Tabernas

I went to Tabernas last weekend, which is a three hour drive on the A7 to Almeria through the Sierra Nevada mountains, which incidentally are still completely snowy!

Tabernas is a desert used in many many films, especially spaghetti westerns from the 50´s.

There are three film studios including Oasys Park which also boasts a zoo. You can watch a wild west show with cancan dancers and shoot em ups at various times of the day, included in the 19 euro price ticket. There are some brilliant views and the animals are really close, highlights being the lions and tigers which you can view up close behind glass.

However, we saw several animals with disorders such as the depressed bears, insane repetitive emu and a hyena with some kind of repetitive disorder swinging about behind tiny closed doors. The worst was the white tiger. Hailed as the newest addition, the tiger is crippled with a hunchback and is clearly completely depressed, trapped in a pit that gets no sun on its own with no companion. When we saw him he was shivering, unable to move properly balanced on a rock. While I understand the need for breeding programs, the white tiger as a species is regarded as a fake and unnatural creature doomed to be something of an inbred, usually with behavioural issues. This is probably why he is isolated from the otehr tigers, who look healthy and as happy as any captive tiger can be.

The park is amazing however and well worth the entrance fee, with stunning views over the canyons and mountains.

The cinema museum is small but a must for movie buffs, with a selection of huge cine cameras and posters of all the films made there, the most famous names being Yul Brynner, Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson.

Tabernas is famous for its tapas masters, and you can get some amazing dishes for less than a Euro. Potatoes are the speciality. I would recommend you try Hotel Puente´s bar and ask for Patatas con Alioli.

We stayed at a bijou hotel behind the main street called Casa Jardin Del Desierto, which we loved so much we stayed for an extra night. They really have a beautiful place with each room dressed in a different flower theme, at only 50 Euros a night including breakfast.

In the Summer they have a pool open onsite, as does the Oasys Park, included in the price. There is also a small bullring which is usually open on Sundays but as it wasn´t the season we just had a look from afar.

The desert is amazing and if you drive out a few miles it is well worth a visit with a good camera.

Global Food Video

The UN is urging everyone to switch to a dairy and meat free diet (Read the report here)

In a country that eats a massive amount of pork, it's worth checking out this video. It's really difficult to watch, but if you want to eat meat you need to know what you are supporting every time you have that roast pork or steak.
It's this exact kind of video that made me stop eating meat, and with the world food crisis getting worse by the minute, it is important to keep educated on these matters.

Note: you can get a free information pack from the website on how to stop eating meat if you find the video too difficult to watch here

Can you speak more than one language? Earn money! Jobs!

If you would like to know more about this work click the banner which will take you to a page to sign up for a simple test in the languages you can speak fluently. NOTE: They do not need Spanish to English right now, but do need English to Spanish.

Mr Wok in Estepona

We had a great meal at Mr Wok Asian Buffet in Estepona. For only 9.95 euros we had swordfish steaks cooked in front of us with garlic butter, stir fry vegetables (Also wok fried in front of us) and crab sushi followed by cheesecake and lemon sorbet, honey roasted peanuts and chinese raspberries, melon and peaches. They also had steaks, prawns, crab soup, chicken and ribs. The place is very modern and clean and the service was very good, with all languages being spoken.Drinks are very reasonable too.

You can find the restaurant next door to McDonalds in Avenida Litoral in Estepona, off the N340 coming from Marbella to Cadiz.

Marbella Markets - Times and Places

In Marbella there are some fantastic street markets every week. Here you can buy cheap and interesting goods from Spain and Africa.

Marbella Market – Las Albaizas

Street market of Marbella: Every Monday from 9 am to 2 pm, next to the Recinto Ferial Marbella (Zona de Las Albarizas). Includes food, flowers, clothes and shoes.

Marbella Medieval market

5.00pm – 10.00pm weekly
More than 70 stalls in and around Los Candiles (old town) Marbella on Fridays

Puerto Banus Street Market

Situated near the bull ring - held every Saturday. The bull ring is situated in the area of Nueva Andalucia about 1km from the Marina. This is one of the largest markets on the Costa del Sol.

Video about the history and landscape of Estepona

If you forgive the cheesy production, this two part video has some interesting places to see in the area of Estepona.

Eat Pray Love - Out Now - For those of us who love to travel

Eat Pray Love [Blu-ray]

Buses on the Costa Del Sol Spain for tourists and visitors

The Problem with Buses in Marbella

The worst thing for the people living in the Marbella area who like me get the bus to work is the influx of sixty somethings coming here on holiday. The problem is that most of these tourists don't get buses usually and do not have any concern for those of us living and working here. The main problem areas seem to be on the 27 route: Estepona, Isdabe, San Pedro and Puerto Banus.

