We were not able to reserve our little hacienda away from home for four consecutive weeks here in Rota. So, after much discussion (Carol: “We’re renting a car and taking a road trip!” she explained) we mutually agreed to rent a car and take a road trip.

  Carol found a cheap car rental in town. It was small for a car but large for a lawnmower. The terrain of Andalucia is both mountainous and hilly. We quickly learned that even slightly hilly was almost more than our peppy Hot Wheel could handle. (Each time we approached one, Carol would begin chanting, “I think I can, I think I can.”)

When we first got in four clowns got out

  We hugged the coastline of the Costa del Sol as much as we could. That took us past Gibraltar, Algeciras, Marbella, Torremolinos and Nerja. Very picturesque landscaping and endless strings of roundabouts as we made our way through the towns. Carol and Mike were married in Gibraltar, which apparently is something of the Las Vegas of Europe for impulse weddings. (John and Yoko were married in the same administrative building as Carol and Mike.) Not saying Carol and Mike’s wedding was impulsive, but they did have to do it all over again for family when they got back to the States. Also, Carol had to break a date with a guy who was waiting for her to get back from Gibraltar, so maybe a little impulsive?

“The hotel, not the room, did have a hair dryer, which you had to return to the front desk after use. It didn’t work anyway, and the hotel had no backup.”

  Our first stayover in Estepona was a mixed bag. The hotel overlooked Estepona’s beautiful beachfront promenade, but offered all the room amenities of a Raymond Chandler detective novel. The hotel, not the room, did have a hair dryer, which you had to return to the front desk after use. It didn’t work anyway, and the hotel had no backup. 

  Estepona’s Old Town offered the medieval charm of narrow streets and whitewashed stone buildings, with some streets maintaining a color motif of either deep blue or deep yellow crockery on the facades of the homes. That sight would have stopped Van Gogh dead in his tracks.

Wonder if the neighbors get along

  We had a glass at a quaint little cafe (El Galeon) tucked at the end of a busy alley. The cafe featured antique wooden furniture seatings more appropriate for an estate sale than a cafe. Everything had to be brought out and back in for the evening’s service to preserve it. We were sorry we had made reservations elsewhere, but El Galeon was sold out for the night anyway. Too bad. The place had the look and feel of dinner in grandma’s backyard.

The seatings weren’t for sale

  We walked the promenade where I assisted two young kids playing on an oversized chess set to capture a pawn. The one thanked me, the other one sneered. Neither seemed to realize the checkmate that lay four moves ahead. (I play chess like checkers, so I didn’t either.)

  A grill on the beach

  We ate on the beach, where an apparent emergency sewer drain project was in full swing. As luck would have it, our restaurant was located just upwind from the project, and we could enjoy our meal amidst balmy ocean breezes instead of the gas from a sewer backup. We returned to the hotel in time to see Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet fighting over a hair dryer. (Greenstreet obviously didn’t care whether it worked or not.)