For more photos of Dickie’s trip, go to Bequia photo, etc. in the blogroll.

Mijas

Mijas belongs to one of the typical white villages spread all over Andalusia. It is a town divided into Mijas Pueblo (the old town), Las Lagunas and La Cala de Mijas, and is situated in the heart of the Costa del Sol. While Las Lagunas and La Cala de Mijas can be found by the sea, the old town is located on a mountain from which one can overlook not only the coast, the beaches and the Mediterranean, but also the town of Fuengirola and other surrounding areas.

Mijas Pueblo is the part where you can find whitewashed houses, the town hall, the bullring, historic buildings and parks with spectacular area views. Both Las Lagunas and La Cala de Mijas have fewer visitors and tourists as this is where you will find more housing developments. The former farms and agriculture along the Fuengirola River have been replaced by hotels and golf courses as tourism is now the town’s main focus.

Traces of Mijas’ history are everywhere. For example, the town’s old watch towers are located close to the sea. In addition to the Torre Vieja and the Calaburras towers there are also the Torre Nueva, built in the 19th century, and the Torre de Calahonda, which dates back as far as the 16th century.

Those interested in the history of Mijas can visit the two Mudejar churches. Dating back to 850, there is also a sanctuary of Mijas’ patron saint. Should you be visiting the town in January, you will be able to attend the San Anton Festival – one of the countless festivities held in Mijas.

In the area around the town’s parish church several archaeological treasures have been discovered that date back a very long way. Back in Roman times, Mijas was known as “Tarnisa” and could be found on the old road that connected Cadiz with Malaga. As with nearly every town and city along the Costa del Sol, Mijas also has a Moorish background. Conquered in 714 by the Moors, the towns name was changed from Tarnisa into “Mixa” – the origin of the name as we know it today. After being re-captured and re-re captured a couple of times during the rebellion of Omar ben Hafsun, Mijas finally fell into the hands of Christians in 1487. Later, during the fights in 1512, Mijas remained loyal to Juana La Loca and therefore was awarded the “Muy Leal” title as well as freedom from taxes.

Fuengirola

Fuengirola lies twenty minutes from Malaga airport and is probably most famous for its five miles of sandy beaches, flanked by high-rise hotels and residential blocks of apartments with views of the Mediterranean and coastline. It has a wide promenade lined with of palm trees, interspersed with colourful flower beds and seating. The beaches known as Boliches - Gaviotas and Torreblanca hold a European blue flag.

Fuengirola is particularly popular with Spanish nationals, many of whom own summer apartments here. A considerable percentage of British and other nationalities also visit with the result being a wide variety of entertainment and restaurant choices, ranging from the Andalusian traditional tapas (bar snacks) and shellfish dishes, to British food.

On Tuesdays Fuengirola hosts the largest street market on the coast. There is also a Saturday boot sale (flea market) with a large selection of items on sale.

Being a tourist resort there are lots of things for holidaymakers to do in Fuengirola, ranging from such family-fun activities as aqua park, a trip to the zoo, and a host of sea sports to a leisurely sight-seeing tour, on a horse-drawn carriage or by foot. Walking tours are particularly recommended for Fuengirola’s neighbour, Los Boliches, which still reflects the ambience of a bygone era with narrow streets, neighbourhood shops and traditional white-washed houses that once belonged to local fishermen.

Annual fiestas here include the feast of the Virgin del Carmen in July when local fisherman carry an effigy of the Virgin out to sea, and the colourful feria, which takes place in October and is the time when the town comes to life with flamenco, fino (dry sherry) and fun that carries on from dawn to dusk for a week.

Marbella Old Town

Partially surrounded by the ruins of an old Arab wall, Marbella Old Town is filled with narrow white-washed streets, old churches and squares, as well as lots of fascinating shops and boutiques At the heart of old town is Orange Square, dating back to 1485 and, according to Christian urban design, its surrounded by whitewashed houses and three historical buildings - the town hall, the old governor’s house and the Chapel (Hermitage) of Santiago. The gardens are full of flowers and orange trees and in the centre stands a bust of King Juan Carlos 1.

At the end of Nueva Street (the shopping street), where it joins Orange Square, stands a stone fountain dating from the year 1504 when it was erected by the first Mayor of Christian Marbella. To the left is the Old Governor’s House, which was built in 1552 and still retains the original stone facade adorned with shields and a three-arched balcony.

The Town Hall located on the square was built in 1568. On the front right-hand corner of the building is a sun-dial, various shields and some commemorative stone inscriptions perfectly conserved and in legible condition. One of them has a date of 11th June, 1485, when the town was re-conquered from the Moors. Within the Town Hall are the original Council Chambers, now divided into two floors. The upper floor has an artistic ceiling carved in Mudejar style and the walls are covered with curious murals that date from 1572. These represent the eagle from the Imperial Standard belonging to the Catholic King and Queen, a scene from Christ’s crucifixion, Marbella’s first coat of arms and some allegories of the power of God and the administration of justice. The Catholic King and Queen’s pendant, an important historical relic, is also held in this hall and publicly displayed every June 11th to commemorate the date of the re-conquest of the town.

Dominating the square is the most important building in the town, The Church of Saint Mary whose construction began in 1618. The main facade of the building is adorned with a beautiful red stone entrance worked in Baroque style while the interior consists of three sections that underwent restoration after the 1936 Civil War.The church organ here is the most important built in Spain in the last 125 years. The installation began in 1972 and was completed in 1975. It is made up of 5000 pewter, copper and wooden pipes, four manual keyboards of 56 notes, a 36-note pedal and various other special characteristics. In the church square there is also a tower that was part of the wall that originally surrounded the Moorish town.

Walking from there to Trinidad Street past a row of houses, there are more ruins of the castle and remains of some Roman Capitals that were taken from other constructions and used for building its walls. The existing wall extends to the end of Portada street where it disappears, as did so many others when, in 1786, by royal command of King Carlos III, town and city walls were pulled down. Nearby, the Chapel of Santiago, built in the 15th century, was the first Christian church in the town. Today it houses religious figures belonging to the Brotherhood of Love and Charity, including a wooden carving of Christ in Neo Baroque style.

Located in one of the major streets of the old town is the Santo Cristo de la Vera Cruz Square and Chapel, dating back to the 15th century. The main facade is a combination of simple stone-work construction and traditional whitewash.