The sky was grey and dark in the morning. The perfect weather for sleeping in. We made it down to breakfast at 9:30 and I managed to stay there for 2 hours. Love to read the news and my book with a good cup of coffee.
Around 11:30 we left the hotel, having decided on first going to Marbella to see the old part and maybe later going on to Casares.
After we made a detour due to the navigation system we arrived finally in Marbella. The navi is kind of tricky, without a street address it will not tell you the way. When choosing a POI instead, it can happen that one ends up somewhere completely different. I am not saying it happened to us, just that it is possible…
We walked around the center for a bit. Please enjoy.
All trees around the square are orange trees, therefore the name.
On the way to beach we passed this park with tiled benches.
The street from the park to the sea was full of sculptures made after designs from Salvador Dali.
After seeing the elephant on the beach and receiving instructions on its mechanism
we stopped for coffee at ‘El Greco’ where we also enjoyed live background music.
On the way to the car we stopped for quick chat with God.
And some more impressions from Marbella.
Shortly after 3pm we made it out of Marbella and were on our way to Casares. After a brief detour to Genalguacil
with lots of dangerous animals on the road
we made it to Casares at 5:30 (the drive back to the hotel took 45 minutes).
Casares is one of the typical ‘pueblos blancos’ (white villages as I am sure you have noticed). On the way up to the Moorish castle we saw an announcement for a festival the same day.
The announcement said that the procession would start at 9pm, so we were a bit astonished seeing already lots of people lining up in the streets.
When we noticed a procession starting we stopped at the side to get a better look and take some pictures. We even smiled at the first two women carrying the flowers.
Only when they passed us did we notice that they were carrying a coffin. You can imagine that the rest of the village tour was almost boring after this embarrassing moment.
The village was beautiful and the walk through it had a calming effect. Also the whiteness of the houses created a micro climate. So even though it was hot walking around, the houses kind of cooled the air. Sounds stupid but it is true. I read it in the guide book and also felt it myself.
This is one of two original archways from the Moorish (11th century).
Just for you to get an impression how high up this castle was built, please see below. The Christians only conquered it in 1484.
The local bird life has been eternalized in art as well as information. We saw the birds circling the hills around but couldn’t take any pictures of them.
On the way down we refreshed ourselves with a beer and some kind of ‘spritzer’ (it was not really clear what kind of alcohol was in it) and some tapas which were awful. They looked way better than they tasted.
So don’t ever go to the Bar Nuevo in Casares for snacks, definitely not worth it.
Then on the drive down from the start of the Sierra Bermeja the oil control lamp lit up. Yours truly is not known as a driver (I do have a license though), but I know where to fill the oil.
When we finally made it back to the hotel, we needed a glass of rosé to relax. After such an exciting day we deserved nothing less. By the time we went to bed there was even a firework to bid us goodnight. Love, Pollybert
