Costa del Sol

And so a look at probably the most famous coastal region in Spain. Who has not heard of Malaga and Marbella and Torremolinas , haunts of the package deal devotees of northern Europe?

Our drive back to the coast took us through mountainous regions ...yet again - there are a lot of mountains in Spain! We drove over the dam wall of a large reservoir. The lower side had one of the oldest and smallest hydro power stations around, while the outlook on the reservoir side was simply beautiful in the still morning light.

But it was the best view we were to have for a while. The Costa del Sol is not the most enticing of places. The beaches are not long stretches of golden sand but rather wide expanses of dirty, brown sand-like stuff - in places really not much different from, well, dirt. As usual the development of the land behind the beach is unsympathetic and boring. At this time of year, most of the shops and cafes are shut and a deserted atmosphere prevails.

So again, nothing to keep us beach-side and we headed up into the mountains again. This time we climbed and climbed, up to over 1100m, on a windy, though fairly new, road. Once away from the coast, the forest took over and the views across the valleys were worth a photo or two if only there had been a place to stop and take one!

And while the camp-sites on the coast are still almost full every night, mostly with foreigners who 'winter' in their enormous caravans and motorhomes, up in the hills the camps are practically empty. And quiet. The camp site at Ronda, a typical, white Andalucían town, was just what we wanted.