Awoke to hazy sunshine with views to die for from the villa terrace.
And our terrace with someone slobbing out after breakfast.
After a leisurely breakfast we decided to walk down to the village via the short cut described by Edzard the villa owner.
Well the 50m steep short cut was practically vertical through an olive grove of sorts, strewn with rocks and the odd piece of concrete - Carol struggled with her arthritic hip and knees even with a walking pole.
Once on the edge of the village we failed miserably to find the rest of the shortcut but eventually managed to find the main square and the Saturday market .The place was buzzing with lots of familiar English voices and also many Dutch ones mixing with German, French and Spanish.
(This photo was actually taken on a different day when the square was practically empty)
After perusing the market we returned to the main square where there were several restaurants offering Menus del Dia - we plumped for the more expensive one.
3 courses for €10 . Both ordering an ensalada mixte - we expected a rather small offering but no this was a whopping dinner plate sized salad with lots of different types of salads…and tuna! Mains were a pork stew in an almond sauce and frites and we had to opt for a coffee as we no room for a dessert. How do they make it for that price …. And a glass of wine was less than €3. And the one next door was offering a €9 3 courser - will definitely have to try and compare …. Would be rude not to.
The restaurants were busy with locals, many of whom appeared expats who it seems use Market Day to meet up with local friends and do lunch, much like we used to do in France.
We had a walk around Competa which is bigger than we thought and after getting lost again up and down the steep streets we finally found the vertical path back to the villa.
The church
Whilst the younger folk lunch the older men of Competa sit outside the church for a chin wag.
A charming statue beside the church
A lazy late afternoon followed with an early night . Its bally freezing though in the evenings and after huddling by the log burner we took hot water bottles to bed and extra throws to keep us toasty.
Sun 4th Feb.
A nothing day - Graham took Millie for a walk and explore … Carol didn't - enjoying pottering around the house and garden.
Lunch al fresco and a lazy afternoon reading in the sun . Whats not to like…”
Mon 5th Feb.
Torrox Costa
Today we ventured back along the wibbly wobbly road to Torrox Costa about 20 kms away. A promised dog friendly beach was the target, Millie suffering from withdrawal symptoms from her Dorset beach.
Torrox Costa was a typical seaside tourist town with wide streets and lots of apartments. It seemed quite vibrant and once again many English voices were heard, it even had an English supermarket and a Chinese Bazar.
We walked to the large sandy beach which looked well maintained and swept although not the golden sand we expected but rather a grey / taupe colour. Big signs stated no dogs!
We followed a short promenade around a headland and came upon a rather scruffy pebble strewn affair …. Yes the dog friendly beach! Not up to Dorset standards but Millie didn’t mind.
It also appeared to be the wild camping place to be for motorhomes and campers giving it a rather bohemian air.
Millie thought it was great chasing her ball and pebbles …. .. what’s not to like! Apart from dodging the few bedraggled local dogs sniffing around …
Back to the main prom we promenaded until deciding to do lunch in a tapas bar. Another relatively cheap and tasty meal. Carol particularly liked the Oyster mushrooms grilled a la plancha with a garlic sauce. Another lazy lunch .. this is the life …
Then a massive shop at Lidl the supermarket of choice it seems … back on the wibbly wobbly road back to the villa.
Tea on the terrace, a nice chill out on the terrace and then stoke up the logburner before a light supper. Think we’ll be eating in a lot in the evenings here as it gets dark early and we can’t face the trek back.
Tues 6th Feb
Sunny today - feeling warm.
After the usual lazy start and breakfast on the terrace - a walk with Millie along the easy track to Camillas de Albaida.
Just right for Carol no steep hills to challenge her arthritic knees but still lovely hillside views all the way. The track meandered through olive groves and there were lots of trees which we assumed were fig trees harvested by the local farmers.
View of Canillas de Albaida
Back for lunch on the terrace, and for Carol a lovely lounge in the sun with her kindle whilst Graham headed back into the village for a explore and a British plug adaptor to replace the ones we left in the hotels en route..
Even though it was really warm today by evening once the sun goes down it is chilly - the log burner is getting a serious workout!
Another lovely sunset .
Weds 7th Feb
Another day spent locally. The soon to be usual dog walk - back along the path to Canillas de Albaida - this time making it into the village.
Ermita de Santa Ana - a sweet looking church with fantastic hill views.
A view of Competa from the road down.
Lunch then off to find logs at the local hardware store. Thankfully the shop owner spoke English as we overheard the customer before us “Reet then. I wanna swap these for a bigger pair and I need some more concrete” in a Northern accent. Our turn. We saw logs in buckets outside but didn’t know what sizes they come in - you don’t get many logs in a Mini Convertible boot - however, they will deliver so good. Because the villas are so scattered and don’t have numbers, the preferred method is to send a message via Whatsapp with a Google Maps pin attached. Do we know how to do that? Yes, but it wouldn’t work. Eventually they circumvented the Whatsapp and accepted a dropped pin on their mobile. Expecting to wait a few days we were surprised when they said delivery would be 45mins and more surprised when the logs were delivered 40 mins later - well impressed. We then had to move them into the lobby under cover as heavy rain is forecast tomorrow.
Further stoking of the fire , a cosy dinner a la Casa and so to bed.
Thurs 8th Feb.
Woke to the sound of of heavy rain ….which continued non stop until the evening.
Not such a lovely view today…
The empty buckets outside were overflowing as we peered out on waking..
No walk for Millie today … a day of reading and Netflix watching today …
Fri 9th Feb
Today we set off for a visit to Nerja.
Before heading there we did a circular walk to the Torre de Maro - a watchtower just outside of Nerja with lovely coastal views. The guide book said it was an easy walk for all abilities with a short uphill climb to the tower… The climb equated to 19 stair climbs - Carol emerging puffing, sweating and clutching her knees!!
The Torre
The view
The walk downhill was much more to Carol’s taste.
On to Nerja for lunch. Carol remembered it as having a lovely old town centre with lots of tapas bars ( last here probably nearer to 20 years ago) - we passed development after development of urbanisations, hit the town centre which was very busy, cruised round trying to find a parking slot or a beach … after a frustrating time up and down streets we gave up and headed back out to Torrox Costa!
Lunch in the same tapas bar - chatting to a couple who live here most of the year - she was from Finland and he was from Australia. Apparently it was -15 degrees in Helsinki today … we can see why they choose to stay here!
They recommended a lovely supermarket Mercadona in which Carol delightedly filled her shopping bags with foodstuffs ….and just a little wine..
Back to the villa, log fire building, dinner etc etc. We’re getting into the swing of the Spanish life - tea in bed watching the sunrise, breakfast around 10 am, lunch around 2pm and a late dinner .. but failing miserably emulating the Spanish dining at 10 pm because that’s when we’re heading for bed ! As my Gran said an hour before midnight is worth two after!
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