Puntos de vista - a personal Spain blog

Pablo de Ronda had been to Seville four times and never really took to the place, even though it’s the capital of Andalucía and the fourth largest city in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Seville was always too hot, too busy and too expensive.

He’s just been for the fifth time with his wife, Rita, and they really loved it! Pablo takes up the story ….

I’d been to Seville for the day on two occasions with my young family back in the early 2000s. The first time was in August – stupid, or what? It was way too hot.

The second time we went with my disabled mother who was in her mid-80s. We chose Easter. Also too hot! And very stressful. We had a disabled badge but the only three disabled parking spaces in the whole city back then (or, so it seemed) were occupied by cars displaying no badge!

Visit number 3 was with my relatively new wife, Rita. We parked on the street and set off to explore. When we tried to find the car again in order to go home to Ronda, could we find it? Nope! I don’t remember how we found it in the end, but the episode didn’t do much for our marital relations!

The fourth time I went to Seville was in 2011. I went to meet up with my Welsh cousin Roger who was on a Mediterranean cruise which docked for a night in Seville. I enjoyed that visit, but more because of the company, my cousin, than the city itself, which, as always, was very hot.

After visit number 3, referred to above, our marriage survived, and after an horrendous 2021 with Covid and a busy 2022, we decided on the spur of the moment to go away for a few days.

We considered the Costa Azul, Costa Tropical, Córdoba, Granada and Jaén before settling on Seville.

Money is tight so were delighted to find the charming Hotel Murillo, slap bang in the casco antiguo, at a bargain price on booking.com. However, I rang the hotel direct and got an even better price: two nights including breakfast for 100€!

Rather than drive which would cost a lot of expensive petrol plus three days parking charges, we decided to go by bus. Because we are pensioners and have the tarjeta 65 we were entitled to a 50% discount on the tickets, so the return fare for both of us was a mere 26.22€. To find out more about the tarjeta 65, click here.

As it was October, the weather was a mixture of cloud and sun and the temperature a bearable 30C.

On the first day we explored the old part, ate exquisite tapas in one of the restaurants near the cathedral, Cerveceria Giralda, and wandered a bit more before returning to the hotel for a rest.

We dined that night in a delightful Italian fish restaurant, Il Pisciolino. Rita chose a seafood salad followed by atún tartare, while I opted for a zamburiña (scallop) followed by lubina (sea bass) with chutney and a dill sauce. What good choices we made! It was outstanding. Washed down with a nice bottle of albariño (Rías Baixas, Galicia) we were well satisfied. The bill came to 88€ but we had no complaints. A nightcap in the bar opposite our hotel and we were set for a good night’s sleep.

On day 2, at 7.30 am, I went for my habitual early morning coffee before returning to the hotel for breakfast with Rita.

After that we visited Seville Cathedral and the Giralda Tower. The cathedral, built in the XVth Century is the largest in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. The Giralda was the minaret of a mosque that previously occupied the site. It’s certainly an impressive place, so much so that it is the fifth most-visited monument in Spain. Because we are pensioners admission only cost us 7€ each. By the way, if you are a resident of Sevilla, entrance is free.

All this culture plus the climb up 34 floors of the Giralda and back down again makes one thirsty, so we chose Cervecería Catedral which offers a range of interesting beers. I chose El Alcázar (Jaén) and El Águila (Madrid) while Rita stuck to a 0.0% tostada. For tapas we went for a vol-au-vent stuffed with avocado and prawns and croquetas de gambas. Very tasty.

After a siesta we ummed and aahed about where to go for dinner. Finally we chose Casa San Marco housed in what was a XIIth baño arabe (Arab baths). Super location, professional yet friendly staff and delicious food. Rita had a rollo de salmón to start and then a king prawn and avocado salad, while I had a “crunch” stuffed with cheese followed by verduras a la parrilla (grilled vegetables in season).

Our final morning consisted of early coffee for me again, breakfast and then a tour of El Alcázar, the Arab fortress, before checking out and heading for the bus station for our two-hour trip back to Ronda.

I have to say we both loved our short break in Seville. No stress with car parking, hotel right in the old part and great food and wine all around us. Spectacular architecture combined with narrow streets and Sevillan atmosphere ensured that we will be back soon ….

However, there is the small matter of the seven other provincial capitals to visit. We’ve done Cádiz, Granada, Jaén, Málaga and Sevilla together. That just leaves Almeria, Córdoba, and Huelva. Watch this space …..

Pablo de Ronda wrote recently about the Costa del Sol west of Málaga City. In this article he turns to the eastern side, which includes La Costa Tropical and La Costa de Almeria.

Pablo de Ronda lives out of choice up in the mountains of the Serranía de Ronda, yet he has ventured from time to time to the coastal resorts to the east of Málaga.

