What do you do with all your iconic communist statues when they’re no longer welcome in the squares and parks of central Budapest? At Memento Park they’ve found a great solution – banish them to the outskirts of the city and make them into a prime tourist attraction.

At Memento park outside Budapest, Hungary

We visited Memento Park after our first day in Budapest on the way to Lake Balaton – there is a bus that goes there from Deák Square once a day but it’s much easier to reach by car. After the fall of communism in Hungary in 1990, the city council agreed that the statues of the communist era ahould be moved to a statue park and a design competition was held that was won by a young architect, Ákos Eleőd. His design encapsulated a philosophical message about the Communist era in an imposing brick facade with little substance behind it and ending in a wall, symbolising a road that leads to nowhere.

At Memento Park near Budapest

We decided to take an English guided tour which was well worth it to hear all the little stories behind each statue – it’s easy to forget that young Hungarians now in their 20s grew up under communism and were ‘little drummers’ and ‘pioneers’ as school children, enjoying summer camps and groups activities while soaking up the communist ideaology. The flag carrying Soviet soldier once stood on Gellert Hill on the Buda side, overlooking the whole city, guarding the female figure with a palm branch that stood above it, symbolising Hungarian liberty, which obviously could not do without her Soviet protector. In 1990 the Soviet soldier and the communist star above him were removed and the guide joked that the girl was quite pleased to get rid of her overprotective boyfriend.

At Memento Park near Budapest

Our guide pointed out the symbolism of other statues such as the memorial of Hungarian-Soviet friendship, where the sculptor managed to encapsulate the inequal relationship between the two parties – the military Russian figure more imposing and reserved, extending only one hand, while the civilian dressed Hungarian figure is offering two hands in a more genuine hope of friendship. At the entrance you’ll find the statue of Engels standing behind his mentor, Marx and in the park the statue of Lenin, with hand outstetched that once stood at the entrace to a factory, exhorting the workers to do their best. The sculpure of hands are containing the fragile ball of communism, offering it to everyone and the red communist star that was once found everywhere is now only seen in the flower bed at the centre of the park.

At Memento Park near Budapest

At Memento Park near Budapest

At the entrance to the park there were some entertaining exhibits in a phone box where you could get a ‘hot line’ to listen to the voices of various communist leaders and an old Trabant car that you could pose by to have your photo taken, for nostalgia value. The only leader that has been banished completely is Stalin who was so reviled after his death that his enormous statue was pulled down, leaving only his boots that now sit on top of the plinth opposite the entrance to the park. We also sat and watched an extremely spooky communist training film for secret agents, showing you how to covertly film suspects or follow them unobserved. I’ll be highly suspicious of people who place their large bag or briefcase on a cafe table near me in future. in case it contains a hidden camera.

If you’d like to see more of the statues at Memento park, do take a look at the slide show below.

I’d highly recommend a visit to Memento path and our children really enjoyed it too, especially hearing on the guided tour about the history of communism that stood behind the statues, and watching the secret agent film. May be they’d have rather enjoyed being Pioneers and Little Drummers too.

The entrance cost was 1000 HUF (aprox £3, €3.50, $4.50) per adult and the guided tour was 1200 HUF  per person but look out for discount vouchers in your hotel or you can also use the Budapest card for a 30% discount.

More Budapest Articles to enjoy

Relaxed Indian style at Mandragora Boutique Hostel, Budapest
Sour cherry soup at Salföld in Hungary
A Postcard from Budapest

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Budapest – Memento Park photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Just in case you hadn’t noticed from my lack of posts, in the last few days I’ve been up the mountain and down again, following the path of the Tour de Mont Blanc above the Chamonix valley, with my friend Julia. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time or the energy to do the full eleven day long distance walk through Italy, France and Switzerland but we thoroughly enjoyed the last three days getting a taste of what the full TMB might be like.

Heather and Julia at the start of our walk in Les Houches

We’ve climbed up from the valley and have the aching calves to prove it. We’ve slept in the Refuge Bellechat in close proximity to 20 or so other sweaty walkers and washed under the cold tap with a grandstand view of Mont Blanc across the valley. We’ve passed,  with a quiet sense of superiority all those ‘day tripper’ walkers coming down for a short stroll from the cable car at Brevant, and observed with admiration those who were actually close to completing the full eleven day Tour de Mont Blanc.

Heather and Julia at the end of our walk in Les Houches

We’ve come down from the mountain still smiling and vowing that we’ll be back another year to continue our Tour de Mont Blanc. We have the before and after pictures to prove it.  I’ll be telling you all the stories very soon….

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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My guest post from Lara Dunston will leave you longing to visit Essaouria in Morocco, a gorgeous seaside destination that has been on my list to visit ever since I read about it on Lara’s Grantourismo blog. It’s an ideal place to combine with a trip to Marrakech as a place to relax and enjoy a slower pace of Moroccan life.

Why should I visit Essaouria?

Essaouria has that wonderful and unusual combination of Middle East exoticism that you find in places like Marrakech (a tangle of narrow laneways, colorful souqs, carpets draped over balconies etc) and the delights of a laidback seaside holiday town (an attractive beach, salt spray in the air, seagulls everywhere, and even watersports – Essaouira is famed for its windsurfing).

Seagulls and salt spray in Essaouria by Terence Carter

What will I enjoy doing in Essaouira?

Stroll the long wide beach, watch the kids kick a football around on the sand, relax in a steaming hammam, haggle for handicrafts, go watch the fishing trawlers unload their catch at the port, walk around the windswept city walls, feast on fresh seafood, drink cold beers as you watch the sun down, check out a local gnaoua band from a rooftop bar.

Beach at Essaouria by Terence Carter

What will I be eating in Essaouria?

Seafood, seafood and more seafood, and when you tire of that tajines, cous cous and other traditional Moroccan treats. We like Le Chalet de la Plage right on the beach with sea views for plump juicy oysters and tasty fish soup, despite the staff occasionally having a bit of an attitude. The staff are friendlier at Chez Sam, an atmospheric nautical themed place by the port. There are plenty of cheap outdoor stands near the fish market that do fried fish, but they’re unlicensed and we have trouble eating seafood without being able to wash it down with a glass of Moroccan white.

Moroccan tajine in Essaouria by Terence Carter

Where will I stay in Essaouria?

Don’t think of staying anywhere except within the walled medieval medina. It has so much atmosphere and even if you want to spend your days on the beach, it’s only a 5-10 minute walk to the sand. Nothing compares to a stay in a traditional Moroccan riad or courtyard house; see our tips for renting a rhiad in Morocco – they’re so romantic and super-affordable compared to Essaouira’s boutique hotels and you have the added advantage of being able to shop the markets and cook at home. Do take a look at the pretty apartment,  Dar Lazuli where we stayed, which can be booked at Holiday Rentals here. It has cute, colorful apartments, each with their own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room, spread across a few floors and set around a central courtyard. They’re cool in summer and have open fireplaces for winter. But there are plenty of other riads dotted all over the medina that can be booked through Holiday Rentals.

