Spain 2011 Day 10 Wednesday June 1

Spain day 10 – Tuesday, June 1, 2011 – Torremolinos, Mijas

GLOBUS: “Enjoy a free day at your beachfront hotel. In the late afternoon, you may wish to join an optional excursion for a pleasant drive and meal at a charming Pueblo Blanco overlooking the Mediterranean coast. (Breakfast)”

This is a free day until our optional tour at 5pm. We spent the entire day minus one hour for lunch on the beach, under an umbrella, which cost only 4.5 Euros, right at the edge of the sea. It was soooo relaxing that we just kept moving the lounge chairs around to follow the shade. It seemed a bargain at around $6 for the day, although I would never spend that in the U.S. for shade. But there was a nice breeze even though it was sunny, so we were perfect. We had intended to take the local train down to another town for some variety, but in the end did not bother. I can’t believe I was so lazy, but the legs hurt after so much walking. I bought an ace bandage to wrap around my ankles, and that felt much better. And it was BLUE!

Our 5pm tour included a bus trip up into the hillside to a little “white town” of Mijas that looked a lot like those in the Greek islands. It was very hilly and very picturesque, with little squares here and there. Fantastic views of the beach town of Torremolinos below. The beach part of the town is actually quite small as its “suburbs” extend for miles inland and up the hill. Most of these beach towns are below a huge cliff, hence the elevator going up. Ti and I splurged to take a donkey cart ride through the town of Mijas for a few minutes. Very silly of us.

Then back on the bus down to the beach town, but a short way from our hotel, so we walked back from the restaurant on a very pleasant promenade along the beach. Well the meal was fantastic, the best yet, and all fish. A few people didn’t eat fish so they got soup and some kind of meat. It started with some small sardine-like fish, absolutely wonderful, so I’ll find the name. Then calamari (which I don’t eat) then flounder fried lightly, then the main fish course. Salads accompanied all this of course. And free wine! It was only a 15 minute walk back to the hotel, but hardly dark yet at 9pm. A VERY good day, and we needed a break from so much walking and bussing for days and days.