Torremolinos and Fuengirola

We left Malaga and rolled into Torremolinos. Our first thing we do once we get somewhere is scope out for a camp spot. Once we have that accomplished we sit down at a cafe and have ourselves a coffee or beer to relax after our ride.
Torremolinos has kind of a boring boardwalk except for the sand art. A sand artist made extravagant art pieces all along the boardwalk. One was of the town that lights up at night with tea light candles. It also had salt sprinkled on top to give it a snowy look. Another piece was Elvis Presley in a convertible car.  The boardwalk also had rainbow flags to indicate gay bars, which I've never seen that in Spain anywhere. I thought that was great to see that they except gay pride especially in this town. The town was pretty quiet though. We didn't do any busking or selling of wears here. We just camped in our spot in a nature reserve park by the beach. It was a beautiful spot but we got ate by mosquitoes and quickly learned tis the season.
We headed off to Fuengirola going up and down hills. The ride was pretty but on a busy road. Lots of hotels, theme parks, and sport bars up until Fuengirola. The beaches in between were full of parties and college kids all crazy n drunk everywhere. We didn't take the time to stop. It was gaudy. Too many tourists, too many buskers, and too many Africans selling shoes n purses.
Once we headed into Fuengirola, we found a quiet spot in the beach and dunked into the ocean. Still cold and breathtaking. We strolled the boardwalk and checked out the town. Cute place. Giant pedestrian boardwalk with restaurants behind on the other side of the street. The town has purple flowers on the trees all in blossom. Plaza's snuck in here and there with lots of alley way bars. We camped in a ravine full of trees and wildflowers which was in between expensive housing. If only they knew we were there.
We found a fine dining restaurant with a casual patio that was in a tiny courtyard. Joe and Chris played a set of music and rocked their worlds. The owner loved it. We all received drinks and they got a nice tip. She said they are welcome any time to come back and play.
The next day we rode through downtown and happen to see the Semana Santa (Easter) parade. They had the wagons all done up and the beautiful attire to go with it. One of the wagons carried a shrine of Jesus that was led by a ox. As the parade passed by, the lady's covered the streets in flower pedals. Happy we strolled upon it. While we were venturing around we came across a water fill station right next to a little tiny shrine house. It was so cute! People would come up to it and say a prayer and walk away. What a gem.
In the evening we went back to check out the restaurant but the patio was empty. We sat there and had cafés. The owner picked up the tab and invited us to come inside. They had live music with a lady singer and a guy playing piano. It was funny cause we were dressed all casual and the restaurant was super fancy inside with a dress code. The owner had Chris sing a couple of songs with the pianist. The whole place was booked out for a woman turning 70. All the ladies loved Chris and definitely hitting up Joe. So funny. We were served any drink of our choice on the house. Everyone loved all of us in the end except the waitresses. They didn't like us being inside for we didn't have the right attire. The owner however treated us like royals.
We played Fuengirola's Rastro (Flea Market) on Sunday. We set up in one of the rounds by the Africans selling their shoes. We had a huge crowd around us loving the music and checking out the gypsy suitcase. A local girl came up and sang a song along with Joe and Chris playing along. It was amazing! She said she was shaking afterwards cause she's never sang out loud in the streets before in her hometown. She sounded great. She sings in a Jazz club in town. She definitely made our day as we made hers.

