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Three Towns Of Mijas
By Jakob Jelling, Thu Dec 8th
Mijas is more like three towns than one: Mijas Pueblo has thecharacter of one of the Andalucian Pueblos Blancos, high in themountains and whitewashed. Las Lagunas is the modern andcommercial section of the town. And Mijas Costa is really atwelve-kilometer long stretch of villages down the coast. Allthree areas are governed from the town hall of Mijas. Also throughout the winter and spring months, the HipodromoCosta del Sol has weekly horseracing on Sunday mornings(Saturday evenings during summer months). As well as watchingthe horses, you can eat at the restaurants
and bars locatedhere, or take classes on horse riding and other equestrianthemes. Mijas Costa (Article continued below)
Mijas Costa is composed of El Chaparral, La Cala, El Combo,Calahonda, Riviera del Sol and Sitio de Calahonda. Right downthe street from the quaint medieval Mijas Pueblo, Mijas Costa isvery modern indeed. You can rent vacation properties rangingfrom beachfront studios to major villas, or you can stay inhotels convenient to the beach. And wherever you stay, you'llhave wide access to water sports from just swimming and soakingup sunlight to jet skiing, wakeboarding and surfing,windsurfing, and boating. Sitio de Calahonda and Riviera del Sol are each large villagesby themselves with all the amenities: supermarkets, golfcourses, bars, restaurants, hotels, and shopping districts. It'seasy for English speaking tourists to find what they want here;this part of Mijos caters to tourists. At the center of Mijas Costa is La Cala, which still has some ofthe quaintness of the traditional seaside Andalucian village. Itwas once a fishing village, and today still maintains a streetmarket on Wednesday and Saturday with everything from flowersand plants to fresh produce to ceramics and locally-producedclothing. Try some of the traditional local sherries and wineshere. On Saturday nights in July and August, you'll findclassical music and flamenco dancing throughout the promenade asthe village celebrates Noches de Luna y Playa. Mijas Pueblo At the top of the quaint white village of Mijas you'll findfortress walls, gardens, and excellent vantage points as youwind through narrow cobbled alleys and streets. Artists andwriters from everywhere have chosen to settle here in MijasPueblos. The town has retained most of its traditional Way oflife, celebrating festivities with vigor and facing life in alaid-back manner. You'll find wonderful crafts includinghandmade pottery and paintings by acclaimed artists who livelocally. Instead of the usual tourist trash, you could bringhome a memento of your trip that, years down the way, turns outto be a sound investment. An open theater is built into thefortress walls; this is a center of the village, wheretheatrical festivals and other entertainments are held. Approaching Mijas Pueblo, you'll see a small white building highabove the village. This is the shrine of Calvario, a place ofworship visited by Carmelite monks for reflection andcontemplation. If you want to visit, there's a path to itthrough the trees, marked with iron crosses. The view isremarkable, a panorama of coastline, sea, and mountain on bothsides of the sea. The Virgin of the Rock on the Paseo El Compas is a shrine to thepatron saint of Mijas, and it's set right into the rock. Thereis also the Church of the Immaculate Conception built on theruins of an old Moorish castle, and using one of the old Moorishtowers as the church bell tower. Pillars supporting the threenaves of the old building sport frescoes depicting the Apostlesdating from 1632. The San Sebastian Church is one of themost-photographed parts of the Costa del Sol because of thebeauty of its setting. And the Shrine of Our Lady of LosRemedios has retained its simplicity, becoming a shrine to theold village way of life as well as to the Virgin. You'll also find several museums here, including the BullFighting Museum and the Museum of Miniatures, which holdsstuffed dressed fleas among other miniature and miniaturizeditems. The Paseo de las Murallas, the local bullring, is yetanother part of Andalucian culture. A unique pleasure is the Mijas donkey taxi service; you can ridea donkey, a donkey and trap, or a coach pulled by horses. It's aparticularly authentic way to see Mijas. If none of this is to your taste, then maybe the fact that Mijasis a golfing paradisw will be. There are several world-classcourses in this area, with a perfect year-round climate forgolfing and high recommendations from many pros. Nowhere in thearea are you more than a few minutes' drive away from anexcellent golf course. If you don't know golf well, there arealso several renowned golfing schools in the area. In additionto the courses, several world-class hotels have been built inthe area to cater to the golfing traffic. About the author:Jakob Jelling is the founder of Eurotomic.com. Please visithttp://www.eurotomic.com/spain.php if you're planning a trip toSpain. | Sign In |