Strolling in Essaouria by Terence Carter

What will I want to bring home from Essaouira?

Essaouira is fabulous for shopping – you’ll find plenty of Moroccan souvenirs to take home! There are wonderful stores all over the old town, and if you step into the sidestreets you’ll still see artisans, especially woodmakers, at work in many shops. Essaouira is famous for its marble-like thuya wood, and they do beautiful polished wooden trays, dishes, salad bowls, and so on. Bold-coloured kilims, textiles, babouches (the pointy leather slippers), jellabiyas (the long loose-fitting robes with hoods), and silver jewellery are all great buys, and it is perfectly acceptable – even expected – to bargain. Essaouira is also famous for its naïve art movement and the gallery to head to for local art is that of Frédéric Damgardor, just outside the medina walls.

Souvenirs of Essaouria by Terence Carter

Anything to watch out for in Essaouira?

When shopping for handicrafts, carpets and souvenirs, always shop around – no matter how much you love something don’t buy it straight away unless you’re happy to throw money around. It’s best to check the prices at a few places, and then once you’ve made your mind up, start bargaining on the thing you really want. I always start at half the offered price and work my way up to a compromise. Remember the sales guys are never going to settle on a price they’re not happy with, so don’t feel guilty if it does end up being half the price they initially suggested.

The old pharmacie in Essaouria by Terence Carter

How will I get to Essaouira and get around when I’m there?

Most travelers fly into Marrakech and then head to Essaouira for a few days on a side-trip or a longer stay, some drop in as part of a longer trip around the country, while others will fly into Agadir and head up to Essaouira. There are cheap buses from Marrakech, though you can also hire a driver which is more comfortable. You can see a lot in a weekend, but it’s a wonderful spot to really relax for a week or two. Or three. Or four…

Thanks so much to Lara Dunston of Granstourismo for this wonderful guest post – now I want to visit Essaouria even more. Lara and her husband Terence Carter who provided these wonderful photos, are travelling for a year in partnership with HomeAway Holiday-Rentals. They’re travelling slowly, living like locals, staying in apartments and holiday homes to get in touch with the local neighbourhoods they stay in. You can read more about their experiences at Grantourismo

You can also hear more about their travel project in my podcast interview with Lara Dunston here.

All photos copyright Terence Carter and may not be reproduced without permission

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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Podcast 13 – In this podcast I’m taking you on holiday with me to the Greek island of Zakynthos or Zante as it’s popularly known. You’ll hear about how we explored the island, enjoying Greek mezze in Zante town, watched some traditional Greek dancing, visiting ancient monasteries, wine tasting with our friends at Oenolpi winery and a boat trip around Laganas bay that’s known as a protected nesting site of the Caretta Caretta turtles. As my sister lives on Zakynthos, where she runs the Windmill Studios and Windmill Bay Hotel with her Greek husband, we visit her every year and this year we were there in May, which is an ideal time to visit.

To download the Zante Greek holiday podcast, right click here [mp3] 45 mins

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

Turtle boat trip from Porto Roma, Zante, Greece

Shownotes

• You’ll hear the sounds of the birds chirping in the background as I describe the view from our room above Windmill Hotel owned by my sister and her husband, with the olive groves and fruit trees and view over the teracotta roofs and across the bay to Zante town.

• In Zante town I describe our lunch of typical Greek mezze, in a restaurant by the harbourside. We tried miniature sardines in batter, creamy tsatziki with herbs and spring onions, giant broad beans in fresh tomato sauce, courgettes baked in the oven with oil, stuffed vine leaf dolmades with rice and mint stuffing . After a walk to the end of the harbour to watch the boats coming and going we sat in a trendy cafe, sitting on rattan sofas for our frappé chilled coffee.

• You’ll hear the evening of Greek dancing at my sister’s  Windmill Hotel, where the traditional Greek dancers do their floor show and then get all the audience dancing around the swimming pool and my nephews and the barman did a show of their own.

Monastery near Volimes, Zante, Greece

Mezze lunch in Zante town

• I walked around the vegetable garden that my sister’s Greek mother-in-law maintains with fruit trees, especially oranges and lemons, a poly tunnel with tomatoes, as well as courgettes, onions, beans and garlic as well as keeping chickens and rabbits for eating and eggs. She makes delicious traditional dishes from the produce such as these Greek stuffed tomatoes.

• We visited Oenolpi winery to meet up with Christina-Maria and Timothy who we met last year and made a video of our wine tasting – Christina tells us why, although she grew up in Athens, she finds she’s even busier running a business on Zante, but why she feels she has a better quality of life surrounded by nature in the vineyards.

With Christina-Maria and Timothy at Oenolpi winery, Zante

With Yannis from Nature World Tours, Zante

• We spent a day on a catmaran trip faround Laganas bay, from Porto Roma booked with Nature World Travel who organise turtle-friendly trips to see the marine park in Laganas Bay. I talk to Yannis Vardakastanis about his work to conserve the turtles and other wildlife in Laganas bay and to Cohil, who works at the Earth Sea, Sky centre that Yannis runs at Gerakas, who tells us about the survey trips that he and the other the volunteers do every day to check on the turtle nests, and monitor their numbers which are sadly in decline.

• We drove to the rocky northern end of the island to see the old monastery of St Denis, the patron saint of the island and drove on to the outlook over the much photographed Navagio bay or Smuggler’s cove which features on many a postcard before finishing with a late lunch in a local taverna at Alykes

I hope you enjoy the slide show below that is designed to accompany the podcast

Things that you might enjoy on Zante or Zakynthos

Stay at one of my sister’s hotels at Windmill Studios or Windmill Bay Hotel – don’t miss the BBQ and Greek night that’s held once a week, open to non-residents too.

Learn what to look for in a traditional Greek taverna

Take coffee and glika (sweet cakes) in the backstreets of Zante town, or on the main square.