I have passed through many of the coastal resorts to the east of the regional capital and stayed in quite a few, including Nerja and nearby Frigiliana, Almuñecar, and Mojácar.

Of the places I’ve only passed through I like Rincón de la Victoria, Benajarafe, Torre del Mar, El Morche and Torrox Costa. On the Costa Tropical I am familiar with all the main resorts, eg . La Herradura, Salobreña and Motril. Further east I only know Almeria and Mojácar.  

Rincón de la Victoria is much bigger than I expected but has a genuine Spanish feel, which I liked.

Benajarafe we sort of stumbled across one late afternoon in October 2022. The weather was lovely and we found a busy chiringuito open right on the beach. We sat there for a couple of hours and enjoyed a late lunch of splendid fresh seafood.

Torre del Mar is a super place. The local council has promoted the resort well. The beach is huge and clean. Smokers have to use a portable ashtray and deposit it in a dedicated container when they leave the beach. I had to use a public toilet in a hut on the beach and it was as clean as ours at home. Full marks. No wonder a montejaqueña friend of mine chooses to live there.

Although El Morche blends into Torrox Costa it is different. We enjoyed a nice breakfast there recently opposite the beach. Car parking is free of charge even in high season.

We visited Torrox Costa twice last year. Despite a whole area near the beach being a German “ghetto” (my German wife hated it) I liked the splendid esplanade and the beach. We had an excellent seafood lunch there on the second day.

Apparently, Torrox enjoys the best climate in the whole of Spain.

We viewed some properties for sale out of interest. At one viewing of a house owned by Italian restaurateurs, they insisted we had lunch with them and sold us a case of wine at a huge discount. Serendipity or what?!

The resorts of the so-called Costa Tropical are all different but charming and not over-run by foreigners. La Herradura is small but beautiful, Salobreña is quite modern but has a great beach and excellent restaurants and Motril is famous for its wholesale fish market which you can visit and watch that morning’s catch being auctioned off.

Almeria capital I visited with my young family back in 1989, so the memory is hazy, but I recall a bustling Spanish city with great atmosphere.

As for places we have stayed, outstanding is Frigiliana, 15 minutes inland from Nerja. Old, beautiful, super location, fantastic views, excellent restaurants. Touristy, true, but not in a horrible way.

Its more famous near neighbour, Nerja, has to be one of the better resorts on the whole costa. We’ve stayed there a couple of times over the years. We like the Balcón de Europa, Burriana beach, Las Cuevas (caves), breakfast at the Parador (on my birthday in 2021) and the free tapa that comes with every drink in most bars. We’ll be going there again.

We stayed in Almuñecar in 2010 when I took part in a Press “freebie”. We enjoyed it a lot, and not just because everything (hotel, meals, transport) was free. This whole area is a micro-climate, hence the name of this part of the coast (Costa Tropical), which has allowed the development of a thriving industry cultivating tropical fruits such as avocadoes, kiwis, kakis, chirimoyas and many more I’d never heard of.

The only other place on the Costa de Almeria that I have stayed was Mojácar, back in 1989 when it was still small and undeveloped. I hear it has since been over-developed and in an unsympathetic manner. Shame.

Back then the beach below the village, which is perched atop a cliff, was quiet even in August. We discovered the delights of skinny-dipping during our two-week holiday. I think it was illegal back then, whereas nowadays there are playas nudistas all over Spain.

On that point, my review of the resorts to the east of Málaga is complete. I hope you found it interesting.

Places I would return to are, in alphabetical order, Almuñecar, Benajarafe, Frigiliana, La Herradura, Mojácar, Nerja, Salobreña and Torre del Mar. Slightly inland, do not miss out on Cómpeta and Torrox.

To read my review of the western end of the Coast of Sunshine, click here.

By Pablo de Ronda, 4 October 2022

If you are a foreigner who spends more than 183 days a year in Spain you are, with a few exceptions, required to pay your taxes on worldwide income in Spain, to the Agencia Tributaria, commonly known as Hacienda.

Two recent announcements, one by the national government and the other by the regional assembly, are of particular interest to many foreigners, in that together they represent a significant tax break.

Whilst tax rules are set by central government, the autonomous communities, ie regions, have the right to vary them.

First things first, on Thursday last, 29 September, the Spanish government led by prime minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE – socialist), approved a new two-year fiscal package, which will come into force in 2023.

The measures include a reduction in personal income tax for those earning less than 21,000 euros a year. This applies to all who pay their taxes in Spain, ie Spanish citizens and foreign residents.

This change will take effect from 1 January 2023 and last until the end of 2024. The government estimates that the reduction in personal income tax will save taxpayers a total of 1.8 billion euros over the two years.

