Costa del Sol

I suppose it's what we expected.  Busy, very built-up, full of English and expensive at the Western end, and busy, built-up, full of a different kind of English and not quite so expensive in the East, where we are now.  Well, we're only two or three days from the corner, just short of Almeria, so we've nearly done it.  And we don't have to go back!

We had some pleasant sailing for the first day or two, but the wind has now died, and the temperature has shot up.  It's really very warm now.  And that's without taking account of the howls from the nearby bar, where England are apparently playing Germany (this may be my last World Cup comment!).  We swam ashore from the boat where we anchored yesterday, carrying just enough cash for a couple of icecreams.  Then I dropped mine.

The highlights so far have been:

- Malaga.  We took a train there from Fuengirola.  A very pleasant, tranquil old city, with a stunning Moorish castle - the Alcazaba.

- The views of the Sierra Nevada - still surprisingly snowy 

    (but note the polythene in the foreground.  This gets worse as you go East.  We call it the Costa Plastica)

- The general ambiance, friendliness, good food and good wine.  Worth a lot really.  It would be even better if it was easier to understand the people.  I was chatting (in my bad Spanish) to a lady in the marina office here (Almerimar) today, and moaning how hard I found it.  She said (in very clear Spanish) that she had had the same problems when she moved here.  I asked her where she came from - the answer was Seville!

Thanks for all your comments - please keep them coming.  It reminds us that there's another world there somewhere.  And we're sure that White Magic will get to like Scotland once she's mastered the accent!