Visit a beautifully furnished 18th century Greek mansion at Romas Mansion in Zante town

Admire the fishing boats, yachts of all sizes and cargo ships in Zante harbour and walk right along to the end of the sea wall

Visit the Venetian fort or castle overlooking Zante town

See the sun set with a drink on the terrace at Bohali by the Venetian fort, with a view over Zante town

Visit the winery and do some wine tasting at Oenolpi winery at Machairado

See pottery being made and hand painted at the Sigouros workshop at Machairado or browse in the shop in Zante town

Take a boat trip around Laganas bay with Nature World Travel and spot some turtles if you’re lucky

Visit the Earth, Sea, Sky wildlife conservation centre at Gerakas beach, have lunch in the taverna next door and relax for the afternoon on the unspoilt Gerakas beach

Spend a few hours at the waterpark at Sarakinado – great for older children and teenagers

Sun yourself on one of the many beautiful beaches on Zakynthos

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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If you’re thinking of hiring a car through Hertz, then you might like to know about the hidden charges  I encountered when I hired a car from Hertz on my recent holiday in Budapest. If you’re a regular reader you’ll know I’m not normally one to winge, but spending half an hour arguing with Hertz staff over an additional charge of €54 above the price I thought I had booked on the internet, left me with steam coming out of my ears.

The additional charges were hidden in a way that even the most internet savvy consumer would have been unlikely to pick up. Here’s the sorry tale. After doing a fair amount of price checking on the internet I prebooked a car for 5 days to be picked up in Budapest for use on our holiday in Hungary. On arrival I was told by the office staff that there was an additional €9 + local 25% tax per day to pay for ‘high season charges’ levied in the month of August.

I remonstrated and insisted that the price I had booked at was the price I should pay, but the staff were sorry, it was the fault of Hertz ‘head office’ who had made the mistake and we would have to pay up and then make our claim through them. We were not the only unhappy customers, they said, who had booked at a price that did not include this ‘high season charge’ and wished that we would make a fuss so that Hertz ‘head office’ would sort out this problem that left them having to deal with unhappy customers like ourselves.

So on my return I duly made my formal complaint to be told that the ‘high season charge’ was apparently made clear on my booking. Looking at the example below, you might be forgiven for thinking that the price published top right, was the price you would pay, unless you wished to book any of the additional services such as child seats or snow tyres. WRONG – dear readers, hadn’t you noticed the small link at the bottom that says Rental Qualifications and requirements?

If you click on that small link, you’ll be taken to a drop-down box with no less than 34 options on which you could click that may or may not tell you about additional charges. Most of these are for additional charges for additional services, which you would expect, but if you had clicked on the one for High Season Fee, you would have been told about this additional charge for bookings between 20 July and 31 August.

Now is it unreasonable to expect that if you are levying an higher price in peak season, you could programme your booking engine to show this in the original price calculation – after all, isn’t this why you enter your booking dates on the quotation? I’d also argue that the wording is not entirely clear – has the high season fee been already included in the quotation or is at an extra that you’ll need to pay locally? – it’s not obvious to me.

Had I realised that the price I was going to pay was €54 higher than the price that appeared on my booking quotation for exactly the same car and time period, I would probably have booked with another car hire provider with a cheaper quotation.

I’ve also noted that Hertz is the official car hire partner for Ryanair and therefore plenty of unknowing Ryanair customers are probably booking with them thinking they’re getting the best deal.

But I for one will be avoiding Hertz in future – I don’t want to deal with a company where I can’t be confident that the price I’m quoted on the internet is the one I will pay on the day and I don’t want to feel I have to scour their website, just to be sure there is no other hidden charge.

If you’ve had any experience of hidden charges with Hertz or any other car hire company, please do let me know through the comments. I may have had to pay these hidden charges from Hertz, but at least I’d like to warn other travellers so they can avoid doing the same.

Update

Soon after I published this article and also linked to it on Twitter I was contacted by a member of the Hertz Europe Social Media team who said that they wished to investigate my complaint further, giving me a contact number. A few days after that I received an e-mail from Hertz Customer Services apologising for the fact that the High Season fee was not included in my quotation and that they would be refunding me that charge.

Full marks to Hertz for their use of Social Media like Twitter and Facebook to respond to customer feedback and also to their Customer Service team who eventually refunded me the charge, after initially saying it would have to stand. I do hope that they’ll also make these charges much more transparent on their booking site, and let’s hope that any other unhappy customers will receive the same service and not just bloggers like myself who have a public voice via the internet.

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With the school holidays almost over, it’s time to start planning some autumn fun, and my sponsored post from discountvouchers.co.uk has excellent suggestions for a short autumn break for the family in Paris, France.

France is the most visited country in the world, with over 78 million tourists passing through per year, and for good reason. From east to west and north to south, family friendly France combines it all. Culture and castles; architecture and art; fashion and fabulous food, plus great skiing and hiking in the Alps.

Jardins du Luxembourg in autumn

France also has a charming and captivating riviera complete with Roman ruins in the south; beautiful cities, magnificent wine to drink, and impressive hills to the east; a rugged coastline, beautiful cities and Celtic remains in the west, and the flatlands along the English Channel in the north. Although it’s often considered to be an expensive country to visit,  the entire country including Paris, can be an affordable and fun trip for the family, especially when visited for a short break in spring or autumn.

Getting There and Around

UK tourists visiting France can arrive  by air via inexpensive UK-based carriers. There are also economical rail options if you plan ahead and taking a car is also possible via the Channel Tunnel or the ferry companies. Low-cost and no frill charters that fly to France from UK destinations include Ryanair, Easyjet and First Choice. First Choice offers low cost daily fares and a selection of First Choice discount codes can be found online for extra savings. Be sure to locate First Choice discount vouchers before booking a flight with this carrier.

River sightseeing in Paris on the Batobus by HelloParis

Saving money on Parisian attractions

Visiting breathtaking sites does not have to break the bank. Free and low cost attractions to visit in Paris include the River Seine, the spectacular Notre Dame de Paris basilica, the Arc de Triomphe, weekly fashion shows in front of Lafayette department store on Fridays, and the Fragonard Perfume Museum. Get around by cruising along the Seine, or let the water sightseeing Batobus take the family to eight different stops along the bank. Ascending the Eiffel Tower will come at a cost, but admiring the architectural masterpiece from below is free.

The Louvre in Paris

The best of Parisian art and rich history is housed in the city’s many museums and galleries that are a top destination for tourists. Anyone interested in visiting galleries and museums should purchase a Paris Museum Pass, which covers more than 60 museums, including the world-renowned Louvre, Napoleon’s Tomb and Sainte-Chapelle. Be sure to verify which museums are covered and purchase a pass prior to your arrival in Paris.

Family Friendly Museums

Musée de la Poupée in Paris

Paris is often thought of as a romantic break destinations, but there are many attractions, some lesser known, that cater for families and which younger children will especially enjoy. The Musée de la Poupée, or Doll Museum, is a site of wonder and features an antique doll collection of over 400 dolls that were made in the last 200 years. The Musée de la Magie is another site to consider visiting, which offers exciting magical antiques. The live magic show and illusions in this subterranean museum are sure to impress both adults and children alike.

