Sounds great, doesn't it? Mmmm! Maybe not. The main road from Ronda (Malaga), where I live, the A397, is closed because of a massive rock fall caused by the recent storms. The carriageway has been destroyed at Kilometro 31 and will take six months to fix.
[Video courtesy of YouTube]
Impact
The 9,000 workers who used to travel to the coast and back every day have had to find alternative routes.
Tourists may be deterred from visiting Ronda.
Retired people, like us, may have medical appointments in San Pedro, Estepona or Marbella and now have to find other ways to get there.
[Map courtesy of Wikipedia]
Monday 31 March
The second day of Spring, my wife Rita has medical appointments in Marbella. No problem, we'll set off earlier than we would have done and drive via Ardales, Casarabonela, Coin, and Ojen and drop down into Marbella. It will take a bit longer, but, hey, we're retired, so we will take it in our stride.
Instead of lunch on the beach in San Pedro, we can enjoy a beachside meal in Marbella itself or in Fuengirola.
Life presents challenges, we just have to overcome them.
Granted, it's trickier for workers, than for retired people, but, with a positive attitude, everything is possible.
Chiringuito in Marbella [YouTube]
Update - 31 March
After pottering about a bit around the house, we took showers and had some breakfast before setting off around 11.00 am.
Despite the blocked A397, the traffic wasn't too bad - just hire cars carrying tourists and old people, like us, maybe off to Marbella for private hospital treatment. There were a few tourist coaches and the odd heavy lorry transporting rocks for construction work on the coast.
The worker traffic (commuters) had already passed four hours previously.
The "Lovely Rita" had an appointment with a dermatologist to assess her for a couple of minor procedures to make her even more lovely, plus she had to collect some x-ray slides and a report from two appointments a couple of weeks ago.
That done, we decided to head to a beach, but which one? Let's be honest, we're spoilt for choice in this part of the world.
From the Costa Tropical in Granada towards the east, all the way westwards along the Costa del Sol to Tarifa, the southernmost point of Europe, and then up the Costa de la Luz to Cadiz.
Lovely Rita [Photo: Paul Whitelock]
Too far for today, but there are enough little bays and coves within easy reach of Marbella or in the town itself.
Today we tried somewhere we'd never been before, El Rosario. We got a parking space right by a chiringuito on the beach, called Hipopotamus. It was a great discovery. We shared gambas Thai and provolone con pan rustico and a couple of beers and a coffee. At 50 euros with tip, it was pricey but we enjoyed the experience immensely. The young staff were delightful.
After topping up on the solar rays, which have been absent for weeks with the heavy rains in February and March, we decided to head for home via the cheapest gasolinera we know. Unleaded 95 was 11 cents a litre cheaper than the lowest-priced petrol in Ronda at a mere 143.9 instead of 154.9.
Chiringuito Hipopotamo, El Rosario View of the Med in El Rosario [Photos: Paul Whitelock]
© Diary of a Nobody
Links:
OUR DAY OUT – at the Seaside
Ronda cut off! - Help me, Ronda
Tags:
A397, Ardales, beachside meal, Casarabonela, chiringuito, Coin, Estepona, Eye on Spain, Fuengirola, Hipopotamus, Marbella, medical appointment, Ojen, Our Day Out - at the seaside, Rita, rockfall, San Pedro, Spring, Trip to the coast, Wikipedia, YouTube