Casares and goodbye Estepona

**It's the last chapter of this trip, so apologies for its length :) **

Casares is a Pueblo Blanco (white village) that just might have one of the most dramatic settings in this area. Access by public transport is, of course limited - from Estepona there are only 2 buses a day. Taking 45 mins, it's a direct route with very few stops. Upon arrival we had just under 3 hours to see the village, before the last bus "home."
To be fair, Casares is not a big place and it can be seen in 2-3 hours, but if like us you want to stop, stare, gaze and be amazed by the place, it's not enough time. If you want a long, lazy lunch as well - forget the day trip - book into one of the few small pension accommodations in the village. Even though the bus ride goes up a mountain and the road is steep, narrow and winding, it doesn't have the fright level of the bus trip to Ronda. The countryside is more open and once again the views are spectacular. Just a few miles west of Estepona and thirty minutes north of the coast, it's an agricultural area which enjoys a temperate climate and is a wine-growing area. After travelling north for a few miles we passed through the small working town of Manilva and spotted our destination of Casares in the distance. To reach the village we travelled across a little bridge which spans a deep gorge. Due to limited space for a large vehicle, the journey ends above the village. After scanning the scenery all around us, we walked down the steep and unevenly paved street to its main square - the heart of Casares.
We took a quick look around the square, where a medium sized group of people were milling around. Having completed their "lunch in the square" they were obviously waiting for their tour bus to pick them. Hopefully anyone who wanted to see the ruins of the fort and the old castle had done it before lunch as it's a steep upward climb to get there - but well worth it if you have the desire and the stamina to do it. There's a "nod" to those who make the effort to do so - it's printed on a board outside the only restaurant at the top…."after the climb you deserve a pint!" We agree!
From the main square we made our way up Calle Villa to the top of the hill. Going up these steep old streets, we passed through a lovely arched passageway, saw the remains of a Moorish fort and at the top is the old church - Iglesia de La Encarnación - and the remains of the castle. The church was built in the early 16th century, over a mosque, with its minaret becoming a bell tower. It sustained quite a bit of damage in the Spanish Civil War and is now a small museum. The castle ruins are a great place to scramble over and walk around, plus there's a couple of small flowered walkways - it's a lovely, peaceful spot. We enjoy this sort of thing, but truthfully for a lot of people the main reason to make this uphill walk would be for the views, which cannot fail to amaze. From the large area at the back of the church the view of the surrounding countryside is stunning - as are all the views from up here, including really great ones of Gibraltar and Morocco. The day we were there, these 2 landmarks were partially covered with low cloud, giving them a mysterious, mystical look. Large birds like peregrine falcons and black African vultures are often seen high above this lookout point. We spent a lot of time there, marvelling at how this village - that lays nestled into a small area between mountains - is built upwards and into the steep ground.
We walked back down through cobbled streets into the small main square, admiring the immaculate whitewashed walls of the houses along the way. One of particular interest had a huge stone in its wall - presumably the house had just been built around it! We stopped for a quick look in the small church - also whitewashed - before sitting down at an outside table to enjoy that well deserved "pint" - actually a couple of Spanish zero alcohol beer which was very refreshing! While sat at the restaurant, looking out at the square and it's fountain, we enjoyed watching the regular business of day to day village life - it's very calm and unhurried. Four or five little cobbled streets branch off from this square, with even smaller ones leading off them ….and we would love to have meandered through them all - but it was time to walk back up the other side of the village to catch the bus.
We did have a quick peek down a couple of these little streets - on one was an interesting old water trough where the women of Casares used to wash their clothes by hand. An information board beside it describes it as "one of the hardest jobs" a woman had to do. We made it back up the hill to where the bus was parked and ready for the last run of the day back to Estepona…take note if you go - the bus left right on time!

After recounting all of our day trips throughout this blog, I have said little about Estepona, our home base - which is a bit out of character for me, especially as It's become one of our favourite towns.

