mijas, spain

After a calm and uneventful evening filled with steaming glasses of hot tea, sushi fresh from the sea and sweet, serenading jazz we arrive the next morning in the port of Malaga, Spain. The low lying white and grey port is our entrance to a buzzing metropolitan area painted with pastel colors and natural stone structures. As we drive, the size of the apartments and towers slowly build to skyscraper heights that crowd along the glittering white sand beaches. For us, Malaga, home of Pablo Picasso & Antonio Banderas, is not the destination today. We travel along the south eastern coast of Spain to a small Andalusian town named Mijas. 

The white washed town glows like snow trickling down the mountain in the brightening sun light. The pristine stone houses border the narrow streets with small local shops downstairs selling souvenirs, leather clothing and art while the upper floors of homes have wrought-iron balconies with hanging flowerpots that bring vivid color pops against the white walls. It’s quaint, charming, clean and absolutely freezing. The winds are gusty and cold as we follow our eccentric tour guide through the winding cobblestone alleyways where he tells us all about the history of Mijas and the iconic “burro taxi” donkey rides that the town is infamous for. It’s a rustic, moorish town nestled around an old castle that is now fragmented by time into a few stone walls crumbling in the foreground of the stunning azure Costa del Sol. After the tour we are left to meander the town on our own. We take less traveled streets into back alleys with unique shops and merely wander. 

Seeking espresso to take the early morning chill off we step into a downstairs Chocolate shop near the bull fighting ring. It offers a chocolate tour where you can make your own chocolate bars. Sipping our frothy cappucinno and black espresso shot we nibble on a chocolate brownie and buy chocolate bars for gifts to bring back. Warmed from the inside out we find an alluring staircase behind the shop and find a unique family owned Morroccan shop tucked away where I purchased a few more resins and gifts. Nowhere near enough time to spend in this enchanting village we leave with a little more serenity and inspiration than we arrived.