Malaga

We were running out of daylight to find a camp spot. We tried a campsite with motorhomes, but no luck. The place didn't take tents. The guy suggested a beach further down. We rode through tunnels on a bicycle path right along the coast. It was one of the most amazing rides. At dusk we ended at a park right in between towns that was secluded from everyone. We got to camp right on the beach. I was worried we'd be taken out to sea in the middle of the night. All was good though and we woke up to a perfect sunny day on the beach.
We had such a perfect beach spot, that Seth and I left our tents up all day and kicked it on the beach. We soaked up sun rays, read our books, and I made some art. The beach was full of neat shells so I hand drilled holes in them. Takes about 1 hour to drill the hole since they were pretty thick shells. I made some necklaces and earrings. Joe and Chris left and checked out some beach spots further down to busk, but no luck. It turned out to be Spain's Mothers Day which is 2 weeks ahead of the U.S.
The next day we rode a long boardwalk that led us all the way into Malaga. Malaga is a huge touristic city with lots of parks, old monuments, and a port. There's a giant Moorish castle that takes up a huge part of the city up on top of a hill. There's a lot of plaza's with bars n restaurants down alleyways and windy roads for pedestrians only. The port is a huge marina that Cruz ships come dock with spots to enjoy the views around. All very fancy. Top notch places to rent out leather couches n chairs to sit in and order drinks.
Joe and Chris tried busking our first night in downtown Malaga. They soon found out that there's certain busking hours and busking spots to play. The hours are noon till 3 and 5 to 9pm. The busking spots have numbers throughout the city. It's very regulated. I tried selling art since I saw other people out there selling. We all quickly got shut down by the police. The police told me there's no selling art anywhere in Malaga except on the 1st Sunday of every month on the boardwalk. Pretty lame. No wonder there's a fight for art in Spain. We decided to not busk at all with having to obey so many rules, and just enjoy our time there. We ran into our friend Sebastian who we met at Isla Bonita. Crazy. We forgot he lives in Malaga and then to run into him. Sebastian saw our bikes and came over. It was so nice to see him and catch up. We were supposed to meet up with him later that night but it flash flooded on us unexpectedly. We jumped out of the rain and hung out under a patio tables umbrella. The place turned out to be owned by Antonio Banderez. So cool. It was a huge downpour and all of our belongings got wet. Lots of thunder and lightning.
Every night (which was 3) we rode out of town to our beach front campsite. Luckily the sun is hot during the day so we dried our belongings in no time.
All of us needed bike repairs done and we found a guy who took us to a bicycle co-op. The volunteer there hooked us up. His name is Rel. Seth's bike needed the most repairs and Rel took him under his wing and showed Seth how to fix everything. Joe put on new handle bars and Chris fixed his front rack. Me, I just needed a little oil on my chain. If you ever need your bicycle fixed for cheap, a bicycle co-op is the place to go. You give a donation and they help you fix your bike. Co-op's are full of all kinds of bike parts n tools. One guy is usually in charge and has the knowledge to help and everyone there is volunteers. If your in Malaga, the bicycle co-op is called Grease.
We also hit up a Decathalon to stock up on our propane tank, bicycle tubes, and camping goods. I got me a new blow up pillow. It's the way to go. Light and easy for traveling. I also got some new socks to cozy up with at night. On our way cruzing around Malaga, we spotted a bar that was a microbrewery. We had to pull over and get a beer. It brought back the American beer taste that we've all been longing for. The beer in Spain is super cheap (6 pk. 1.20) but it's super light and no taste. I don't even waste my time drinking it. I prefer the wine here. Chris treated us and it was divine.
Since we were in a big city, Chris bought Seth a skateboard for his pre birthday present. Seth's other skateboard fell apart due to the sun, rain, and salt. Skateboards are hard to find in Spain. Seth was super stoked on his new board. We had a blast getting things done and sight seeing Malaga.

Torre Del Mar

Torre Del Mar has a beautiful boardwalk. Full of bike paths and huge walkways. They even have a section on the beach for kids storytime and theater. One of the biggest kids play area as well. It looks like they've spent a lot of money making it pretty here. One of the best beach fronts. Up from the boardwalk, is a pedestrian only walkway full of shops and cafés. There's lots of benches to relax and hang out on to take in your surrounding's.
The next day we cycled up the giganto hill into Valdez Malaga. We tried to do their market but a lady cop gave me such hard times about me not having a permit to sell. She was really rude about it, as to where the guy cop was super casual. No biggie. We packed up and left, then cruzed  back to Torre Del Mar. I love being on the coast. Joe and Chris played the Chillingita (bars on the beach) and Seth and I made some art to catch up on some items.
We met a couple from England and India named Alex and Charles. They invited us to sit with them at one of the chillingitas and have some drinks. We ended up hanging out with them many drinks later and having tapas. It was well past dark and we said our goodbyes. They didn't want the good times to end and invited us back to their place for the night. They happened to have a flat right behind us with 2 extra rooms. Alex made us up some tapas and wine. We all had showers and beds to sleep in. Such a fun surprise to us. We sure did enjoy their company. They gave us some good advice on where to go further south and explore.
We stayed in Torre Del Mar 3 days or so. On our way out we saw Alex and Charles again on the boardwalk. They were disappointed we didn't stop by the other night. She said she left our sheets on just in case. So cute. They bought us some more beers and we said our goodbyes.
We left Torre Del Mar kind of late in the day. We had to book it to Malaga or close by to find a camp spot.

