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Days 48-49, 30-31 July 2014, Mijas (Wednesday), Fuengirola (Thursday), Spain. Corrr... less than 5 shopping months till Christmas. Can't believe we're knocking on August. Took a half day trip up to my local Andalusian white village today - Mijas. In the past we stayed in Arcos de la Frontera and I also plan to visit the most famous of the pueblos blancos, Ronda, but for today, the bus up to Mijas. Rather conveniently I'm situated right on the bus line about half way between Fuengirola and Mijas, so not a huge drama to get to either. Mijas is officially cute (remember - "h" is always silent in Spanish and "j" is always H... thus Jose and Mijas with an "h" in the middle). Of course the locals drop off the s too... thus it becomes "Mee-ha". By the by, tourism is what Mijas has going for it and they do it well. I think by law you can't paint your house any colour but white and all plant pots on public display must conform to the official Mijas shade of blue. Hordes of tour buses were parked when I arrived and I discovered that Wednesday at noon is the free flamenco show in the square - woo hoo! Off for a stroll about the shops, check out the burro-taxis, stroll to the viewpoints/miradors, buy some posties and back to the square for the artisans market and the flamenco show. Half day adventure sorted! The burros/donkeys were very cute indeed. Not cute enough to pay €10 to get carted around the street, but good for a photo. Back in the 1960s, workers returning home after a day's hard labour would be stopped by tourists in order to get a photo with their burro... They made more in tips on the way home than they had all day toiling in the fields... thus the birth of the Mijas Burro Taxi Service...they even have number plates on their bridles. They are very well looked after, don't work long hours and while there are some small hills, it's not hard yakka like it would be on the Moroccan side of the ditch. And that's just the owners - donkeys are well cared for too! Postcards a bargain in Mijas - saw some for 30 cents, same as on the coast, but further in and down an alley, found them for 15 cents. And it's lucky I found all these bargains, because my flip-flops/jandals/thongs are worn out and twisted on a slippery bit of pavement and I stubbed my big toe... can't believe they cost US$4 in New York two years ago and have worn out. Honestly. Anyway, having saved a bit here and there I found a pair of sensible, possibly leather, sandals. Haggled from €40 to €22. Probably paid too much, but very comfy. Speaking of leather and possibly leather, Mijas reminds me of Fez in Morocco. Not sure when it could possibly get cold enough, but easily 2 dozen leather/fur/jacket shops in the village and that many again selling bags. Has given me an idea of what they go for in the shops so I can see a bargain at the next Tuesday Market. Seven weeks into the trip it's that time where things are falling by the wayside - aside from the shoes, I lost a little leather bag from Argentina last week at a railway station. The strap had broken and oddly the granny knot attaching it to something else until I could mend it just didn't hold. C'est la vie - at least it was empty. After shopping it was back to the square for the market and dancing. All good and onto the bus home in time for lunch and a nap (very Spanish...) Swimming in the evenings after 8 pm and in the mornings up till 10.30 am is now my daily habit. The pool is shady and usually empty and utterly peaceful. That being said, it's now Thursday and after my morning swim I gathered up my shopping bags, girded my loins and headed down to Fuengirola for my first grocery shopping expedition. By golly Spain is cheap. Maybe not as cheap as before the euro... maybe not as cheap as a couple of years ago, but still not bad. The equivalent of about A$50 / €34 bought the following: doz eggs, one bottle each of white & red wine, big bag of deli-potato chips/crisps, 5 half-baguettes, box of 16 cow-cheeses and box of 8 mini-camembert cheeses, a pizza, a litre of fresh OJ, litre of milk, half doz. truss tomatoes, 300 gms baby spinach, 400 gms mushrooms, 100 gms ham, can tomato soup, jar of decaf, 2 jars pesto, 1 jar tomato pasta sauce, 5 mini chocolate croissants, doz loo rolls and a partridge in a pear tree. (OK - no partridge... but you can see my point... not expensive at all - probably cost around A$110 for the equivalent in Sydney, even at Aldi...) Managed to miss my bus by approximately 10 seconds coming home. Sigh... running with 3 shopping bags, he'd already tried to take off once and opened the door for a bloke. He wasn't going to stop again. Perused the trips available from the bus station for 20 minutes, booked a day trip to Ronda & Marbella (double lls = yah sound thus, Mar-bay-ah) and got the next bus at 2 pm. Experimenting with Spanish on helpless drivers who are starting to know me - so Hasta la vista... baby!
- comments
James Hardie Babe, sounds like you are in a good routine, the swimming at night would be so peaceful, you are right the food is so cheap for us, Mijas brings back fond memories of arcos. Love Jamie