Got a very early start leaving Ronda in the sunshine just as the coffee shop owners were putting out their displays of sweet, mouth watering pastries (which so far my expanding body has avoided). Taking the A367 our first goal is Garganta del Chorro. This immense chasm is 180 meters deep and only 10 meters wide in places. The limestone rock strata runs perpendicular in steep slabs that defy gravity. Beautiful, terrifying view on a sunny day. Unfortunately we couldn't do the walk as you have to book ahead of time....who knew??
Leaving the gentle countryside for the (much) more populated coast is a bit of a shock. Mid week was a good choice for moving day as he Easter holiday traffic hasn't really ramped up.  
Our choice (which we made back in October) for Easter is the town of La Herradura about 70 km east of Malaga.
it's chief claima to fame is a navel disaster that took place ain 1562 where 25 ships sank in a storm. Poor King Phillip lost 5000 subjects when the fleet took shelter from a storm in the horseshoe shaped bay. The wind originally came from the west but changed course taking it's toll. Only 3 ships survived the winds. Most of the survivors were galley slaves who were lightly dressed and well trained. The fleet was on it's way to fight the Moors. Shane figures the slaves (who survived) were probably Moors themselves and gave they captains some bad advice... saved themselves and helped the Moors who were holding the city of Oran (where the fleet was headed) under siege.  
This story took on a special signifigance for me the day we arrived. I love (love) a wild ocean and here the waves were 2-3 meters high crashing on the shore. Love to stand on the shore and watch the waves....glad I wasn't in a boat!
When we rented this apartment I was immediately taken by the view, then the large patio, then the large patio, then the lack of huge high rises. It is a somewhat sleepy at own with a Roman / Moorish history. The Moors used to have grape vines here that grew grapes for raisins.... that's a switch from wine!!  
Today the town is popular with the Spanish on holidays as well as a few Brits and a Canadian couple I know. We are here for five wonderful laid back days. That being said there are some rules to follow. I should have known that when I received a 4 page email from the apartment owner telling us how to find the place. "Up this road, watch for the green wall, keep this on the left and that on the right. Then open the key box & enjoy". Oh, but then there is the parking which is above the pool but accessed by the floor below. Oh, and when you arrive pl ease read complete manual. If you don't it's OK because the rules are posted on the wall. This all seems kind of picky but it really turned out to be a very good thing. The directions proved priceless (saw lots of people getting lost on the narrow steep roads) and the apartment instructions meant there is absolutely no need to contact anyone about absolutely anything!!!
La Herradura is quite small and steep with many one way roads. The tricky part is that some of the roads were one direction last year and changed this year. Which way is OK? On some streets there is a new looking one way arrow over top of a not quite scraped off old one. Then of course the street signs are on an odd angle. Which is the right one way? If the sign says no entry of stop & it's on an angle....which road is it referring to?? All so confusing
Lets just find the local market for fresh food & tasty wine. Ahhhhhhh
In spite of our fights with the road signs we did manage to do some driving around the area, though I would have been content to eat tapas and sit on the (now calm) beach. 
 We drove to some nearby beaches, did some hiking, explored the Sierra Nevada national park & ate some great food but my favourite moment was Friday night. The village came alive for Samana Santa. Yes the bars were still hopping and the tourists annoying but in the back streets of the town the locals showed their true colours. This isn't Sevilla or Granada. There aren't TV crews on hand. There are families all dressed in their finest carrying on a tradition centuries old. It began at 10pm and carried on till after midnight. With the sound of the band carried off by the waves ever present as they caress the shore, we walked the streets with them. We watched the carefully rehearsed shifting of the float as those who held the weight made turns on the narrow streets. We clapped as the procession made it's way past sacred sights and bawdy bars to the town square. Later, silently climbing the stairs toward our shelter, I reflected on the history we had witnessed. I thought about those 5000 souls lost at sea in this bay. They were on their way to fight against the Moors, hoping to make this a Christian land. It made me think of our world today. As I write this I am listening to the waves. Some things never change. Beliefs may differ but human nature stays the same.....
But enough of that ... it is Easter... it is Spring time and I haven't worn my down vest for almost a week!!
The sun is shining on our last day here. We have some packing to do and laundry to finish but there will be time for tapas as we set off to explore La Herrandura for the last time. It has been a good week. We explored the surrounding area as well as taking time to read our books. I have a number of lasting impressions of this place but one I didn't mention was the massive shifting of the earth. I picked up an English language local newspaper which had a number of interesting articles but the cartoon was morbidly funny. A woman on the phone asking her friend if they should meet for lunch before or after the earthquake?! If we hadn't seen all the condos that were fallen down or condemned on the west end of the bay I wouldn't have understood the meaning. These luxury townhomes built for the tourist trade were either made too quickly without local knowledge on an unstable hillside or unlucky when the earth shook. We may never know but I'm glad we weren't one of the investors. The area where we rented is older and appears to be stable. Certainly the narow passageways have been stable for centuries. So we will sleep well tonight even if the earth shakes and the wind howls.