Time Away

I just wanted to apologize on the space in between blogs. I couldn't get my phone to work for the longest time. Due to family circumstances I'm back in the States, now in Vancouver, Washington. I'm still going to post my times I had and catch up with things. I can't leave it an empty void. Thanks for your patience and hope everyone still follows along.

Nerja and Torrox

We stayed in Almunicar for 3 days then went to Nerja. Nerja is a rather large town. Half is down by the sea and the other half is further up. Beach feel then city feel. Nerja is weird though. We're surrounded by all English speaking people. Everyone is mostly from the United Kingdom. They all are on holiday (vacation). Most of them have houses or flats here and spend half their time here and half their time back at home. It's all people in their 60's and the other people are in their 40's and rich. There's a lot of big fancy hotels along the coast and restaurants. Definitely a tourists town to come and lay in the sun at your hotel behind glass. The beach is mostly cliffs with great lookout points. Nijar is made up of small coves right by each other. Each cove has buskers of all kinds. We've seen more buskers here than anywhere else. They all have their spots. Each one is courteous of the other one. They all do 10 to 20 minute sets. Neat seeing other musicians. I do say though, none of them are as good as Joe and Chris. I'm not saying that just cause I know them, but they bring fun times. Other buskers are quiet and have frowns on their face. They even sing American songs but not in a good way.
We did the market here and it was great. It was sunny and hot. Everyone loved the music since everyone speaks English and we sold some art. We had a record day. Once we do the market, people come up to us all over town and make conversations. People are always interested in our travelling stories. Some more curious than others. With our giant packs on our bicycles, we stick out any who, and it opens up conversations. People buy us beer n cafés and ask for us to join them just to hear our stories. Everyone is welcoming of us.
We rode a flat ride to Torrox since we heard there was a market. Torrox pretty much consists of 2 main roads. The boardwalk and a main strip that is a tad up from the beach. A lot of beach bars n restaurants but nothing special. We pitched our tents in a grassy knoll just below the motor homers. There's plenty of spots all along the coast of Spain to camp for free with a r.v. We usually don't camp next to them since we like our own space. In this case there wasn't anywhere else to camp in Torrox. Luckily it was right next to a skatepark so Seth got to get some skate time in. He still has the moves.
After we made ourselves dinner a lady came by and gave us hot tea and biscuits (cookies). She's from Germany. It made our night since it was a chilly evening. So sweet of her. We gave her a hand made card that Joe made. People are a surprise sometimes.
I was up all night tossing and turning for my stomach was upset. I threw up in the morning after no sleep and had a huge headache. I felt horrible. Everyone else felt fine. We tried to go play the market but the layout of it sucked. The market was set on a road with no room to spare. People were cramped in with walking their dogs and baby strollers toppling over each other. We skipped the market in the end. I was glad since I still didn't feel good. We found a patch of grass so I tried to fall asleep but the wind was chilling me to my bones. Let alone people could see me lying down and that's the last thing I wanted to be around, people. I wanted to curl up into a ball and be alone in my tent to wait out my sickness. Its the worst feeling wanting to hide from society and can't. You can't just pitch a tent up in the middle of the day here, for camping is prohibited in Spain.
We all decided to ride and find a spot to chill out in and camp but that spot wasn't in Torrox.
We rode against the wind as I was shivering the whole time barely making it. I broke down crying but I knew we had to keep going to find a spot. We rode 15km. or so to the next few towns and finally found a spot along a river with some trees around. At last I got to hang my hammock up, cozy into my sleeping bag, and pass out. I had a 102 Fahrenheit temperature by that time. I barely ate dinner and still exhausted. To me, its the worst part of travelling is if you get sick. I sweated it out over night and woke up drenched but feeling a little bit better. I could tell my fever was gone. I slept in a tad but was rushed to go since we had a Airbnb waiting for us. Still not feeling that well I quickly packed up and got on the bike expecting to go 3km. over, 3km. up a mountain. We went 6 km. over and tons of kilometers up a mountain and got lost. With no cell reception, no food in my belly, lost, and then of course it started to rain. The guy for the Airbnb didn't even give us the exact address. Finally we got cell reception and ahold of the guy and he was upset that we didn't meet him at the time we had set up. He only spoke Spanish and we couldn't explain how we got lost in exact words. We finally got the address but he wouldn't be able to meet us for 2 more hours. We pushed our bikes
in pain, agony, and misery, in the super wind and rain up a steep hill. We sat at his property under cover until he let us in.
The place had a spectacular view. It was nice inside. A big reason we booked it was that it said it came with a washer and drier. The guy handed me a bucket to hand wash. That would of been okay if it wasn't pouring outside. Our laundry wouldn't have time to dry. I still didn't feel all that good but I had lots of catching up to do. I scrubbed down my plate, cup, utensils, cooking  pan, coffee maker, and the rest of our camping gear. I like a clean start when we take off from an Airbnb. I did my catch up work, took a hot lovely shower and went to bed.

