An Andalusian wedding and another pueblo blanco

Another grey morning and this on our last day. What were we to do? We began with a long and late breakfast hoping that it would clear up. No such luck therefore sightseeing and no beach. We ended up going to Alhaurín el Grande.

When we drove through the village we noticed a couple of people in fancy typical Spanish costumes. Figuring it had to be something special (hadn’t we already kind of gate crashed a funeral?), nosy me wanted to park right away and follow the fancy dressers. Annemarie was game, always easier when the driver is up for people watching as well. And we got lucky, saw an amazing wedding. Here comes the bride.

And some of the guests.

What was very interesting to see was that a lot of the guests arrived after the bride, stayed outside during the ceremony and smoked but sang fervently once the music started. Is that something you usually do in Spain?

We thought this couldn’t be topped anymore but decided to go ahead and drive to Mijas anyway. Mijas is one of the better known pueblos blancos (white villages) and was recommended by my guide book. Apparently lots of other tourists had the same information because the parking was packed (ok, ok, might have been the weather too).

Mijas meanwhile is a a quaint little village with a few quirks. First it has a bullring that has the shape of a bath tube and second it is well known for its donkey rides. According to the guide the donkeys were used by locals as a regular mode of transportation. When tourists started to ask for either a picture or a ride with the donkeys the tips for these were soon higher than their normal wages so the donkey business was opened. Mijas now has around 60 donkey taxis.

The donkeys came in all kinds and sizes.

We passed on the donkey ride and preferred to walk for a bit (also smelled better). We saw the shrine for the ‘Virgen de la peña’,

the bullring,

some bulls,

and an actual torero.

We even took the bull by its horns.

After the bullring we explored the village a bit more.

At the end of our village tour we climbed on a donkey and said goodbye to Mijas.

As you might have noticed in the last couple of pictures the sun came out and we spent our last afternoon on the beach. The weather was perfect again to go for one more swim in the sea. And this was it with the summer for 2013.

A last dinner at the hotel with a bottle of Rioja rosado and a glass of Cava as aperitif. And also goodbye to one of the house cats. Yours, Pollybert