Family friendly activities

Disneyland resort, Paris

An afternoon of autumn sunshine is the perfect setting for a traditional Parisian style picnic in Luxembourg Park, the country’s largest park. Alternatively, any time of year is ideal to visit Aquaboulevard, the largest indoor European water park that is maintained at a comfortable temperature of 29 degrees Celsius year-round. And of course, if you are visiting Paris, no family should miss out on a day spent at Disneyland Paris, a mere 30 km away from the capital.

Visitor resources

To keep down the cost of your family autumn break, do check out the travel discount vouchers available at discountvouchers.co.uk
Notre Dame de Paris cathedral website – see the historic cathedral in the heart of Paris
Fragonard Perfume Museum – in a beautiful townhouse, a collection of perfumery objects to take you through the ages
Batobus – for your river tour of the Paris sights on the River Seine
Louvre - the must see art gallery of Paris
The Paris Museum Pass – visit over 60 museums and monuments in and around Paris with one ticket
Musée de la Poupée – discover an enchanting childhood world of collectable dolls
Musée de la Magie – A glimpse into the magical world of illusions
Aquaboulevard – huge family water park for making a splash
Disneyland Resort Paris – become a child again where dreams come true

Photo Credits: River sightseeing in Paris on the Batobus by Hello Paris ,The Louvre in Paris by Al lanni , Musée de la Poupée in Paris by spiritsdancing , Disneyland resort, Paris by webast

Other city breaks you may enjoy

Our 36 hours in Berlin
05 An autumn weekend in Lisbon – Podcast Episode 5
08 Valencia in the Springtime – podcast

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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On our recent holiday near Lake Balaton in Hungary, we ventured away from the lake a little to the picturesque village of Salföld, where I had a chance to try this Sour Cherry soup. We found a pleasant village restaurant with a large garden called Pajta Galeria on the edge of Salföld. I spotted this soup on the menu along with the more typical savoury goulash soup and in the spirit of enquiry thought I’d give it a try.

Sour cherry soup at Pajta Galeria in Salföld, Hungary

Cold, sweet fruit soups like this are a typical Hungarian dish for the summer months and although cherry flavour is very popular they can also be made with whatever fruit is in season such as blackcurrants or apricots. Rather than being eaten as a desert, they are normally eaten as a starter before a savoury main course. I decided to eat my salad first and the soup second, as it was rather like eating a very liquid fruit yoghurt with whole cherries hiding at the bottom of the bowl. Very nice, but a strange sensation if you’re not used to the idea of a soup being cold let alone fruity.

Pajta Galeria in Salföld, nr Lake Balaton, Hungary

The village of Salföld is well worth a wander round too as it’s on the edge of the Káli Basin, an area of natural beauty that is part of the Balaton Uplands National Park. At  the far end of the village we found Salföld Manor, which is an old farmstead with traditional buildings made into a small show farm and heritage centre with a herb garden and exhibition of old photos, rare breeds of farm animals to stroke and horse-carriage rides. It looked like a great place for families with younger children, but we were looking forward to our late lunch and turned back to the restaurant instead of going in.

Salföld, nr Lake Balaton, Hungary

Salföld, nr Lake Balaton, Hungary

I suspect that the village has been made into a bit of a showcase, as many of the traditional thatched buildings looked as though they had been renovated over the last 10 years with freshly plastered and whitewashed walls and new thatched roofs, with the odd tumble-down cottage in between to compare what the village was probably like before. Although we drove to the village, there are some very pretty cycling routes through the vineyards to the village, with the reward of a drink and a meal at the Pajta Galeria’s pretty garden at the end.

If you like creamy fruity tastes then do try a cold fruit soup if you see it on the menu in Hungary – the most difficult decision is whether to have it as a starter or a pudding.

This article is posted as part of Wanderfood Wednesday – over at Wanderlust and Lipstick – do head over to see some delicious cakes from Hawaii and all the other foodie delights on offer there.

Visitor resources

Balaton Uplands National Park Website
Salföld Manor Website
We stayed nearby at the Hullam Hostel in Révfülöp

More fun in Hungary

Relaxed Indian style at Mandragora Boutique Hostel, Budapest
A Postcard from Budapest

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Hungary – Lake Balaton photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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If you walk along the seafront promenade at Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol, you’ll eventually reach the Puerto Marina. By day the marina is quiet and relaxed but by night it comes alive with crowds flocking to promenade, have a drink in the bar that’s owned by Antonio Banderas and generally see and be seen.

Puerto Marina at Benalmadena, Spain

The residents of Benalmadena are pretty proud of their port, with trophy yachts moored up, and expensive apartment buildings with curvy balconies and Moorish lines, that are inspired by Gaudi architecture. The apartments are set on artificial islands, separated from the main promenade by the water so that the beautiful people who own them can sit on their balconies, watching the rest of the world pass by without actually having to mingle with them, although most of them looked pretty deserted with little sign of life.

The Gaudi theme continued into the shopping centre with brightly coloured stairwells and Gaudi inspired mosaics. This is the place where you can easily part with your holiday spending money in one evening, buy some inexpensive jewellery, have your hair plaited, or have your photo taken in a period hat like a 20s flapper. If you’re feeling flush you might invest in a fake D & G or Louis Vuiton handbag from the African street sellers with watchful eyes, ready to run if the police turn the corner. Look carefully and you’ll see the strings criss-crossing the sheets they lay their wares upon, so they can grab the bundle and disappear in seconds. You may even be chatted up by a charming boat captain, ready to sell you a trip on a Chinese junk that will take you up the coast and back.

Puerto Marina at Benalmadena , Spain

When we walked through the Puerto Marina after our seafood dinner in the Chiringuito, we heard that the Virgin festival was being held that evening. I had visions of some smart yachting event sponsored by Richard Branson, but it turned out to be the local feast day, when the statue of the Virgin Mary is paraded from the church to a boat and then sails out of the harbour at Torremolinos, with an escort of the local fishermen with their boats decorated with lights. We were too late to see the statue being paraded but we did catch a glimpse of the flotilla of boats circling around the harbour. The crowds were out in force for the fiesta and so, it turned out, were the pickpockets, as unfortunately my friend had her purse stolen from her handbag. I clutched my bag tightly after that, thinking about the expensive camera and video equipment that I’d been carrying around. The next day she joined the queue at the police station to report the theft with a large number of others who’d suffered the same experience.

It was a shame, but we tried not to let it spoil our evening, catching a few noisy fiesta fireworks on our way home. I can highly recommend the ice creams at the Gelateria di Porto Marina– they were huge and delicious.