Finance Minister María Jesús Montero explained that until now the reduced rate of income tax (IRPF – Impuesto sobre renta de personas físicas) has only applied to people with an annual income of less than 18,000 euros. Now the limit is to rise to 21,000 euros and those whose income is under 15,000 euros will be exempt from this tax altogether.

The second tax break, announced by the recently elected Gobierno Regional de Andalucía (Partido Popular – the People’s Party – conservative) has announced a significant change which is specifically aimed at foreign non-residents who own property in Andalucía.

The so-called Wealth Tax, Impuesto de Patrimonio, whereby non-resident property owners are liable to pay an annual tax on their property, is to be abolished completely, or to be more precise, will be subject to a 100% discount.

The Junta de Andalucía and President Juanma Moreno hope that the abolition of this tax will encourage 100,000 foreigners to make Andalucía their official home and will be decisive in attracting foreign talent and investment.

The Junta has set a target of getting 100,000 foreigners who reside in Andalucía for more than six months a year to register on the padrón (electoral roll).

Sources at the regional government say the decision to get rid of the tax was made after considering the results of several studies into the potential impact of the move.

These studies indicated that a large number of wealthy foreigners who spend most of the year in Andalucía are not empadronados, ie they are still officially registered as resident in their home countries.

The Junta also has information which shows that during the pandemic there was an influx of wealthy foreigners to Andalucía because they were able to work remotely. Many company directors were among those who made the Andalucían coast their second home.

Now that they no longer have to worry about the Wealth Tax, the Junta believes these people can be convinced to change their status and become officially resident in Andalucía and to register on the padrón.

The Junta also expects the measure to dissuade people from moving to Portugal, where an attractive tax scheme for foreign residents has already been introduced.

***

So, in fiscal terms, September has turned out to be a very good month for foreigners. These measures, introduced in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis brought about by a combination of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy price hike, will make many a guiri rub his hands with glee. This resident will be happy about the increase in the personal allowance and many of his non-resident property-owning friends will be delighted about the 100% discount on their Wealth Tax.

Sources: DiarioSUR, SUR in English

The Costa del Sol has been “going” for a long time. The first coastal villages West of Málaga City to be developed into holiday resorts were Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Marbella.

Some were built quickly and cheaply without much regard for planning regulations.

In an effort to cash in on the new concept of the “package tour”, hotels were simply thrown up with little attention paid to comfort, safety and issues of longevity.

Many of these tatty structures have been or are being torn down, to be replaced with altogether more tasteful and attractive alternatives.

Pablo de Ronda lives out of choice up in the mountains of the Serranía de Ronda, yet he has ventured from time to time to the strange, dirty, noisy and expensive world of the coast of sunshine.

I have been on day trips to Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Estepona, Casares Playa, Manilva and Algeciras. Of these I like the eastern end of Torremolinos out towards Guadalmar best, as it is still quite undeveloped, yet has a great beach and loads of chiringuitos.

On my one visit to Benalmádena I didn’t spot a single Spaniard. Enough said.

San Pedro town I like a lot. It has a great atmosphere and is nice and open. The beaches are stony, however. The chiringuitos are good, if somewhat pricey.

Estepona is a genteel town with an enchanting casco antiguo (old part), a great main beach, a pretty port and some fine restaurants. It’s a very well-cared-for place.

Casares Playa, despite the name, has disappointing beaches. Friends of ours have a front-line apartment on a newish urbanización there. We enjoyed a visit to see them and even swam in the sea in the winter, December 2021.

Manilva we visited off-season on the recommendation of Spanish friends, but it was dead. The beach chiringuito that had been suggested to us was all shut up for the winter. Fortunately we had spotted an Argentine restaurant on the main road. El Estribo gave us an outstanding lunch which included some fabulous Argentine beef.

We travelled on Mr Henderson’s railway to Algeciras for my 61^st birthday. We shan’t be going again. It’s not an attractive town, it’s grubby and quite boring.

That’s my personal view of the places I’ve been to on day trips on this part of the Costa del Sol.

My one experience of staying overnight (two nights, in fact) was quite recent, in September 2022. My wife, sister-in-law and I had a mini-break in the Mijas area. We stayed in Colinas del Faro between La Cala de Mijas and Fuengirola. A very convenient location from which to explore the area.

On the first evening we attended a gala dinner of the Costa Press Club at Restaurante Play in Mijas Costa. Although this was a private function for over 60 people, we could tell that it would be a great place for a romantic dinner for two overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Good food and friendly staff.

On the following morning I had an early coffee or two in Fuengirola, at Granier on the seafront and in a churrería in the Los Boliches part of town. I’d been to Fuengirola a few times over the years and I’m afraid it continues to disappoint. Seedy and shabby, it badly needs a facelift. Its splendid beach deserves a better resort behind it.