Estepona is place where people who've visited before, often return - and although there are many lovely towns and villages along this coastline area, this town is known as the most attractive and "the real Spain." Having not seen the whole area and not being Spanish I have no way of knowing if this is true - but undoubtedly it is special. Despite some quirks in bus schedules, it's a good base to see other places. Apart from the obvious business of tourism, Estepona is a regular town, where its residents go about their daily lives. We were lucky enough to find an apartment that is not only close to the beach, the old town, transportation and a convenient number of amenities, but is also residential. For example - this apartment complex has it's own group of dog owners, who meet at the same time every day out in the shared green space. There's local cafés, churrasco chicken and pizza take-outs, plus small fruit/veg shops, bread and pastry stores and a pharmacy - all less than 5 mins walk away. A school and a medical centre is just around the corner. The people are Spanish - they're friendly and they're welcoming.
With 325 sunny days a year it's no wonder people love the relaxed Andalusian lifestyle here - it's definitely not a town for party people or rowdies. The bulk of tourists are Spanish, with a mix of mostly other Europeans. The beach is sandy and over 2km long, with a wide promenade that runs along all its length. This walkway connects to a long coastal path that runs for miles - in both directions. The main street running east/west was closed last year and is now part of an even wider promenade. Beach-side it's well serviced with traditional Chiringuitos that are spaced a sensible distant apart.....some towns we've seen along this coast cram as many as possible together.
The children's play-park along the promenade is a large modern area that stretches quite a long way, is parallel to the beach and is shaded by huge sails. Along what was formerly the road-side, but now part of this attractive pedestrian area, are small independent shops and cafés. The whole of this traffic free area has an abundance of Palm trees - and flowers are everywhere, in every size of container imaginable. Benches for seating are placed every few metres - they're all shaded and face the beach and ocean. The promenade is a fantastic public space with room for everyone - even on a Sunday afternoon when most local families and visitors have their post-lunch gelatos and leisurely strolls. It never feels crowded - a tribute to what can be achieved by a public-spirited municipality. For us it's been a never-ending source of pleasure.
The old town has many interconnecting streets, where walls are white-washed and hung with pots full of flowers. It's an ongoing mystery to us - who supplies, plants and takes care of them all?! The old town is not only a residential area, but is full of cafés and restaurants…..there's not a chain or name brand to be seen. In some streets the hum of voices is at a higher pitch than others - but only by comparison - we've never heard any place that is either loud or rowdy, but there's always lots of laughter. Music is a rarity, except for the sound of an occasional Spanish, classical guitar. Food, family, friends and camaraderie are ever-present and take precedent. There's always lots of dogs too, who in this part of the world, are welcomed everywhere!
We have of course found our favourite spots for our supplies, a drink or food, gelato, bread and pastries. We go to local places as much as possible - it's a good opportunity to practice our very bad Spanish….although Estepona is a much visited town, many locals speak no English, especially if not actively in the tourist industry. Despite our poor command of their language, our efforts seem to be appreciated! Apart from beaches, strolling the promenade and enjoying the local food and beverages, there's also plenty to see and do in the town. There are 2 weekly markets - one on Wednesday selling cheap t-shirts, straw hats, scarves, etc but mainly some great quality produce at very good prices - many locals shop there. It's held in the north west part of town, above the Marina. The other market is on Sunday, in the Marina area itself. This one also sells clothes, hats, shoes, leather goods and miscellaneous items - some of decent quality. Both markets are well attended, the Sunday one predominantly by tourists, who spend time before, during and after the market at the cafés and restaurants in this area.
Estepona is rich in art, history and other culutural activities - these can easily be googled for individual interests - but a quick mention here of its brand new cultural centre. It's situated at the western end of the town, close to the Marina. The Mirador del Carmen centre opened just before we left and is destined to become one of the top centres for the arts on the Costa del Sol. A modern high rise building, which some may consider out of place, it is however, strangely attractive. It will house a 15-storey library, a music school and an exhibition centre. With an opening planned for December 2022, the opening ceremony and the completion of the extensive work around the seafront happened the first week of April - which given the size and scope of both the building and the widening of the promenade seemed good to us.
The mayor performed the opening ceremony along with other local dignitaries. The only part that's open right now is an elevator ride to the viewing area at the top, where there's panoramic views of Gibraltar, part of Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Line-ups for the elevator to the top were long for the few days after opening and it was time for us to return home - but we do intend to see those views in the future…. ….which brings to mind some "words of wisdom" from the travel guru, Rick Steves. To paraphrase:- don't try and tick everything off your list of things to do, enjoy what you see and experience, and "always presume you will return." We hope to do that…until next time...Happy trails x g & t