Maravilloso Andalucia............ — Steve Chivers Photography

I have been traveling to Spain since I was a boy, both on family holidays and to visit my mum and dad who made Spain their home. So for me Spain was never about a holiday as such, it was about going home to spend time with family.

Now that we have a little more time on our hands Mrs. C and I, accompanied by my brother Phil and his wife Jackie, decided to put together an Andalucian extravaganza, as we drove around southern Spain to visit Marbella, Ronda, Cadiz, Jerrez, Sevilla and Granada. This was to be a trip to give us a taster for the area and an exploration of the culture of the region, rather than the traditional Brits on tour. With Mrs. C undertaking her usual military style planning we knew we were in for a wonderful time.

So we fired up Bucephalus, headed up the A38 to Bournemouth and we all boarded Ryan Air to Malaga.

A travel tip for budding visitors, check out Helle Hollis for your car rental (no sponsorship involved). They were superb. They collected us from Malaga airport, took us the 5 minute drive to their car hire centre and made the whole process pain free.

Fortunately, Jackie has a beautiful family home in Marbella, so for the first few days this was our base from which we were able to explore Marbella, neighbouring Mijas and take a day trip to Ronda.

For this visit I was traveling light and so for photographic purposes I was using the Leica M10P with the 50mm Summilux (pus 4 stop ND filter incase things got really bright) and for those wider images the 28mm Elmarit f2.8. So all in all a very compact little unit with two of my favorite lenses.

Now as regular readers know the Chivers Army marches firmly on its stomach and so for our first morning it was off to Marbella and a walk along the corniche to find somewhere for coffee and breakfast.

An early morning stroll along the Marbella corniche.

The girls headed straight for the Marbella Club jetty.

It didn’t take long to find a breakfast bar and so it was the Catalan breakfast for me; toast accompanied by olive oil, crushed tomato, a sprinkling of salt and lashings of Iberico ham, all washed down with a steaming cup of café con leche.

The one thing you notice in a country with a real cafe culture is that coffee is so reasonably priced. A café con leche clocks in at Euro 1.50 (about £1.27 at current exchange rates). I am not sure how that works in the UK where it is becoming almost impossible to buy an Americano for less than Euro 4.00. Someone is ripping someone off for sure.

A Michael Portillo moment - Phil in his happy place contemplating his choice of breakfast.

Breakfast view with angry clouds over Marbella beach.

The corniche is a bit old school but still super popular with the tourists.

As we headed toward the old town we came across the Avenida Del Mar, which contains 10 bronze sculptures by the old master himself, Salvador Dali. I would refer regular readers to my blog of 15th April 2018, “La Gare de Perpignan - Centre Du Monde,” where I was first introduced to the works of the old master.

One can only wonder what was in the mind of the great master?

After trying to see inside of the mind of Salvador Dali, never an easy task, we came to Parque de La Alameda and time for a team photo.

Could this be a team bench of contemplation?

Now the good thing about having my brother with us is that he is a good looking chap and is always up for a bit of model work. Here we see him just outside of Orange Square rocking the “Man at M&S meets Michael Portillo look”.

Rocking the “Man at M&S meet Michael Portillo” look.

Marbella really is a game of two halves. Of course you have the usual Spanish sea-front with its corniche full of bars and restaurants. However, step away from this and within 10 minutes you can be in the heart of the “old town”, taking coffee (or something stronger dependent upon your mileage) in the wonderful Orange Square.

The weather was absolutely perfect, sunny with some cloud cover with temperatures in the low 20 degrees centigrade.

It has to be six o’clock somewhere in the world.

I just love the narrow streets as they are a photographer’s paradise. Wherever you look an image just seems to present itself.

Embracing the shadows and enjoying the highlights.

All roads seem to lead back to Orange Square.

After an enjoyable tapas lunch involving albondigas (delicious meaty bites in a slightly spicy tomato sauce), patatas bravas and gambas pil pil, we decided to take the 30 minute drive up in to the mountains to visit Mijas Pueblo. It is a beautiful white washed village perched some 430 meters above sea level.

My travellers tip for the day is that upon arriving in Mijas head straight for the multi-story parking. There were plenty of spaces and it only cost a Euro.

As we walked out of the car park we were presented with the beautiful Santuario de la Virgen de la Pena. Originally built in the 17th century and situated next to panoramic views. The chapel is only small but entry is free (we always leave a small donation to help upkeep).

The Virgen of the Rock, Patron Saint of Mijas.

As you visit more and more Spanish villages a theme starts to develop. The core of every village is usually the church (normally more than one), which is always beautifully maintained. You have the main square which seems central to village life and then, you have the bullring. In Mijas we visited the Plaza de Toros de Mijas.

The bullring was built in 1900 and now serves as a museum and cultural centre, showcasing bullfighting history and traditions.