More places to see on the Costa del Sol in Spain

A visit to Ojén – the Pueblos Blancos of Andalucia
A monument to the Peseta – in Fuengirola, Spain
Seafood on the beach at the Chiringuito in Spain

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Spain – Malaga photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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I won’t pretend that every family holiday we’ve had has been perfect. There were the times when the crowds and burning heat of Sardinia in August became too much, the days of camping in the rain in Asturias in Northern Spain when we realised how the region earned it’s nickname of ‘Green Spain’. I’ve learned that no matter how carefully you select the accommodation or research the location, you’ll never please everyone.

Boat trip on Zakynthos, Greece

Now my children are teenagers our needs have changed from those of a family with young children and gradually, by trial and error, I’m finding the best formula to suit them. By the time I’ve got it just right, they’ll be off travelling on their own, but hopefully with a love of travel and a thirst for adventure instilled on these family holidays. Fly the nest, my little birds, but not too soon!

Here are my tips for planning a happy holiday with teenagers;

No early starts

Most teenagers will stay up late and sleep until lunch-time given half a chance. And I don’t mind catching up on my sleep on holiday after getting up for work every day at home. Now I pass on any activities with a 9 o’clock start. A leisurely breakfast from 10am and then starting the day’s activities after 11am is about right for us.

Give them some space

The days of us being packed into a single family room are now over – I always book separate bedrooms, preferrably with own bathroom. Teenagers want their independence from their parents and being increasingly body conscious like some privacy to shower and change. If they have their own room they can make make a lovely mess with clothes all over the floor and you won’t have to see it – it’ll soon be packed up soon enough when you move on.

Packing light

This is a rule that holds good for all travellers but is sometimes difficult to enforce with teenage girls who like to have an outfit for every eventuality. We manage to travel light as a family by giving everyone their own small suitcase that meets the size requirements for carry on luggage. Each member of the family has to fit what they bring into their own case, pack and unpack it and carry it themself. If we are going for more than a few days, I’ll add a larger family case that gets checked in for bulky items and overflow, but generally we try and go hand luggage only.

At Hullam Hostel, Lake Ballaton, Hungary

Bring a friend

On thing that teenagers hate is being parted from their friends. Even if all their friends are also on holiday, they’re convinced there’s a party happening back home that they’re missing out on. On shorter trips we often plan to include their friends – teenage bliss is to bring all your friends on holiday with you.

Choose accommodation where they’ll feel at home

If you can’t always bring their friends along, you can choose accommodation where you’ll be more likely to find other like-minded travellers to connect with. If I’m choosing an appartment, I’ll look for one that’s part of a complex, with communal pools and perhaps a bar or cafe where other teenagers are hanging out. We often stay in family friendly hostels, mingling with back-packers, although we look for an en suite private room rather than a dorm. For hotels I’ll look for smaller, boutique hotels that have a young and friendly feel.

Stay connected on the Internet

Staying in touch with friends is really important for teenagers and ours are the internet native generation. An hour a day on Facebook will make them a lot happier, so I always look for accommodation with free internet access, which tends to steer us to the places that younger travellers will be staying. On everything but the shortest trips I’ll bring my lap-top along and use the free wifi but there’s usually a computer terminal in the places we stay that my teens can use from time to time.

On holiday at Lake Balaton, Hungary

Activities rather than sightseeing

I love nothing better than looking around a beautiful church or and interesting museum, but my children will roll their eyes with boredom at the thought, so we have to compromise. Activities such as swimming or cycling are always good and I look for accommodation with a pool or access to other swimming by the coast or a lake. Castles are better than baroque palaces and museums can be acceptable if they’re small, quirky and capture our childrens’ interests. Activities such as hanging out in a park, watching the world go by in a street cafe, riding the old trams or wandering through a flea market are fun things to do in cities.

A relaxed pace with plenty of stops

As with all family holidays, it’s no good keeping up a punishing pace to tick off all those must-see sights. We focus on one thing to see in the day and then go with the flow for the rest of the time. We leave late after a leisurely breakfast and come back early to relax, read or swim and in between have lots of breaks to sit in a park, have an ice cream and try the local street food. Although I’d like to look around those landmark sites, I sometimes have to be content with admiring them from the cafe across the road.

If you travel with teenagers, I’d love to hear your tips for a happy holiday….

Teenage friendly places we loved staying

Valencia – Home Rooms Deluxe Hostel – a boutique hostel where all the en suite rooms are individually designed by different artists, with apartments to rent in the same building.

Budapest – Mandragora Boutique Hostel – Friendly, Indian style hostel in an old apartment building that’s well placed for a city break

Budapest – Art’Otel – Modern, stylish 4 star hotel filled with artworks to treat yourself with a view of the Danube and a stroll up to the castle district.

Hungary, Lake Balaton – Hullam Hostel - Relaxed and family friendly hostel close to the lake with a few private rooms, occasional live music and Hungarian stew cooked over the open fire.

Cornwall, England – Treyarnon Hostel -The perfect seaside hostel with beaches, cliff walks and surfing on the doorstep and some en-suite and family rooms.

Berlin – Circus Hotel – A budget boutique hotel in the trendy Mitte district with rooms and apartments and wonderful staff. Their sister Circus Hostel is just across the road.

Croatia – Hotel Laguna Molindrio in Plava Laguna – a stylish, modern 4 star resort hotel with 2 pools, rocky coastal swimming and endless sports possibilities nearby

More family travel articles to enjoy

Travelling with the teens – in Valencia
A cycle in the Turia gardens – in Valencia
01 Family Travel with Hospitality Club – Podcast Episode 1

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The Mandragora Boutique Hostel is a home-from-home of the Pest side of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, decorated in modern style with a nod towards India and super friendly and helpful staff – read on for my review….

Imagine your best friend in Budapest invites you to stay – she’s just bought her first apartment in the heart of the Pest commercial district on Blaha Lujza square. It’s in a turn of the century building with a slightly shabby street entrance, a stairwell with wrought iron and tiled floors and an airy internal courtyard, where the other residents grow plants and window-boxes.

Bedroom on 1st floor at Mandragora Hostel, Budapest

She’s decorated the high ceilinged rooms with panelled wooden doors and plaster mouldings in spicy shades of ochre and teracotta with the odd hand-painted mural, popped down to Ikea for the furniture and finished it all off with cotton throws and textiles from her travels around India. You hang out with other friends passing through and she gives you some excellent advice on what to see when you’re here.

This is how it feels to stay at Mandragora Boutique Hostel – it’s a home from home in the heart of the city, with a relaxed and friendly feel.

Sitting room at Mandragora Hostel, Budapest

We spent a couple of nights at Mandragora Boutique Hostel at the start of our week in Hungary, before driving down to the Lake Balaton area. The Hostel is actually divided between two different apartments on the first and third floor of an old apartment building, so if you are travelling in a group and want to have rooms together, make sure you let them know when you book. Although we were travelling en famille, we were accidentally given two rooms on different floors, so we had the opportunity to see both.