Coastal Times

We went back to Orgiva for we left our bikes at Glennis house while we went to Granada. Joe and Chris had a gig at a local bar that a guy from town set up for them. When we arrived in Orgiva, advertisements were up all over town to come see "Venga Venga" play. "Venga Venga" is the name that Joe and Chris came up with for their band. It means various things in Spanish. Come on, come on, hurry up, let's go, and go away. It's a commonly used Spanish term. Everyone that we met in our 3 week stay in Orgiva, came out to the show. The place was packed. We made more friends in Orgiva in 3 weeks time, vs us living in Asheville North Carolina for 4 years. That truly says something special about Orgiva. Everyone is so friendly and easy to get along with. The show was a blast. Everyone was dancing and having fun.
On Sunday, we hit up one last rastro. Tons of people came out since the other rastro's have been cancelled due to the rain and Easter events. The rastro was more about people gathering and hanging out vs people buying anything. Seth and I did okay on selling but not like before. Joe and Chris played a café nearby in the rastro and made out great.
We left Orgiva with some money in our pockets on Monday and set out to head to the coast. We camped halfway at our favorite spot in the mountains. The one with the pedestrian bridge that went over the crystal clear water below. We had the place to ourselves again. Penny (who we did the Help Ex for) met us there in her caravan and stayed the night with us. We had a delicious pasta meal, gin and tonics, and cookies. It was divine.
It felt fantastic being on our bicycles again and camping. Independent. Staying at people's houses is great in all but your in someone else's space. I love having my own space in my tent surrounded by my belongings.
Luckily for us, the ride to the beach towns were flat and gorgeous. It was a good thing, since we were all out of shape from not riding our bikes for 3 weeks time. Along the way we noticed another bicycle tourist following us. We pulled over and introduced ourselves. He name was Denys from Moscow. He came with us into Almunicar. He wanted to see Joe and Chris perform. Denys hung out for a bit then continued his travels. Almunicar is a medium size town built into a cove on the Alboran Sea. It's filled with a mix of Spanish and tourists from all over Europe. We hit up the market but by the time we got there, there wasn't any place to set up. The market consisted of 2 long rows of stuff with people jam packed in. A lot of different things sold at this market. Ceramics that were hand painted like the one's we saw in Granada, to different kinds of fruit that I've never seen before. The market had my favorite fruit called a custard apple/cheimoya. It looks like a closed artichoke but has a vanilla dessert taste with black seeds inside. You scoop it out from the skin and eat it with a spoon. If you ever get a chance, eat one. Best fruit ever. The custard apple is in season right now in spring.
We had a nice camp spot in a grassy field not far from the beach. Secluded with a nice scenery. Joe and Chris busked 4 chilingitas (bars on the beach) and made 50 euros a pop. Seth and I sold art on the boardwalks along with the Africans selling Nike knock off's and Reebox knock off's. It's a huge thing in Spain. From Guchi purses to Nike shoes. All fakes. Not everyone knows their products are fake but I happened to work for Nike years ago and the tags sewn into the items are not Nike's. Their made to look the same. That's how the people can sell them for so cheap. Beware.
We cruzed the old part of town built on a hill with a castle above. In parts of Almunicar, there is old Roman structures underground that were used for salt baths. Now, the structures have parks built around them. We treated ourselves to a pizza dinner with garlic bread served with a whole slab of goat cheese on top. Spain serves the pizza with thin crust with many pork options on top or you can order veggie. Definitely smaller portion size than the U.S but also delicious.
We played at Almunicars rastro (flea market) and had fun. Their Rastro is all garage sale items. No hand made art like Orgiva's. If your looking for a good deal on anything you might need that's used, the Rastro is the place to get it. You can bargain with people. Selling art for me, wasn't the spot. Joe and Chris made a fun scene with a lot of smiles and dancing. Before we came, everyone was in their regular funk.

