Marbella, Spain - A Day On The Costa Del Sol
We arrived in the evening, a bus load of twenty-eight weary travelers. My friend Jan and I stumbled up the stairs of to our room. Only then did I realize that the hotel - La Princesa Playa - was only one hundred feet from the Mediterranean. I could hear the waves gently hitting the beach below. I opened the balcony door and stepped outside. It was like dying and going to heaven.
I had expected a small town with not much ambiance and a hotel blocks from the beach (obviously I had not done my research). How this economical tour with which I was traveling could place our group in such a lovely place with a spectacular ocean view was beyond comprehension, but who was I to argue. I planned to enjoy my short time in paradise.
There would be one full day in Marbella, and we were on our own to explore. In the morning, after breakfast, I walked to the roof of the hotel to get the lay of the land. First though I faced the ocean awed by its blue immensity. At the horizon it blended into the clear azure sky. A perfect day for exploring in what I soon discovered was one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the country. Antonio Banderas had a home here. I was in good company.
The old section of Marbella has a classically Mediterranean look - narrow, cobblestone streets with whitewashed buildings and red tiled roofs, wrought iron balconies and colorful bougainvillea. Jan and I browsed the crafts shops, and looked at the window displays of myriad shoe stores. When we felt a bit tired we stopped at one of the many cafes for a glass of wine and lunch, then strolled back to the hotel. In the afternoon we made our way down the pedestrian walkway that paralleled a white sandy beach which seemed to go on forever. Dinner was a leisurely affair composed of a shrimp and avocado salad and an entree of grilled salmon. This day had been one of the most relaxing days of a two week journey through Spain.
Patricia Altner is a freelance writer, researcher, and bibliographer. Visit her site at http://www.biblioinfo.com
