Our journey to Andalusia had a great start with the itinerary written by our friends who live there; after a three hours flight to Malaga and a 50 minutes drive to Canillas de Aceituno you turn left at the 4 km sign on the A356 and follow the dirt track till you reach the house. This route lead us to a wide landscape, quietness, a sunny sky and a warm Spanish welcome by our former neighbors from Huizen together with their two dogs and cat. The tone for a relaxed holiday was set right away. No laser speed limit controls or other rules and regulations, just time to enjoy their wonderful casa with spacious view to the hills, the beautiful Lake of Viñuela and the villages Comares and Benamocarra while sitting under a clear blue sky and nipping at a glass of sparkling cava.

Spending a wonderful time with our friends in their stylish decorated Spanish home combined with numerous new impressions made our five days stay in Andalusia feel like a fortnight’s holiday.

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© Hans Schrijer 2016

It was an exciting day, the day I saw Messi. In fact, my haircut was just like his, thanks to an English barber in Cómpeta called Andy, who in my opinion was better off being a comedian than a hairdresser in a barber shop. I´m ready for the big match ,Málaga CF at home against FC Barcelona. Almost 3 hours before the start it was fantastic to see and feel how the area around stadium La Rosaleda sizzled with positive energy. It was "the icing on the cake" of such a memorable holiday in Andalusia, where we had rented 'Casa Mula',an authentic old mule house in the mountain village of Sedella in the Axarquia.

Everywhere, people in blue and white Málaga shirts, on terraces and in obscure little bars eating tapas, even the upscale restaurants were full of supporters, bottle of beer in hand, talking about the game. No fancy waiter complaining, this is a fiesta for everyone. I saw many more families here than I'm used to at matches in the Netherlands. Also young couples: he in the shirt of the home team and she in the blue and red of Barça, or vice versa. At the entrances to the stadium swarms of shadowy figures that wanted to sell you a ticket for € 200 or even more. Better to buy your ticket in advance! This can be done on the site of the football club website: go to Malaga CF.

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This year in September I traveled again through the Axarquía, a region east of Malaga I know and love very much. It struck me that despite the heat waves of August, the landscape was still green and the gardens were beautiful with colorful flowers and many fruits. There was an abundance of citrus fruits, mangoes and of course olives. The many vines were covered with huge bunches of grapes. These vine tendrils of Muscat grapes bear fruit from April and are well matured by September. The sweet fruit is perfect for making a delicious dessert wine, in this area called el Vino del Terreno. In September many of the local landowners are busy bringing in the harvest before the birds can feast on the grapes. This harvest can be a daunting task, especially if there are many vines and if the slope of the land is very steep which it often is.  

My friends from Second Home Andalusia have invited (or challenged) me to help lend a hand with the grape harvest in a small vineyard in Velez Malaga. We would follow the complete process from the pressing of the grapes to making the wine. I decided to take up the challenge despite the fact I had to get up at the crack of dawn! The harvest went well, many hands made light work.

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When we go to Torre del Mar we always look forward to seeing the Osborne Bull looming up as we approach, an amazing sight. In total Osborne has 97 of such bulls throughout Spain designed by the acclaimed artist Manolo Prieto. Each bull is made of iron and has a surface of 150 m2, is more than 14 meters high and weighs about 4,000 kilograms. The first was installed in 1957 in Canabillas de la Sierra in the province of Burgos. In the heyday of the bull, there were more than 500 on the landscape. Most of the remaining bulls are now in the Marco de Jerez, the sherry area around Jerez de la Frontera in the provinces of Cadiz and Seville. The rest are randomly scattered throughout Spain on the roads which lead from Madrid to Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, La Coruña, Badajoz, Cadiz and Valencia. Usually they are placed on ridges to break the horizon where they are more visible against the sky. In Andalusia there are in total 23 of which only one in the region of Axarquia; the one in Torre del Mar.

It all started as advertising material

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