Bus stops in Estepona and Marbella

In Estepona the tourists don't realise you pay for your ticket in the bus station ticket office. This means we have to wait for the tourists to queue up and get the ticket after being sent there by the driver.

In Isdabe the tourists get on in large 10 - 30 people groups. They do not have, or expect to need the correct bus fares. Added to this they do not know where to get off the bus. They do not attempt to speak Spanish and expect the bus driver to know German/Norwegian/Dutch/English/French.

In San Pedro people tend to get on with babies in pushchairs. Well, we're not in England now - you have to fold the buggy and carry the child. There is usually a fight of some kind. Also here quite often someone has tried to pay the short bus fare and here we have to all get out our tickets while the driver counts heads and finds the culprit. Yes, unlike other bus companies Portillo are advanced enough to have a computer system to give a correlation between bus stop and passengers.

Puerto Banus Bus Stop

And then the crown in bus hell is Puerto Banus. Every day I have to tell bunches of scared (yes scared) pensioners where to get off the bus. The problem is of course sometimes the driver doesn't stop even if you ring the bell and you get  the carajillo chorus of locals calling out to the driver to stop. Then we have the ones who don't know how to cross the road to the Puerto Banus to Estepona stop. Only the other day I found myself calling out to two Japanese tourists who were within a hair's distance of being run over as they stood on the barrier in the centre of the motorway . "Muy peligroso! Tontas!" laughed the local ladies next to me as one girl closely dodged a lorry going at about 80km/h. And so we started shouting, " Abajo. abajo!" pointing to the undepass where you walk to get to the bus stop. Ten minutes later two Catalan OAPs were in the same position. And so it begins again "Abajo, abajo". The Spanish would probably film a tourist getting run over on their phone, so don't expect sympathy. So watch yourself, and act like the intelligent person you think you are.

Oh and the underpass. Yes, the narrow tiny pavement. Two OAP (I call them Cocoons) were walking down when I had my wheelie case with me. They tried to stay on the pavement with me! A note: You can walk in the road here, nothing will happen to you. In fact, it's normal. So I hope you enjoyed catching your elbows on my suitcase, you dummies.

So now I have to leave  an hour early as the buses become unreliable again. I heard a tourist saying, " Apparently the buses come when they want to." Funny that they run on time to the second when the tourists aren't around!

Please take note that some of us are being made late for work by your somehow simple behaviour.

Basic Bus Survival Marbella and Estepona, Malaga

1. Have the exact bus fare ready and know how to say the destination name clearly and loudly. If there is more than one of you, say the number of people (Learn this) followed by "para" then your destination. For example, "Dos para Estepona" Learn it in Spanish. 

The bus fares went up on Jan 15, but  the common ones are:
Benamara/Isdabe to Marbella/Puerto Banus is 1.91 Euros.
Estepona to Marbella/Puerto Banus is 2.77 Euros
Estepona to San Pedro is 1.61 euros.

2. Puerto Banus counts as Marbella so you can just ask for Marbella. Get off the stop after you see the Casino blue sign on the left. You should see the Hotel Pyr and Cortes Ingles looming on the right. The bus driver may shout out San Pedro and Puerto Banus, but you might not recognise the way they say them in Andalucian dialect. Sounds more like Sanpedra and Puertabanu.

3. Speak Spanish. You're in Spain. It's ignorant to speak your own language.

4. Fold buggies and always get on at the front and always get off at the back doors, whatever.

5. No eating or drinking. It stinks and the driver may stop the bus.

6. Expect music and music phones. Don't complain - you're on holiday! This is a latin culture. We like music.

7. To get to the centre of Marbella don't get off at the last stop - the bus station is miles from the centre. get off at the Bruno restaurant in town. You will see it on your right. If you go past Burger King, get off at the next stop.

8. To get to Puerto Banus, walk down the slope from the bus stop and walk straight forward. You will come to the port quickest this way.

And finally:

9. Please, men, don't wear shorts and baseball caps. It looks ridiculous. Nobody over 9 years old wears shorts and baseball caps here. And enough with the hands behind the back presidential inspection walk. You look demented. A 60-something guy wearing short shorts, a baseball cap carrying two large stones from the beach approached me the other day to ask a question. It really frightened me. Would you talk to a guy in shorts carrying large stones in any other circumstance?

10. Please, ladies, don't wear sun visors. It hurts my brain. And stop looking so scared. And red.

You can find the Portillo bus timetables here:

MARBELLA BUSES