region. Modern buses run to the nearby towns of Granada, Ronda, as well as the big city of Malaga. I had been to Granada in the past but never to Malaga and I was eager to visit this much improved regional hub. In the United States we have many places that have the designation “George Washington slept here” and Spain has a similar designation for the famous writer Cervantes. In Velez-Malaga there is a 15^th century home that was once visited by Cervantes and now houses a branch of the Cervantes Institute. When I visited there was, what appeared to be, an interesting exhibit on the life and writings of Cervantes. I say “appeared to be” because all the signage was in Spanish. To my great shame I don’t speak Spanish, but in today’s world I would expect some signage in English. I say this not because the Spanish should cater to the Americans but because English has become the universal language of business and travelers and it would give their center a larger audience. Just a thought.

Malaga a city of history and culture…

Beautiful Baroque building in a square in Malaga

Malaga, about 30 minutes southwest of Velez-Malaga, is a city of 569 thousand and is one of the oldest cities in the world. Founded in 770 BC by the Phoenicians it was then ruled by Ancient Carthage, the Roman Empire, and Visigoths. After the fall of the Visigoths, it was under Islamic control for 800 years until 1487 when it was conquered by the Crown of Castile. A region rich in history it is now a center for art and culture.

In 2016 Malaga vied for the title European Capital of Culture. In order to compete as a cultural center, it invested heavily (over 100 million euros) to establish itself as the leading cultural Andalusian destination. The city boast of 28 museums, the most notable being.

• Museo Carmen Thyssen – a sister to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection in Madrid.
• Museo Picasso Malaga – celebrating the birthplace of Picasso.
• Museo Georges Pompidou – a branch of Centre Pompidou in Paris
• Museo Ruso – a part of the Russian State Collection in Saint Petersburg
• Centro de Arte Contemporaneo (CAC) Located behind the Alameda Train Station in an area known as Soho de Malaga, it is the most visited museum in Andalusia.

I took several days to visit the listed museums and was delighted with the temporary exhibits I was lucky enough to be able to visit during my stay. If you make a visit, I think it would be worth your while to check out one or two – even if you are not a big fan of museums.

The narrow streets of Malaga’s old town

Malaga is a beautiful city to walk. The commercial area is a mix of modern pedestrian streets lined with branches of European retails giants like Zara and Massimo Dutti and narrow lanes filled with small boutiques and charming restaurants in Baroque palaces or Renaissance houses. Around every corner are squares, large and small, filled with flowers, fountains, and churches. There is a beautiful walk along the Paseo del Parque  that leads away from the commercial area. It is a grand promenade filled with palms, flowers, and classic sculptures. At the end of the Paseo is the blue glass cube that is the entrance to the Museo Pompidou and the stunning Malaga harbor with its brilliant blue water and gigantic cruise ships. It is a perfect spot to relax and have a cool, crisp glass of cava while watching the sailboats glide into the marina.

The colorful cube is the entrance to the Pompidou Museum at the harbor.

Malaga is not just about art museums and classy shops. It is a vibrant regional hub that exists for more than tourism. Home to a new tech development center, universities, agriculture, and manufacturing. It has also become a center for learning Spanish as a foreign language, drawing 17,000 students a year to take Spanish courses.

Experiencing Holy Week in Malaga

Because it is Spain we cannot forget the Catholic Church and religion. The most important cultural event in Malaga is the Holy Week Celebration.  Starting on Palm Sunday and continuing on until Easter Sunday the streets are filled with processions. Every day thousands line the street to watch the steady flow of robed and hooded penitents walking before huge throne-like floats called tronos. As drums beat and trumpets sound women draped in black and caring candles follow behind the tronos occasionally singing a sad lament as the procession winds its way slowly around the streets of Malaga.

The blue waters of the Mediterranean perfect for a Costa del Sol holiday

I really enjoyed visiting the Costa del Sol and especially participating in the Tapas Trail. A month filled with sunshine, great wine, good food, excellent conversation, and an abundance of culture – who could ask for anything more.

Put Malaga on your “places to visit” list if you have not been here. Or you could tie it into a visit to some of the other highlights of Andalusia…Granada, Cordoba, and Seville. All are spectacular and well worth a visit.