Fiesta in Fuengirola

What a brilliant day my husband and I had on Saturday! We decided to wander through the town we have our business in - Fuengirola.... and it was a Spanish holiday. All the men, women and children were dressed in their truly amazing Spanish costumes!What a sight. Every avenue and lane we went down was teeming with stunning women! What a love about the Spanish women is that they really enjoy being women and are not ashamed of their womanly proportions and celebrate their femininity to the maximum!
Here are a few examples... enjoy!

 We loved watching the men and women performing impromptu flamenco dancing in the street.

Buterfly Park Benalmadena Costa Del Sol

In August we had family visiting from the UK. My daughter, and her four daughters spent three weeks' here in Spain with my husband and I. The girls just loved the sea and the pool at the villa - they thoroughly enjoyed their stay.

One really great outing we did together was the Butterfly Park at Benalmadena

Here are some pictures of the day.......

 There was truly such a variety of beautiful butterflies. The largest butterfly collection in the world (I believe)

Taking a scenic walk from our villa

I really enjoy walking around our area. Even though we live on a mountain and the walks can be pretty steep, it is very quiet and almost feels as though one is alone in the world. I love the birdsong, the beetles that rub their wings together and make that piercing sound. We used to have the same sounds back in South Africa, and when we went to England I missed that sound and the blazing heat the most!
Here are some pic's of the walk leading down to the beach.

This is the area we live in (Torreblanca Heights)

Glorious flowers

I have been taking pictures of the vibrant flowers and plants in our area. The sun seems to bring out the most amazing colours! Here are a few I snapped last night.

Rain falling in the distance as the sun was setting

Family Time

Our son, Matthew and his wife, Leanne and their two children, Olivia and Joshua have been visiting from England. It has been such a special  time with them.
Joshua, who is five months now, is such a little character! When we left 3 months' ago, he was a little baby; now he gurgles and rolls around and smiles. Too sweet.
Olivia has become a big girl as well.
They have enjoyed swimming and going for short tours  around the area.

And so to sleep!

Spanish Luxuries

One of the many things I just love about living in Spain are the pastries! That's right - we have the sun the sea blue skies forever, but to top all of  this is the amazing pastries!

Yesterday I came down to the office and started trawling through all my work, when my husband arrived carrying a tray of amazing pastries.He'd made a quick stop at the Panaderia a few blocks away from the office and bought breakfast - YUM!

It is beyond belief! I had to go for a brisk walk after eating it, but it was all well- worth it.

Here is a little glimpse of pastry heaven!

Taking a walk through Mijas

On Sunday morning Luke, Katie and myself went for a drive up the mountain to Mijas. Katie had been on a holiday with her parents and the age of ten. I decided to take her down memory lane!

It was extremely hot, but the sights around the little village are beautiful. We stopped to have an ice-cream and take photo's of the donkeys. We felt dreadfully sorry for their plight (see below)

"SEPE campaigned hard to end the barbaric treatment by the operators and it also held a public demonstration to bring about them coming under the control of the local Ayuntamiento veterinarian.
SEPE was backed by over 40 national and international charities and the media throughout Spain. The new agreement also included that the operators had to keep their donkeys within new published guidelines or they would lose their license, which appears uncontrolled and these long suffering donkeys certainly deserved much more.
The new mayor Antonio Sánchez has however informed SEPE that he is fully determined that the Ayuntamiento of Mijas take the reports of abuse seriously and there has now been someone appointed to take control of this who will be meeting with SEPE to discuss new measures." http://www.sepeonline.net/_content/sepe/?p=21

I wonder what those poor donkeys are thinking as they stand there day after day and have to endure all kinds of cruelties?

We finally wended our way down the mountain to a much-needed swim and cold-drink!

A night at the Blue's concert

On Saturday evening, Peter and I went to an International Blue's concert in the market place at Mijas. It was fantastic. We were not sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great and memorable evening!
The bands were all international, and adults and children alike enjoyed the ensemble immensely.
There was food and drinks on offer.
Here are some pic's of the occasion.

People arrived till late into the evening. We were amazed at how much energy the little one's had at 11:00pm in the evening!

Scenic trip to Cordoba Spain

The other day Peter, Jose and I went to a town called Cordoba - an hour inland from Malaga. Even though the heat was in the mid-forties, it was the most amazing scenic drive. It was constantly changing. We left Malaga and wended our way through majestic mountains. One minute we were going through passes (very reminiscent of the Western movies, then around the next corner, we would enter absolutely flat-land. The Olive groves took our breath away! Thousands and thousands of acres of olives. Here and there we'd pass a majestic homestead, also reminding us of those very proud Spanish landowners seen in movies and also reminded me very much of Ernest Hemingway's famous and classic novel The Sun Also Rises - I have read that book numerous times, and now living in Spain, I will read it once again!

Jose, who has lived in Fuengirola, his entire life- he is 29yrs of age, was a brilliant guide, pointing out different landmarks and telling us a little of the different people living in these remote parts of Spain.

We passed a furniture factory, and having owned a furniture comanpy back in Estcourt, South Africa, for many years, we were keen to get a closer view. The amazing thing that stuck out for miles was a great big chair built in front of the factory. The glass around the "seat" area was actually an office. We were very intrigued to say the least!

Biopark in Fuengirola

Later on Sunday, we decided to pay the Biopark a visit. What an experience! We were absolutely intriqued from start to finish. It was like walking with the animals in their natural habitat. This park is situated 2 streets away from our office - right in the middle of the town.


"Bioparc Fuengirola stands out, among other aspects, for its architectural design as an “immersion zoo”, plunging visitors into the animals’ native environment. The whole centre is intended as a stroll through an all-surrounding recreation of the creatures’ original habitat, providing a solution of continuity between the physical space occupied by the public and by the animals, with the aim of expressing some of the magic involved in walking through the woodlands and discovering their inhabitants."
 (http://www.bioparcfuengirola.es/en)

I managed to get some really good pictures:

A hornbill


















Pelican's (see the baby in the centre) 

 This is the largest specie of  pigeon in the world

We fell in love with this white Indian Tiger.








I will write about the Biopark later again.

Roundabouts in Fuengirola

Sunday, 1st July, we went to church in Benalmadena - then had a light lunch and decided to take some pictures of the amazing roundabouts in Fuengirola. Each one has a different sculpture which is an enormous help when trying to find your way around the town.

Here are some pictures of these roundabouts.

The torso of a man                       

The Elephant roundabout 

The Fiat car Roundabout

A Spanish soldier and damsel

The trees in and around Fuengirola are the same family as the Jacaranda tree in Pretoria South Africa

How beautiful is the clump of trees?