The end of summer was approaching and with it the weather was changing. Thunderstorms and downpours were becoming a daily weather forecast and the lack of switching off when the working day should be over since I had gone freelance was taking its toll on my brain. It was because of this new career move to be freelance that I had put off the idea of a summer holiday. Choosing to build my client list and work as much as possible to support myself instead of getting a tan. However when the offer came about at the beginning of september to cross over with some friends for a few days on holiday and then continue our own… temptation was too tempting. Proud of the fact I had managed to earn enough to support my business and afford a holiday (just) we booked our flights for two weeks later and off we went!

 Swapping the Manchester rain with Spanish sun on the Costa Del Sol for a glorious 10 days was almost enough to sample life on the sunnier side and decide not to come home and yes the grass is always greener and all that, but who wouldn't want to spend their life wandering through narrow cobbled streets filled with flowers and bright colours, beach strolls just 2 minutes away and eating freshly caught fish in a local restaurant?

I have been visiting this part of spain every year for most of my life, and whist yes, I probably do need to explore the world a little more year to year, it is a place which has slowly become my second home.  Benamara, Estepona, San Pedro, Puerto Banus, Benahavis, Marbella old town are all my usual haunts.

This year we hired a car and after some dramatic braking in the car park, until Tom got used to driving an automatic car and realised he shouldn’t break with his left foot, we headed off on the 45 minute drive from Malaga to the villa with me gripping the seat and a worried expression. It was really nice to have a car throughout the holiday as it meant not only Tom could get used to the using an automatic, we could spend some days driving into the mountains to explore as well as using the great bus service which runs along the coast which is what I am normally limited to

On the 4th day we headed to Benahavis. An old work pal had told me about a gorge you can walk down and after being sent a highlighted screenshot of google maps we managed to find it. As we headed down the road, me in my pink jellies and Tom in his cool adidas slides we were approached by a man signaling to us asking if we wanted goggles. As I said no and shook my head at the audacity of street sellers, we began to see the signs which indicated he was in fact asking us if we were part of a film, I can only assume because of my jelly shoe attire he must have assumed I was the star of the show, and yes the only day we decided to visit the gorge - there was a full film crew filming some kind of nature film blocking the whole entrance with a no entry sign. We decided to keep strolling and at the bottom of the hill we found an entrance to the last pool, which was gorgeous as the mountains rolled in above you. I’m not going to lie it took a while to get in the freezing water and not get spooked by the random ripples appearing in the water but once you realised you’re not going to get eaten by a mountain water shark its very fun.  I would recommend anyone visiting pop by for a visit and a pretty cold swim.

Here is some more information on the walk and there are also official tours you can do with a professional team and all the right gear.

https://marbellainsideandout.com/2015/08/09/take-a-river-walk-on-the-wild-side-an-exhilarating-trek-through-the-angosturas-gorge-in-benahavis/

The only disappointment of the holiday was that each year on the way back to the airport I promise myself that by the next time I visit I will be fluent in Spanish, but with the only Spanish I spoke this holiday being “Hola, La quenta puffovor” means another year which I haven't managed to learn any more of the language I love. Mainly through lack of trying… although I did create a “learning Spanish” spotify playlist at the start of the year which consisted of Mariah, Shakira, Beyonce and Enrique’s Spanish albums all on one handy playlist but alas, no Spanish words went into my brain in the 5 times I’ve listened to it. Next year I promise I will know how string together a Spanish sentance. 

Anyway, I would recommend anyone a visit to this part of Spain as I bloody love it there. 

Enjoy my holiday snaps!