This particular bullring is located next to the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepcion. Interesting that there always seems to be a church and a graveyard next to the bullring. Maybe the matador didn’t always get the better of 700 kgs of raging Spanish beefsteak armed with horns like razors.

This particular bullring is no longer used for actual fights although, it is one few oval-shaped bullrings in Spain.

Our oval shaped bullring with spectacular mountain views.

The beautiful Mrs. C. This was as close as she was going to get to any bulls.

Beautiful….and the view is not bad either.

Our time in Marbella had gone very well but day two was one I was really looking forward to; a day trip to Ronda.

Now Spain had been experiencing severe storms and it seemed that the mountain route to Ronda had literally been washed away. Google maps to the rescue, an alternate route was secured and we set off down the motorway. The road was great and the journey took about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Now parking in these popular places can be a nightmare. We used an app called Parkimeter which allowed us to reserve a parking space in the Plaza del Socorro. It all works by number plate recognition. 25 Euros for the day and zero hassle. Don’t try and cheapskate it as you will be driving around all day.

This particular location was absolutely central and gave us immediate access to everything.

This mountain-top city, located in Spain’s Malaga province is a must visit. It is set dramatically above the El Tajo Gorge, which separates the city’s 15th century new town from its old town (which dates back to its Moorish rule).

For me, one of my bucket-list images was to capture the Puente Nuevo, a spectacular stone bridge spanning the gorge. The bridge dates back to 1793 and rises to some 100 meters above the river below.

View across Puente Nuevo towards Plaza de Socorro side.

The chamber above the central arch was allegedly used as a tortue chamber during the Spanish civil war, where some poor souls were dispatched by throwing them from the windows on to the jagged rocks below.

Now for those wishing to take the classic Puente Nuevo image I can save you a lot of pain and angst. Cross the bridge from the Plaza del Socorro side to the old town, turn right and take the path down the side of the mountain. Its a good walk, and remember, once down there you have to walk back up again!

As you walk across the bridge and look to your left, you will see a much smaller but very picturesque bridge, the Puente Viejo. I suggest you make this a secondary visit as there is only a very restricted view of Puente Nuevo from this bridge.

Beautiful light illuminating Ronda from the path to the bottom of the gorge.

It is quite steep but plenty of places to stop and take a breath and tremendous view along the way.

The ever willing model posing with Puente Nuevo in the background.

Our girls braving the weather from the viewpoint.

Now I know you are wondering why I haven’t yet mentioned food in Ronda. Well don’t worry, after our hike down and then back up the mountain we were ready to take on board some sustenance.

Our dear friends Jon and Rachel had recommended a restaurant that was listed in the Bib Gourmand, called Tregatá. We booked months in advance as it is really popular. It is not often that I am pleasantly surprised in a restaurant but Tregatá managed it. The service was friendly and efficient and the food superb. We shared starters of tuna tataki, a juicy omelette topped with wild boar and padron peppers and of course slow roasted ox cheek. My main was shoulder of pork in a wild mushroom fricassee. All of this was washed down with a bottle of the local red marching juice after which, I was looking for somewhere to take a siesta.

However, as regular readers know well, when Mrs. C is in charge there is no slacking and our next stop was the Plaza de Toros de Ronda. Bullfighting first started here back in 1784 and today is considered the largest bullring in Spain. Entrance to the facility is 9 euros and there is a very interesting museum.

Set in the pathway outside of the bullring are the names of famous matadors. Perhaps the most famous is Pedro Romero. He is a key figure in the history of Spanish bullfighting and it is said that he slew more than 5,600 bulls.

I have to say that whilst I am partial to the odd piece of grilled entrecôte I have no wish to watch the poor animal being tortured to death. However, bullfighting is still extremely popular in Spain…. it just not my thing.

Pedro Romero - slayer of more than 5,600 bulls.

Now you can see below that there is a small entrance behind a wall that the matador jumps behind when the 700 kg raging bull gets the upper hand. I can only suggest that these matador chaps must be a slender bunch as I had trouble getting my leg through the gap and there was no way I was getting behind there at speed.

Having spent an enjoyable hour or so in the bullring I was determined to visit Puente Viejo. So it was back over Puente Nuevo, turn left and head downhill through the backstreets. A very interesting walk and I grabbed a few images along the way.

As you can see below whilst still quite spectacular, the view from this bridge is rather more limited.

So having walked down the hill it was time to head back up to the car. As I always say, sometimes it pays to stop and look behind you.

By the time we reached our car my thighs were burning and the indigestion from that fine lunch was seeking its revenge!

Although the weather during our visit to Ronda was changeable, it may have been a blessing as hiking up and down a mountain at 30 degrees centigrade could be a real challenge. I have to say that I would return to Ronda in a heart-beat and next time I would stay the evening. A day trip is simply not long enough to do this wonderful city justice.

So what a great way to bring the first section of our trip to a close. However, stay tuned as there is so much more to come as we continue of our adventure through the heart of Andalucia.

Warmes regards from Plymouth U.K.