Travel: Andalusia, Southern Spain

Tapas and Rioja for 1.50€ a pop and not a Brit abroad in sight. We discovered the villages and beaches near the wild Mountains of Andalusia.

So first things first, the blog has taken a well overdue holiday. I have just started a new job (more on this later) and it feels like I have had no time to do my washing, let alone anything worth writing about. However, just before the job started, I managed a very last minute holiday with my family to the mountains of Southern Spain (I think we booked 3 days before we flew) and it was just perfect.

Hotel Cerro de Hijar - we had the two floors of the tall tower

As it was so last minute and I didn't have time to do my usual levels of research, for the first 4 nights, I found Hotel Cerro de Hijar on i-escape, a brilliant site who scour the globe for the best boutique hotels. The hotel was simply but tastefully decorated with traditional Spanish features. And it was SO peacefully quiet. We didn't hear much more than the crickets and birds and the shuffling of our cards. The hotel was perched at the top of the mountain overlooking the dappled white village of Tolox, which made for some serioulsy breathtaking views from the pool.

The view from our balcony

The Hotel's Terrace

Sangria - a Spanish staple

Malaga, once the airport town for Brits abroad en route to the high rises of The Costa Del Sol, now it's being taken seriously as an emerging foodie spot, prompting The Guardian to published this feature. But we were heading 45 mins drive towards the wild mountains, to a small village named Tolox.

The hotel courtyard

The hotel is famed for it's food, with a once Michelin starred chef at the helm, but we preferred the simpler offerings of gazpacho (a cold tomato garlicky soup) with a plate of cured mountain cheese and ham. We tore ourselves from our books and the pattern of eat, sleep, swim, for a meander around the beautiful village of Tolox, with its traditional white and moorish tiled houses. We also found a local tapas restaurant that was empty until about 11pm, when families arrived and shared huge platters of sardines and giant king prawns and the adults sipped sangria while the young children played in the square.

Moorish tiles decorate the white houses

Calamares for sale, Tolox

Giant tiger prawns in Tolox

La Cala de Maro, Malaga

Spain wouldn't be Spain without a trip to the playa. We drove to a little cove La Cala de Maro about 20 minutes East of Malaga with clear water and a ramshackled Chiringuito (beach bar). Just be careful where you park the car - we came back to find a 100€ find tucked under the wiper.

La Cala del Moral

Beach day no.2 was spent at La Cala del Moral, a vast stretch of palm tree edged sand. The sea was much warmer here and we managed to bag a table on the terrace of Avante Claro, the very popular sea food restaurant at the eastern tip of the beach and a fish feast commenced. Just look at the squid ink paella and razor clams!

Avante Claro

Squid ink paella

Razor Clams

We ate a stupid amount of food on this holiday... when it's this good, fresh and cheap, you would be mad not to. We walked some of it off on a mountain trail just by our hotel, with more staggeringly beautiful views.

 Our mountain walk

The travel experts have cottoned onto this unspoilt part of Spain and are billing Malaga and it's surrounding spots as the place to go in 2014. Did I mention that we didn't come across any other British tourists? This is where the Spanish holiday and it's only a matter of time before this authentic area on Andalusia is firmly on the holiday map.

We spent the last two days of our holiday in Ronda, so stay tuned for the write up... Adiós!

The Road to Ronda