ISLS Travel Stories

It has been a rainy few days here on the Costa del Sol and Marjo and Siena really needed to get out of the house. We read about a play that was being put on by a local theater company in Marbella for children. It was a tie into Halloween and the kids were to come in costume.

Marbella is the real ritzy resort town of the Costa del Sol and is about 20 miles up the coast from us toward Malaga. I was not very familiar with it as I had only really driven through it a couple of times. I had always heard how over developed and commercialized it was and didn’t bother to check it out. Well, there is a reason that people like to visit Marbella, it is quite a cool place.

It is certainly built up and commercialized, but in a way that is not as in your face as Torremolinas and Fuengirola. It is like a larger version of Benalmadena, a little further up the coast. Nearby is the home of the uber rich, Puerto Banus. This is where the 100+ foot yachts pull into waiting limos that whisk them up to the hilltop mansions that overlook the coast. We didn’t go there, but it looked pretty nice from the window of our bus as we went by. Maybe next trip.

We took off from Estepona about 3pm and got into Marbella by 4. It was an easy trip, we took the indirect bus, since that would leave us off in the middle of town. We didn’t know where the Black Box Theater was, but figured that it wouldn’t be hard to find. We wondered down to the beach and walked along the boardwalk. There were a number of very nice parks and squares. While it was not raining, it was still very windy and cold.

After asking a few people for dictions, we found our way to the theater. It turned out to be about 2 blocks from the bus stop. Marjo and Siena got tickets and went into see the show; I went to explore the town. It was 10 Euros an adult for the show and I figured that I would spend less on beer at the local bars, and I was right.

I went back down to the beach and the little sports port that they have. The sun started to breakout and there were plenty of people strolling along enjoying their Sunday evening. There were numerous restaurants and bars, along with shops and high end hotels along the strip. I am sure that in the peak season of August you can’t even walk in the area because of the crush. But, on a windy afternoon at the beginning of November, it was really pleasant.

I stopped in a couple of bars during my walk about. There are a fare number of British pubs peppered in with the more traditional Spanish bars. Every place had a sign out with their specials and prices. There is a great deal of competition going on for patrons. Unlike other parts of the coast, I did not see any shops closed for the season.

I finally made my self comfortable in a British pub called the Tiger Club. It is right off the main strip in the little port. They had a number of drink specials and they had on live sports. Today was the final race of the Formula One season and Lewis Hamilton, a Brit, was vying for the season’s crown. The place was packed and the people over here really get into it. I have watched a few races and I can definitely say that is a hell of lot more interesting than Nascar.

The race started after a slight delay on account of a torrential downpour that happened 5 minutes before it was supposed to start. It only lasted a few minutes, but wet the track enough that all the cars had to change their tires. All of this is a little above me. They were going off about the different track conditions and the best type of tires for them. It seemed that the rain only really effected part of the track, so this was going to be a tricky question for the teams.

Anyway, Hamilton only had to finish in 5th place to insure the season championship. On the first turn of the race there was a crash and he luckily was not involved. The other driver that was in the hunt was a Brazilian driver named Massa. Did I mention that the race was in Brazil and that he had the poll position, or whatever they call it? All of this made the contest even more dramatic. Plus, last year Hamilton had the lead in the overall points only to choke on the last race and loose. There was much speculation at the bar as to whether this would happen again.

It turned out that Massa was in the lead on the last lap and Hamilton was in 6th, or one out of clinching the title when he pass the driver ahead of him on the final turn to hold on for the championship by one point. Neither team knew for sure the outcome and the stands with over 100K people went bananas. I of course had to read about this later on the internet as about halfway through the race Marjo called and they were ready to go, the play was done.

Siena ended up having a ball and there were a bunch of kids of all ages. The theater was pretty small and there was a standing room only crowd, so I was happy to miss it. There were games before the play along with a costume contest with winners and prizes. Siena did not win a prize as she did not dress up. She was still damn cute!

We met up and made our way back to the bus stop. Everyone it seemed was going home for the weekend and the bus was packed. We made it back to Estepona and Siena fell asleep. All in all it was a nice time had by all and we plan to go back. I’d like to check out more of the town and maybe visit a couple of Spanish schools. Both Marjo and liked the place. It just goes to show you that you can’t just go on what other people tell you, you have to experience it for yourself.