The main reception, living area room and kitchen are on the first floor where there are 3 bedrooms – two facing the busy square side and one facing the courtyard. On the third foor is a second apartment with a smaller kitchen, entrance hall with plenty of tourist information and several more bedrooms – the twin room we occupied was facing the internal courtyard. All the bedrooms have an en suite shower room and the facilities include free wifi and use of computer terminal in the living area.

Kitchen at Mandragora Hostel, Budapest

The kitchen that we used on the first floor was well equipped and we opted to have a buffet breakfast on our first morning for an extra €4 per person for a nicely presented spread of meusli, yoghurt, fresh rolls, cheese, eggs and cold hams with juice and great coffee.

Mandragora Boutique Hostel is located on the busy Blaha Lujza square, with the metro stop right outside and trams and buses ready to take you wherever you need to go. I wouldn’t say it’s right on top of all the main attractions but it’s only a few stops on the metro or a 10 minute tram ride from most of them, and probably the easier side of town to get to if you’re coming from the Ferihegy airport.

Twin Bedroom 3rd Floor at Mandragora Hostel, Budapest

Internal Courtyard at Mandragora Hostel, Budapest

The main reservation I had during our stay was the traffic noise  due to the hostel’s location on a busy city intersection, with trams and buses rolling by late into the night, constant traffic and the odd police siren. The noise also seemed to echo around the building and the small water heaters for hot water also disturbed us when being used at night time. The room I was sleeping in on the first floor was otherwise lovely in terms of size and location, but as it faced the street side, I think we got the worst of the noise, despite the double glazed windows. The other members of the family had a 3rd room facing the courtyard side and found it much quieter, sleeping soundly with no complaints about noise – so I suggest that you request a quiet room if this is important to you.

The atmosphere of the hostel is very relaxed and with only a small number of guests, mainly couples in their 20s, it’s more of a chill-out place than a party hostel. The other factor that made our stay so pleasant were the staff who were super friendly and helpful – we met a different girl on each day and there’s someone on duty throughout most of the day and evening, although they don’t sleep in. They both spoke excellent English and went out of their way to give us help and information, looking things up on the internet and making phone calls on our behalf.

We loved the stylish decor and relaxed, friendly atmosphere of Mandragora Boutique Hostel but suggest you choose your room carefully if you want a good night’s sleep.

Mandragora Boutique Hostel, József krt. 2, Budapest, H-1088 (Blaha Lujza tér Metro)

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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This guest post by Paul Joseph takes us on an Amazon adventure from Manaus in Brazil to meet indigenous communities, wrestle with alligators and fish piranha  for supper.

To us western, city-dwelling types, the Amazon Jungle holds something of a mythical, other-worldly, untouchable fascination. It conjures images of an exotic wilderness, an immovable living organism whose evolution remains invisible to the human eye.

Of course, the reality is that this vast, 1.7 billion acre stretch of broadleaf forestry is far from untouchable, or indeed untouched.

Amazon sunset

For decades environmentalists warned of the effects of Amazon deforestation on the global biosphere. In recent years there has been a shift in focus from human destruction towards human output, reducing the Amazon to a faint glimmer on the public consciousness.

The simple fact is that the Amazon doesn’t make headlines anymore. The Big Jungle has lost its cache amid the moral panic surrounding carbon footprints and wind turbines.

But to me, it is still a fascinating place. Every since I saw a documentary about South America as a child, everything about the Amazon – from its incomprehensible scale to its myriad of wildlife – has captivated me. I vowed to visit one day, but it was not until last year that I finally made good on my internal pledge.

Swimming in the Amazon river

From Rio de Janeiro, my travelling buddy and I flew to the city of Manaus, located towards the north west corner of Brazil. Itself boasting an intriguing history of lucrative rubber trading, Manaus is now the most popular jumping-off point for trips into the Amazon.

Across the city there are hundreds of tour companies vying for your custom, each promising the most authentic, value-for-money trip of them all. We opted for Iguana tours, who offered a 3 night stay in a Jungle lodge. The attraction of this tour was that it would take us deep enough into the forest to meet indigenous communities.

There is, of course, an ethical sensitivity when it comes to treading onto the territory of native folk. In a sense it is little different to walking into someone’s front garden uninvited. After all, the jungle is home to these people. It is where they live, work and breath. They feed off their environment – quite literally – and we outsiders have a moral responsibility to treat their life-blood with respect and care.

Our concerns were assuaged by the tour company who took us through the benefits to the local communities derived from tourism. An impressive 80% of tour guides were born in the jungle, and a portion of their wages inevitably trickles down to relatives who remain there.

Sitting alongside an Amazonian family

Another factor we learnt about was the effects of government legislation. Tourism is hugely important to the Amazonian region of Brazil, and to encourage visitors there has been a clamp down on the ‘wild west’ style rules of law that once saw crime proliferate across the jungle.

And so it was time to begin our trip. Typically, the negative but unavoidable consequence of mass-tourism is that it creates an artificial environment – almost like a film-set where the main protagonists subconsciously begin to fulfil the role that is expected of them.

A land anaconda snake

Happily, I can report that the Amazon has largely avoided this fate. The journey into the jungle from Manaus, by coach and then boat, is refreshingly free of commercial enterprise. Tourists are treated with the deference of customers, but never as walking bank notes.

Once settled in our lodge (there were eight of us on the excursion), we were given a detailed itinerary by our tour guide, a British Guyana-born gentleman who could climb trees with the same ease with which we walk down the street. First up would be alligator hunting by night – the best time for such an activity as the creatures’ green eyes can be spotted far easier in the dark.

This was an incredible experience. We were all invited to attempt to grab a baby alligator from the waters and bring it into the boat. This involved laying on your belly at the front of the craft with your hand ready to pounce as soon as you saw those green eyes. Unsurprisingly, only two of us took him up on his offer. I’d love to say I was one of them, but it would be a bare-faced lie, though I did hold one for a photo opportunity.

Then came the pièce de résistance. From the bowels of the boat, the tour guide brought out a large contraption that looked like it was designed to capture a large animal. And that’s precisely what it was. Our man then set his sights on finding a big’un, and it didn’t take him long. He thrust his device into the murky waters and after 60 seconds of grappling, he eased a six-foot alligator into our boat with its neck safely (we hoped) in his grasp.

Piranha fish gets lucky thanks to my bad aim

The ‘gater kindly posed for photos before being unleashed back into its habitat. Magical stuff. And with that we returned to our lodge for a dinner cooked by on-site staff. We were warned, however, that the following day we’d be providing the food.

At first we weren’t quite sure what this would entail – all we knew is that the next day we were going fishing. Piranha fishing, to be precise. Can you eat piranha fish? Apparently so.