Granada

We went to Granada for 4 days. It's a huge city. The older part is up on a mountain and down below is a sprawled out city. The roads are made with rocks and pebbles and some have designs in them. There's a huge castle called the Alhambra up top of the city built into a ridge. Behind the Alhambra in the rolling hills, the Gypsies built cave homes. They've created small communities and sell homemade items in the streets. There's a lot if beautiful Muslim architect all throughout the city. In the Muslim quarters, they have shops filled with bright colors of ceramics, clothes, leather purses, spices, loose leaf teas, and much more. There's delicious restaurants and hookah bars. Granada is one known for it's tapas. Tapas are tiny appetizer size. Simple and delicious. The deal is, if you order any alcoholic beverage, your served a tapa. If you have 4 people, sometimes you only get 2 tapas for the table. 3 is the magic number, then you get 3 tapas. It's fun to have one drink, eat the tapas, then move into a new place. That way you can sample all kinds of different tapas. A lazy tapa is potato chips and olives.
We stayed in a Airbnb right in the old part of the city. We got a 1 bedroom with a queen size bed, a twin bed, and a couch that turns into a bed for 30 euros. On Airbnb you get the whole place to yourself. Their usually someone's vacation home or just used for Airbnb. We've stayed in beautiful places for cheap. Especially for 4 of us, it's a better deal than getting a hostel. Plus you get a kitchen that's usually stocked with spices and your basic needs. A washing machine and sometimes a bath tub to relax in come with most all the places too. Airbnb is a website anyone can use all over the world to find a place to stay.
We did a lot of walking around Granada while checking everything out. Unfortunately for us, it rained every day we were there. Our shoes were soaked but we had rain jackets on. We hiked up in the windy road neighborhoods and saw beautiful views of the city. There's lookout points all over hidden in between the streets. We tried to get tickets to go inside the Alhambra but it was sold out for the next 3 months. Who knew to book it that far in advance. Missed out on that one. We checked out the vintage thrift shops, record stores that had tapes, books, old school posters in it, English book store, and second hand shops.
Our friend Judith that we met at Isla Bonita, met us in Granada. It was fun catching up with her and hanging out. Joe's friend Mathew showed up the next night and met us so we had a full house. We went out and checked the nightlife scene. There was some live music at a bar but it wasn't all that great. We left and hit up a hostel that has a full on bar down below with cushy chairs n couches. Our tapas were a cream base with mushrooms and chunks of ham, served with bread. Good music playing and fun times. We stayed out late and had a blast.
Joe and I had a day together. We went to cathedrals, art galleries, and cruzed the city. Somehow we kept going in circles amongst the windy little roads. We sat in cafés and ate pastries while gawking at the beautiful sites around. In the meantime, Seth and Chris went on a huge hike up a steep mountain behind the Alhambra. They discovered a cavern and walked, then crouched down into a long cave that led into complete darkness. Chris only had his cellphone light so they didn't go all the ways down.
On the day we had to leave, the sun came out and so did the buskers. Music of all kinds played throughout the streets. The Gypsies selling their art and handmade items at all the lookout points. Tourists everywhere. Fun to see the city liven up with the sun out. We had an amazing time in Granada minus the rain.