As I walked to collect my bike over the roads and hilly streets between my accommodation and the repair shop I passed another two development sites, the bare ground concealed by boarding with words (in English) promising exclusivity and wonderful services and showing graphics of buildings that may have been more imaginary than realistic. Holiday home construction still seems to be a big activity along this coast.
The cycling Gods were with me today and the bike had been repaired. It felt good to be once again riding without nagging concerns of potential failure in the forefront of my mind and I headed to the beach and for five miles of seafront track sandwiched between sand and holiday accommodation. This whole coastline that I am now cycling has been transformed from the ‘beautiful but exhausted shore' described by Lee. Isolated fishing villages dotted along the sea remain in name only, replaced by towns burgeoning with tourists that merge along the coastline and spread inland to the infrastructure that serves them. The buildings may not be high rise towers and are less densely packed than I had imagined but it is all still a far cry from anything Lee would have experienced. I decided I had no choice but to embrace it and once I reached Marbella headed for the first promenade cafe that advertised a 'Full English'.
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| Along the coast |
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| Along the coast |
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| Along the coast |
After my overpriced breakfast (not a full English I hasten to add) I needed to head inland and into the hills: the dual carriageway coast road that I had used the other day and which I have mostly managed to avoid since Estepona becomes motorway between Marbella and Malaga and while there is plenty of other development there were no direct roads available for the cyclist that I could find. Marbella may be a big name for holidays but it is not that big a town so before long I was out of it, climbing into the hills and away from the sea. It was slow and steady, reminding me of my ride to Algeciras but without the wind turbines. I had hoped it would be a quiet road but was disappointed. I never felt unsafe, the vehicles in Spain are very respectful of cyclists and give you a wide berth, but it was a long and noisy ride.
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| In the hills |
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| In the hills |
By midday I was on my descent towards Malaga. For all my continuous climbing I had hoped in return for a steady downhill ride to the coast but it was more undulating than I expected. The roads were thankfully quieter but the afternoon heat was now taking its toll. I stopped to eat in Alhaurin de la Torre, in reality the beginnings of the built up area leading to the Malaga coast, and when I went into the cafe it was 29 degrees. When I left it was 33. It definitely feels hotter here and the hills in the distance were rocky and brown and dotted with the occasional green whereas earlier along the coast it had been the reverse.
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| Outside Malaga |
I arrived in Malaga late afternoon and it has changed from the 'untidy city' of 'slummy bars'. Now Malaga seems to be a place for the well heeled. The wide street by which I entered the old town was neat, clean and pedestrianised and full of upmarket shops while the crowds are definitely more smartly dressed than other places I have visited. The narrow side streets were packed with cafes and restaurants, all of which were packed with people. I walked to the cathedral, along the canalised and dry river then headed for the castle. Getting there may no longer require walking through slums but it is definitely still a poorer part of Malaga. It is an area of 1970s low rise accommodation and cheap shops with a very different atmosphere to the old town. Those buildings limit access to the castle, at least via the route I took, and they limit the view of it despite it being on a hill overlooking the town. I gave up on the idea of at least getting a good view of the castle, if not actually visiting it, and headed off to find some dinner.
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| Moorish stronghold and Roman Auditorium |
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| Cathedral |
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