Puerto Banus

As I said in the previous post about seeing famous faces in Puerto Banus, every - one should recognise this face on the left???
The famous face we saw was Rick Parfitt from 'Status Quo'
and the photo below he is there again in the doorwayof one of the designer shops.
We had only been in the town 5 or 10 mins after arriving on the boat from Marbella, and there he was having a drink on the water front!

Puerto Banus.

Puerto Banus just a few kms to the west of Marbella on the Costa del Sol is home to some of the most impressive yachts in the world. The marina was built in 1970 by local property developer Jose Banus, and has since become a favorite gathering place for the rich and famous from all over the world. You are sure to recognise someone as you stroll around the marina !

Some of the most expensive designer shops and restraunts are situated along the waterfront, but you wont see a price ticket on anything displayed in the windows. What does it matter about the cost when you have a massive yacht and an Astin Martin parked up here!

Benalmadena Marina

The award winning marina of Benalmadena is often seen on many a photo or postcard always showing the boats and yachts of the rich owners, but not many photos are seen of the stylish interior of the shopping area. The shopping centre has many stylish shops and boutiques along with bars, cafes and restraunts to suit every taste whether you prefer Chinese, Mexican, large steaks or a traditional Sunday roast the choice is endless!

Nerja - The Caves

The statue out side the entrance to the caves.

The caves were discovered by some local children back in 1959, and are now open to the public. Paintings on the walls suggest that the caves were actually inhabited as much as 20,000 years ago. Owing to this its not permitted to use flash photography which could fade the colours of the paintings, so these photos are not quite as clear as they should be. The centre column of the massive cavern has a height of 32mtrs and a width of 18mtrs.

Opening times are..
July to August 10pm-2pm...4pm-8pm
September to June they close a little earlier at 6.30 pm
Entrance fee this year was 7€

Nerja - Balcon de Europa

The large pedestrianised area of the Balcon de Europa gives stunning views of the beaches along the Mediterranean coast and rocky coves of Nerja not forgetting the the Sierra mountains in the background.

The town of Nerja lies approx 35 miles to the east of Malaga, and has a very good year round climate owing to the protection given by the mountains.

A Moorish castle stood on this site back in the 9th century, after which a fortress stood from the 15th - 18th century. The site was then given its current name 'Balcon de Europa' by King Alfonso XII after visiting the area in 1884.

More from Ronda.

With the town of Ronda being so picturesque here are some more photos...the one below is the larger than life statue of a bull which stands outside the bullring entrance.

Pictured below is one of the horse and carriages waiting to take tourists on a tour of the sights of Ronda. This is a very popular form of sight seeing in these towns owing to the narrow and sometimes very steep streets.

Andalucia - Ronda

THE BULL RING OF RONDA

Although I'm not a fan of bull fighting I have taken a tour of the bullring at Ronda. This bullring is the oldest in the world. In the leaflet given as you enter it says that its the first purpose built space in the world for fighting bulls. The entrance fee is 6€, which entitles you to enter the the ring itself, the two tier spectator stands and the museum.
Under the bottom tier is where the museum is housed showing the costumes of the matadors.

The first fight that took place here was back in 1785, and is still used today.

Alora near Malaga

The tiny village of Alora is just a few kilometres inland from Malaga, and is easily accessible by train on the local line for only about 2-3€ return!



When the train arrives at the station there is a small bus waiting to take passengers up to the 'town centre'.
This journey itself is an experience as the bus weaves in and out of the narrow roads as it climbs up the mountain.
Once at the top you have views of all the country side for miles around and a nice selection of shops to browse around.