We boarded our aquatic transport once more and headed into piranha territory. I’d never gone fishing before, but enjoyed it immensely. I caught three fish, and as a group we totalled something like 20, and we returned home safe in the knowledge that no-one would be going hungry that night.

But before dinner it was time for a mini jungle trek, probably about 4km in total. Despite the sun having done down, the heat was almost unbearable, but the magic of the jungle meant we simply couldn’t turn back. During our walk we were shown how to extract and produce rubber from trees, and were also shown braches that contained water – a useful survival tip!

The following day, it was time to meet the locals. We were taken to a large village containing mud-huts and a church. The most striking thing was the size of every family – each one was at least six-strong. We were shown how they prepare their meals, using giant-sized wok-type apparatus and a food-stuff that resembled cous-cous. They were open to being photographed, and indeed seemed to revel in it. We asked questions via our multi-lingual tour guide and discovered that the families have little interest in leaving the jungle to experience a city life. For them, the jungle is life, and to depart would be an act of disloyalty.

And with that it was back to the lodge to pack up our stuff for our return to civilisation (as we know it). The Amazon had met all my expectations, and I would heartily recommend a visit to anyone.

Author Bio
Paul Joseph is a London-based writer and author. He has travelled extensively across North and South America, Israel and Europe. He is currently penning a nostalgic book on his home city called “Vanishing London”. He also works for diyflights.com, where users can compare flights to get the best deal.

More Amazon adventures to enjoy

03 Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest – Podcast Episode 3
Friday Photo – Loading the dug-out canoe – in Ecuador
Friday Photo – Catfish and Anaconda on the Rio Bobonaza in Ecuador

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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I’m sending you this postcard from Budapest, at the start of my week’s holiday in Hungary. We spent yesterday seeing something of the city, not so much with any set plan to see all the sites, but choosing a couple of things and then going with the flow.

Palatinus Strand on Margaret Island, Budapest

Our main destination was Margaret island, a large, green  island in the middle of the Danube where we headed for the large Palatinus Strand complex of swimming baths. This was a bit of a compromise between a visit to one of the many traditional spa baths such as the well known Gellert Baths that I’d have liked to try, and the new Aquapark on the edge of town where the children would have preferred to spend the day.

We had a happy few hours trying out all the different temperature pools, jets and water slides at the Palatinus Baths and then spent the afternoon jumping off and on trams, dodging rain showers in the Central Market and trying to get into museums that are closed on Mondays. The best decision we made was to buy a 24 hr travel pass so that we could use any passing tram that took our fancy without worrying about whether it was the right one.

The day in Budapest is really a little bonus, as our main holiday plans are centred around Lake Balaton, a large inland lake and holiday area where we’ll be heading today.

Wish you were here!

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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How do you find the perfect campsite for your family? If the responsibility for organising a family camping trip falls on your shoulders, you may be forgiven for thinking it’s a thankless task. Decisions, decisions – should you go for the full-on holiday-park campsite with all the facilities or choose somewhere smaller for that back-to-nature experience?

Trericket Mill camping in Wales

For one thing you can’t control the weather, yet if it pours the disappointed faces will be turned in your direction. If you experience some damp days you’ll wish that you’d booked that larger site with swimming pool, games room and some indoor space to shelter from the showers. On the other hand, if the weather’s glorious, there’s nothing better than pottering about in some unspoilt beauty spot with amazing views, far from any amenities or civilisation, as epitomised by the Tiny Campsite style of camping.

I think we found the perfect balance last year at Trericket Mill in Wales, when we booked a bunk-room for shelter, yet camped in the old orchard with ducks and chickens for company and went swimming in a deep plunge pool in the mountain stream that ran through the site. Should the weather have been really unkind we would have retired to the guest sitting room in the main mill house and ordered a home cooked vegetarian meal.

Bucklegrove Campsite near Cheddar, Somerset

This year I thought I’d found a great combination in Bucklegrove campsite near Cheddar in Somerset. Only an hour from where we live in Bristol, it is easily accessible by public transport – useful when you have hoards of teenagers and only one car for transport. The famous Cheddar caves are just down the road and there’s glorious walking on the Mendip Hills. The campsite itself is a well-kept family-run place with spotless amenities and colourful hanging baskets everywhere. We found that we had the best of both worlds with a swimming pool, a small shop and a family bar where you can relax with a drink and the paper. If you don’t want to join the neat rows of mobile homes, caravans and large family tents in the main site, you can opt for the wilder option in the camping field next door with bags of space between the tents, room to play a game of cricket or two and a fabulous view of the Cheddar countryside.

But I think that my family’s tastes are erring on the wild side. When I asked my daughter whether she and her friends had enjoyed staying at the campsite she said yes, but the swimming pool had been rather packed with other children for their taste. Next year, perhaps we could find a campsite with a lake to swim in? The search for the perfect campsite goes on ….

Have you found you perfect campsite yet?

This was posted as part of Photo Friday hosted at Delicious Baby – do head on over to check out all the other Friday Photos

By the way, thanks so much to Onetravel.com for publishing my Guest post on the hill towns of Groznjan and Motovan in Istria, Croatia – do take a look.

Camping resources

Bucklegrove Caravan and Camping Park, Wells Road, Rodney Stoke, Cheddar, Somerset, BS27 3UZ, UK
Trericket Mill, Erwood, Builth Wells, Powys, LD2 3TQ, Wales, UK
Cheddar Caves and Gorge, Somerset

Other camping trips you’ll enjoy reading about

A Fairy Tale of camping in mid-Wales
Camping in sunshine and showers – on the Gower in Wales
10 Tiny campsites and eco-travel – interview with Dixe Wills – podcast

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Camping photoset

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My sponsored post today from Wotif, takes us on a tour of some of some favourite spots in New Zealand, and not surprisingly, for a country with such a stunning coastline, many of them are close to the water.

Surrounded by ocean waters, from the sub-tropical to the sub-Antarctic, New Zealand is a stunning destination, even if it does take some time reach its beautiful shores. Protecting the countryside are over 15,000 kms of coastline with large numbers of bays, islands, towering cliffs, sandy beaches, harbours and fjords dotted along the rocky shoreline.

Whether it’s the salty ocean waters, surging rivers, bubbling brooks or tranquil lakes – it doesn’t matter; I love the water. For this reason, I want to share with you my top five destinations in New Zealand, which unsurprisingly, are all near vast expanses of water!

