Southern Andalucia Photographic Trip Report - Malaga, Ronda and Gibraltar
 

Southern Andalucía, the Costa del Sol – sounded like a good place to go to get away from the horrible weather that the US northeast (me) and England (my daughter) were having last winter. Well I guess it has to rain at some point everywhere – but it was a bit of a disappointed that there was rain most of the week we were there (mid March). But there was some blue sky and there were palm trees, gorgeous scenery, beautiful architecture and good company. I don’t have time for a real trip report but the photos pretty much show where we went. http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/spai...onda_gibraltar

We spent five days in Malaga and Ronda, with side trips to Antequera, Grazalema and Zahara and then I went to Gibraltar for a day (two nights).

Quick impressions – Malaga is a lovely city with an interesting old town, fabulous cathedral, cute little Alcazaba, nice harbor. In researching the trip I saw lots of posts debating whether Malaga was ‘worth it’. I would say it definitely is. It doesn’t have as much of interest to a tourist as Seville, Cordoba or Granada but the historic center is charming and I’m glad I saw it.

Ronda – very much a ‘must see’ in Andalucía. Such a dramatic setting, beautiful buildings, set in lovely countryside. Look at the pictures, they speak better than I do.

Gibraltar – also hotly debated on this forum. Well – I wouldn’t make a separate trip, I also wouldn’t give up seeing Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Ronda or Malaga in order to see it. But if you’ve seen those others, and you have an extra day or two – then yes, it was kind of fun. The town itself is just a boring British town. Not very interesting. But the view from the top of the rock is wonderful and the monkeys were really cool. To be honest, they were the main reason I went, and I spent a couple of hours just watching them. I do like monkeys and these guys were pretty enchanting. A highlight for me was where I stayed – the ‘Con Dios’ is a boat moored in the Marina Bay (a leisure boat harbor). It was a lovely setting, and staying on a boat was just so much more interesting than a regular hotel.

Isabel,
Forget the sun! Sorry it was rainy, but the mixed weather provided you with ample opportunity for truly amazing shots - honestly, your shots in Zahara, with the moody weather and lighting, are fantastic, one better than the next. Your night shots are terrific, too.

I'm also glad you went to Gibralter -- those monkey shots are remarkable; I thought the mother-child shot just so charming, but then each and every picture of the monkeys captured such wonderful personalities. It's a tossup for me between images #1639, 1640 & 1644, though I swear I know 1643 personally!

Thanks for sharing your photos.

Paule

What a treat !
I just took an amazing journey in Andalusia thru your eyes.
I loved it. My favs were Ronda and the monkeys---especially:
1360, 1371,1392, 1588, 1592, and 1628

Great photo report!

wonderful report - we're putting together April, 2012, trip to this same area. Thanks for posting!

Thank you! Going a trip to this parts, helpful and adored the pictures

Isabel,
Your photos are breathtaking!! I enjoyed the photos of Gibraltar, too, & it doesn't look boring to me.

Partly because of one of your past trip reports, we went to Cadaques last October when we visited Barcelona. We spent one night in Cadaques, stayed at the Playa del Sol, had great meals, visited Dali's house & drove to Cap de Creus. Cadaques was one of our favorites & I wish we had more time there. We hoped to follow your route into Southern France but didn't have the time. We'll have to save that for another trip, or perhaps Andalucia.

Great pictures!

The monkey in 1639 looks pretty mean! ;-)