La Cala de Mijas is a better bet. It’s a pretty little village nestled between the busy A7 and the beach, which is fantastic. Parking is a nightmare, however. All three of us went there for breakfast. We chose a chiringuito on the beach. Set up for tourists there were various English breakfasts on offer, which were huge, so reasonably good value-for-money. We were well-fed.

After a bit of expensive window-shopping – even the sale goods were eye-poppingly pricey – we headed up into the hills to Mijas proper, ie Mijas Pueblo. This is without question a classy town with a terrific ambience. There were plenty of spectacular views to enjoy.

We lunched at one of the many restaurants crowded around the main square. The only one with a table in the shade. Gastrobar Alboka offered a range of gourmet tapas, from which we chose a couple each. Excellent, if somewhat dearer than we’re used to up in the Serrania de Ronda.

That night we did a bit of research on Trip Advisor and opted for Tapas Bar Bocarte in Cala de Mijas. We dined on excellent tapas which were generous in size and tasty, but once again expensive. On the night we were there the service was very slow, although they were very busy, to be fair. All in all, though, we had a good night, and we would go there again if we were in the area.

Our final breakfast was in Granier in Fuengirola. I had been the day before, but the womenfolk not. Expensive, but we knew it would be. What we didn’t expect was a 60€ surcharge – a parking fine!

So, that’s my review of the western Costa del Sol. Highlights, in alphabetical order, are: Cala de Mijas, Estepona, Guadalmar, Mijas Pueblo, San Pedro de Alcántara and Torremolinos. The rest you can keep.

Pablo de Ronda has written about Early Morning Coffee in the past (click here), based on his ritual of going for an early caffeine hit in Benaojan, Montejaque and Ronda (all Málaga), the area where he lives.

Recently he has spent a few nights on the Costa del Sol, in Cala de Mijas and Nerja. He continued to seek out an early café con leche while he was away. Here’s his report.

In Mijas Costa (Málaga) for two nights in September, on both mornings after the night before I needed a coffee. On the first morning I headed down to the coast from the urbanización where we were staying (nothing open there) to find nothing open there either.

So, I headed for Fuengirola, a working town, where I assumed there would be somewhere open early to cater for the workers. Lo and behold on the promenade I found a Granier, part of a chain of panaderías-cum-cafeterías widespread in this area. There used to be a branch in Ronda, but, sadly, it closed earlier this year.

I ordered a café con leche, huge, and a slice of cake. I read a copy of the Euro Weekly News that was lying around and realised why I hadn’t missed this dreadful free rag for the last few years (they no longer leave copies in Ronda).

This choice of cafetería was a mistake. The cake was far too sweet and there were no manual workers there, then I discovered why. The bill was a massive 6.20€!

So, I ventured into town from the coast and found a bog-standard churrería where there were workers having their breakfast. I had a coffee and two churros, sticks of fried extruded batter about 20cm long. 2.50€. That’s more like it, I thought.

Back to where we were staying, and my wife and sister-in-law were just about ready to go for their breakfast. We headed for La Cala de Mijas to find a pretty, bustling town with nowhere to park. Then we eventually found somewhere to leave the car and headed to the beach to look for a chiringuito for breakfast. In my case, the third of the day!

We found a chiringuito open with a wide choice of English-type breakfasts and mainly foreign customers. The food was great, huge portions, and the coffee too. We paid beach prices, but, what the hell, we were on holiday.

On Day Two, for my early morning coffee, I headed west to La Cala. It was still dark, but I found a café open in the town. Full of Spanish workers, TV news blaring, this was more like the real thing that I am used to up in the Serranía de Ronda. I indulged in un pitufo con aceite y tomate and a second coffee. I can’t remember what I paid but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Later that morning, the women-folk fancied Granier in Fuengirola, so that`s where we went. There was a parking space just outside (I later found out why!)

I eschewed a second breakfast and just had a coffee. Rita and Birgid chose healthy-looking open-sandwiches and paid the (expensive) bill.

On departure I noticed a slip of paper tucked under one of my windscreen wipers. A parking fine, 60€, so the breakfast had gotten even dearer!

At the end of September we had two nights in Nerja (Málaga) with friends from the UK.

On the first morning (yesterday) I found a little café, El Camionero (The Lorry Driver), around the corner. Great coffee, two cups, un chupito de pacharán, and the daily paper SUR and I was well set for the best part of an hour.

Today (our second morning), I went there again. The same procedure as yesterday plus un pitufo con aceite y tomate. 5.30€ only. Amazing.

Now we’re going home to the Serranía de Ronda and back to my more familiar early morning coffees at Bar Ankanita, Bar Encuentro (Benaoján), Bar Entre Ascuas, Bar La Melli (Montejaque) or Bar La Fragua, Bar La Morada or Hotel Ronda Valley (Ronda).