A great day out in La Cala de Mijas

Having lived here a long time, sometimes I don´t see the wood for the trees, and completely ignore some of the lively resorts on the doorstep. La Cala de Mijas is one of these, and offers far more than meets the eye. I have a friend staying from the UK and as we didn´t want to drive far yesterday and I live in Mijas-Golf we ventured down the back road to La Cala. We decided to spend a few hours on the beach before lunch (yes Hurricane Bertha did blow up as soon as we hired the sunbeds) but hey, it all added to the fun. So as we lay in a sandstorm soaking up the rays, covered in sand and sun oil, we decided to hot-foot it to ´Food to Go´ just on the corner by the tower. We ordered some delicious baguettes with swedish prawns and dill mayonnaise, cheddar ploughmans and a couple of cold drinks and crisps and, with typical British grit, headed back to the beach. After erecting a makeshift wind barrier, we managed to eat our lunch in relative comfort, although the sand made it a bit gritty in parts. After a quick paddle (had to be done as my friend said you can´t go to the seaside and not have a paddle), we decided to head for home before the gathering storm clouds broke. Ok ok so maybe it did resemble Skegness on a good day, but La Cala, when the sun is out is one of the best little resorts on the coast. Honest!

Sphere Mania

One of my friend´s teenagers were over recently and, on the lookout for something new to try, they spent a brilliant day at Sphere Mania in Marbella.
Sphereing – the lastest craze to hit the coast

If you fancy rolling down a hill at speeds of up to 30mph in a sphere ball, then Sphere Mania is well worth a visit. Situated at La Quinta Driving Range, next to the golf club, Sphere Mania opened in mid-April, and has enjoyed fantastic success since the first day.
To enjoy sphereing you need to be daring, adventurous and very slightly mad! You may have tried paragliding, bungee jumping or even white water rafting but this is the newest, craziest adrenalin rush you are likely to experience.

Josh and Lewis were harnessed in to the sphere ball, facing each other, with a safe distance between them. The ball was then sent hurtling 200 metres down the hill, giving them the ride of their lives. After nearly giving me a heart attack - and that was just watching– they emerged from the ball giggling hysterically.
The ultimate sphereing experience, and another option to harness sphereing, is the amazing aqua sphereing, which sees one or two people plus 30 litres of water tumble down the hill in what can only be described as an ´in the washing machine´ experience. Passengers slide around inside the ball as it hurtles downhill, and judging from the shrieks of laughter when they emerge, it´s a crazy experience.
Amazingly, there is no dizzy feeling after riding the sphere, more a feeling of ´what the hell was that´. It is very much a rough and tumble ride, but we found that it was just as much fun watching our friends descend the hill, as it was taking part. Not for the faint-hearted but a great day out for the kids! €30 per head and birthday parties can be arranged.

The best beach bar in Marbella

To anyone who has read my recent blogs, it may seem that all I do is eat and drink all day, but as I have had a friend over from the UK this week, we have over indulged slightly on the old vino and chiringuitos (well that´s my excuse anyway). So yesterday as a special treat we took ourselves off to the Beach House at Elviria which is my all time favourite beach bar. The food is the best I have tasted in Marbella in any restaurant, and the setting is unbeatable. Situated right on the beach, we sat just inside the canopy and, although the wind was whipping the sea into a frenzy, the view was stunning. The Beach House isn´t cheap but it does provide great quality for money as all of the food is cooked from fresh and this is not a restaurant where you will hear microwaves pinging in the kitchen. We ordered three starters to share including caesar salad with chargrilled chicken - served in a parmesan lattice nest. Jumbo prawns in tempura batter with a ginger salad and a superb niçoise salad with fresh tuna steak, poached egg and potato salad. It was fantastic. Attention to detail is amazing at The Beach House, and they even serve fresh lime juice with the gin and tonics. Open for lunch and dinner and all afternoon for lighter bites, this is a great place for a family day out or a romantic meal.

El Esparragal - Probably The Best Bar In The World

For those of us who live on the Costa del Sol, there are hundreds of bars, restaurants and night clubs to choose from - ranging from your average spit and sawdust back street café to fine dining establishments in the swankier resorts. In the good old days when hangovers only took a few hours to get over, I might have been spotted in a few infamous late night venues, but since I have become sensible (hmmm), I prefer to do my socialising in the early evening. I live in Mijas-Golf, and the best bar I have come across in all my years here is the Esparragal - or the 'Pub in the Park' as it´s commonly known. This hidden gem of a bar is situated in open parkland about 1km past the Tamisa Golf Hotel in the direction of Coin/Alhaurin, and plays host to hundreds of Spanish and English families at the weekends and a more motley crew during the week.

Me and my mate Dave (definitely part of the motley crew) have been known to enjoy a beverage or twelve until well after midnight at this popular joint, and you can spend far less in an evening here than you would spend in an hour or two elsewhere (depending how thirsty Dave is obviously). Draught Cruzcampo (it does taste better after the first 3) is €1 for a half pint, and a spirit and mixer is €3.50. The bar offers a simple menu, but everything is cooked to perfection, and the prices are unbeatable. Try the tomatoes with garlic and olive oil for €2 or the chicken wings for the same price. A selection of ´bocadillos´ and toasties is also available from €2.50, plus some of the best Manchego cheese you will taste at €6 a plate. I last visited recently with 4 friends, and we enjoyed toasties, pork fillet, fish fingers, chips, a plate of garlic tomatoes, two bottles of wine, two gin and tonics, 4 pints of beer and 3 orange juices. Four hours after arriving (hic!) the bill worked out at €10 a head. Not bad for an afternoon´s eating, drinking and merrymaking – not to mention a free suntan.

What you will find here is that although the drinks are cheap, the brands are not. No sign here of the infamous, hangover-from-hell inducing brands, which are popular in many bars on the coast. The vodka brands which usually end in the letters ´ov´ should carry government health warnings, and don´t be fooled by lots of bars advertising coffee and brandy for €2. The last time I was duped into this, the brandy tasted like ethanol (a popular tipple when I was in the Middle East, but hey, I had no choice there).

It is open every day except wednesday from 12 noon till late and from 5pm in July and August.

Oh and look out for the Romeria de Las Lagunas which takes place on the second sunday in June and ends up in the park - a massive paella is served free of charge plus copious amounts of sherry and tapas. Live music starts around 4pm.

Hidden Gems Near Dunnes Stores

At the risk of sounding like a shopping bore, has anyone been to the part of Myramar, Fuengirola where Iceland and Boulanger are situated? Not that I normally get excited over DIY style shops, but AKI is fantastic - they sell allsorts of lighting, rugs, garden furniture and barbecues. Ok ok they do sell tins of paint too (yawn) and those fiddly bits of taps and tubes that never seem to fit anything, but apart from that, this is a really great shop. Iceland is also great for your frozen British goodies and now does a good range of fresh meat and vegetables too. Marinated ribs, steaks and chicken are great for the barbie and the prices are reasonable. Boulanger Electrical Store is another favourite of mine - even if I only go in to look longingly at the 40 inch flat screen tellies (how sad is that?) But being on a tight budget, the real jewel in the crown for me is Lidl - yes really. Marks and Spencer's food hall it ain´t, but there are some great bargains to be had. Wine lovers - try the Albariño white at €3.50 a bottle - it is superb, and costs nearly double the price in other supermercados. You can also bag six large bottles of mineral water for just over €1.10. Oh and if you have any money left after stocking up on the wine, they sell food too!