MacsTravel Blog

We spent the bulk of our time on this trip to Spain staying in a one bedroom apartment at the Las Mimosas Beach Club in Mijas Costa, located between Malaga and Marbella along the Costa del Sol. This section of the coast is a favourite vacation haunt for Brits (the majority of visitors) and other Northern Europeans who flock here in search of sun, sand and relaxation. English is more prevalent here than anywhere else in Andalucia and you could, without much effort, forget you were in Spain at all. That being said, we loved our stay; there were many elements that we found appealing and we will certainly be returning in the future.

Location, location, location

Las Mimosas Beach Club could not have worked out any better for us. Robin found a fabulous deal for a tidy one bedroom with a lovely balcony and beachfront and sea views. It was so inexpensive it was easy to justify taking a few overnight roadtrips to other parts of Andalusia while we left the majority of our luggage behind. Roads and transit in this area of Spain are both very good, and you could certainly get by without the car. However the convenience was worth it for us.

Our apartment was within easy walking distance to a number of shops, grocery stores, and restaurants, which made it easy to do virtually everything by foot. And when the main artery is a beautifully maintained beachfront boardwalk, it makes it even easier to do those daily errands!

Markets and Shopping

The local grocery stores are well provisioned, with lots of selection in terms of fresh fruit and vegetables, wine and beer, cheeses and more types of ham than you probably need. Self-serve freshly squeezed orange juice was a big hit for Robin!

Our apartment was about 2km west of Mijas Cala, the seaside town not to be confused with Mijas Costa (the coastal area) or Mijas Pueblo (the hill town). In addition to a few supermarkets, Mijas Cala hosts weekly markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays and special “organic” markets twice a month on Sundays. We (particularly Robin!) enjoyed browsing for bargains and trinkets, and we picked up some delicious produce as well to supplement what we purchased in the stores.

History

You don’t come to Mijas Costa for the history, but history is still all around you. These are ancient communities: people here traded with the Phoenicians and the Romans, and this entire area had huge strategic importance through the time of the Moors and the various kingdoms of Spain. Watch towers from the Napoleonic wars pepper the coastline.

The Senda Litoral de Málaga 

One of the gems of this area is the Senda Litoral, the coastal boardwalk that will eventually run for hundreds of kilometers all the way to Nerja. On this particular stretch of coastline, the boardwalk runs continuously for the better part of 10 km before you need to take a path along a roadway or detour through a town. It is heavily used by runners and walkers of all ages.

The beach itself is constantly eroding on this coastline, and while there are areas where the preservation of natural dunes has made a difference, in many spots the beach is constantly being built back up with truckloads of sand.

Still, it is beautiful. Walking along the beach you are sure to run into sun-bathers, fishermen, folks exercising and photographers and painters capturing the magic of the coastline.

The mountainous terrain of this area of Spain often catches the eye as you turn a corner to explore a new section of the coast.

We typically went for two lengthy walks each day. As it is always an out and back, we would walk east to Mijas Cala if we had errands to do in the am, and west, towards Marbella and sunsets which backlight the Straight of Gibraltar. On clear days you can see the coast of Africa across the Mediterranean. The most spectacular view is westward at dusk towards the “Pillars of Hercules” defined by the Rock of Gibraltar and the mountain Jebel Moussa in Morocco.

Food and Drink

There is an embarrassment of options here in terms of eating and drinking. On the one end of the spectrum are the British themed restaurants and bars, complete with British food, drink and even British staff. The only one that we tried was called “The Garden” and we were drawn there by its spectacular location overlooking the coast. A self-described “beach bar”, it featured well priced food and drink, including Sunday specials of Roast Beef or Roast Chicken dinners complete with Yorkshire Pudding, covered in a thick coat of gravy, and including a backup “gravy boat” just in case your food isn’t sufficiently soggy. Of course we tried it! It was as expected. But the views!

Being on the beach, it was a great opportunity to eat a lot of sea food! We hit Andy’s Beach Bar in Cabopino, which featured an incredible view and a classic rock cover artist, an American dude of indeterminate age who said he moved to this part of Spain in 1982 amd never returned. He looked like he hadn’t slept since, but he could really play. Andy’s Beach Bar was a 14 km round trip down the beach and back, which certainly helped work off the giant plate of fried seafood.

A slightly more refined meal could be found 200m from our apartment, at La Familia, one of dozens of chirinquitos, or beach bars, lining the beach. Many of these spots grill fish over the wood filled fire pit that they build in old rowboats.

Probably our favourite spot was Benavra, a lovely little restaurant just a little inland run by a friendly young couple and which had fresh and delicious food. We went three times, and took friends Mary Lynn and Garth on our last visit. Robin had the roasted cauliflower steak, every time. Apparently it was delicious!

Community

Even though this whole area is dominated by the tourist industry, the local communities still have a charm and an identify that cuts through the British themed pubs and souvenir shops.

Sunrise … Sunset

Our favourite times of day were probably spending the early morning hours on the balcony with coffee, and our late day walks westward into the setting sun. As the sun sets on this trip, we know we will be back again.