Far North – Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga is the north westernmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula on the North Island. What I find fascinating about this peninsula is that it’s the meeting point of the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. Its lighthouse, built in 1941, guards the wild and unpredictable northern most reaches where you have seas swirling and clashing together. The views are spectacular and you’ll feel like you’re at the end of the world! Check out this Far North Accommodation

Far North - Cape Reinga in New Zealand

Bay of Islands

Discovered by legendary Maori navigator Kupe, the Bay of Islands is an amazing area of rocky shorelines and 144 islands. The area is a fusion of Maori and European culture, once a bustling seafaring region; it’s now home to the historic site of Waitangi, where Maori representatives and European representatives signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. A day trip on a yacht is a must in this region. Explore the bays, inlets, islands and beaches, and if the seas are calm you might make it through Hole in the Rock; you’ll also be able to see dolphins, seals, penguins and during the migration season – whales. Watching these majestic mammals playing in the waters will make your day. Try these Bay of Islands Hotels

Bay of Islands in New Zealand

Auckland – Rangitoto Island

What I love about Auckland, the ‘City of Sails’ is that you nearly always have views across the water. There is however a destination that gives you the reverse views, that is, one from the water looking back on the city. It’s great every now and then to get a different perspective of the city. Take a ferry to Rangitoto Island – the largest, youngest and now extinct volcano – in the Auckland region. Your walk to the crater top will take you over the lava flow and through native trees and flowering plants; you’ll be rewarded at the summit with fabulous 360 degree views of Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf. Try these Auckland hotels.

Auckland - Rangitoto Island

Coromandel Peninsular

Coromandel Peninsular, New Zealand

Amongst the rainforests, beaches and hideaways you’ll find three fantastic destinations on the Coromandel Peninsular: Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach and the Kauri Grove. For two hours either side of low tide, hot water bubbles out on to the beach through the fine sands. You’ll have plenty of time to dig your very own spa pool, sit back and then relax. An hour’s long coastal walk will take you into Cathedral Cove; white sands, blue seas, sheer limestone cliffs and a sea cove await you. Finally, visit the Kauri Grove with its beautiful 13 towering Kauri trees, just off the 309 Road, it’s not hard to find. Try these Coromandel hotels.

Queenstown

The adventure capital of New Zealand has never failed to disappoint me. Every season in this region has something special to offer, the vistas always change as the seasons roll in. New Zealand’s longest lake – Lake Waktipu – its crystal clear waters shimmer in the sunlight and then become incredibly mysterious when shrouded in fog. I love the vivid colours of the autumn foliage; Queenstown’s backdrop will be shades red, orange and yellow with touches of gold. Queenstown’s the perfect spot for a little kayaking or sailing on the lake, and of course, skiing on the surrounding ski slopes! Check out these Queenstown hotels.

Queenstown, Adventure capital of New Zealand

Thanks for this sponsored post to Wotif.co.nz, the No. 1 provider of online accommodation in Australia and New Zealand.  Wotif.co.nz’s online booking site has a wide range of accommodation styles where you can compare prices and easily book your accommodation which is instantly confirmed by a 24/7 Customer Service Team. Wotif.co.nz’s additional features include Wot Hotel, Flaming Deals and Wotmail – be the first to know about exclusive deals!

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

More coastal articles to inspire you

Gone fishing for crabs on the Ile de Houat – in Brittany, France
Sea caves and a boat trip – in Sardinia
Bright skies and blue seas at Treyarnon in Cornwall

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On my recent visit to the Costa del Sol near Marbella, we drove up into the hills to visit Ojén, one of the so called Pueblos Blancos of Andalucia. After the busy and heavily developed landscape of the coastal strip, it was a pleasure to escape into more natural surroundings and see something of traditional Spanish life.

Cave in Ojén near Marbella

The Pueblos Blancos are the hill-side villages of Andalucia, known for their whitewashed exteriors, sparkling bright against a landscape that’s scorched by the summer sun. The best known Pueblos Blancos are in the hills between Arcos and Ronda, but being just a short drive inland from Marbella, Ojén is a popular village for short driving tour on a loop that also takes you through Monda and Mijas.

Heather in the cave in Ojén near Marbella

We parked on the road at the top of the town and climbed up some steep steps up to a little viewing point in a small cave with a great view over the town. On the way up I was sure we would end up in a cafe as it seemed unlikely that anyone would go to the trouble of creating these steps just to give us the view for nothing, but that turned out to be the case. I got the impression that the village was taking great care to make the town an attractive place for tourists.

These caves seemed to be a feature of the town as we passed a number of others on our walk around Ojén and they made a cool, shady contrast to the heat of July. We found a way into the narrow lanes of the older part of town that are definitely not designed for cars, although on some of the wider roads we did see residents’ cars tucked in and wondered how on earth they’d got there.

Our Lady of the incarnation church in Ojén near Marbella

The first stop of note was the church of Our Lady of the Incarnation in a small square, where we learned from a sign outside that there had originally been a mosque on the site which was rebuilt as a church by the bishop of Seville at the beginning of the 16th century. We went inside to find some rather scarily life-size figures of Our Lady and Jesus, like overgrown dolls dressed in richly embroidered velvet robes.

Then we walked around the church several times trying to work out which of the several cafes nearby would be the best to sit and have a drink in. It was a toss-up between the one with the fast food signs or the one with all the old men sitting outside but then we settled on yet another just below the church with a small terrace and sun umbrellas. We had just ordered our drinks and were nibbling on some olives when the workmen nearby started drilling, but luckily repairing buildings in hot weather is slow work and they took frequent breaks with a burst of song  in between the hammering and banging.

Museo El Molino in Ojén near Marbella

We thought we’d better explore a few more picturesque alleyways before we left and on asking directions, discovered that there was a small museum further down the town. The El Molino museum is set in an old mill that once produced olive oil but in a former existence had also been a factory for aguardiente, the anise flavoured liqueur for which Ojén was once famous.

The museum is free to enter, although we gave a donation, and houses various bits of agricultural machinery relating to the olive production as well as doubling up as an exhibition centre for local artists and photographers.  Upstairs we enjoyed the interesting contrast of a sculptural old copper oil still in the same room as some brightly coloured and rather surreal pink and blue photos of a couple in bed.

White houses at Ojén near Marbella

After our look around the El Molino museum we walked back along the edge of town enjoying the pretty back-streets and back past some more large caves on the side of the town with little streams running down the hillside.

Back on the road it was time for a late lunch, so we drove on to the nearby El Refugio de Juanar, set up a long track and in the middle of a mountain nature reserve. Once a hunting lodge, the Refugio is now a rather smart country hotel, surrounded by forest walks and trails.

If you were seeking a hideaway from the busy Costa del Sol, this was it, with traditional furnishings and a secluded forest setting that felt a million miles from anywhere. We sat in the terrace and had some drinks and tapas, looked longingly at the hotel pool, and bought some pretty painted dishes from the souvenir cabinet, wondering how we’d squeeze them into our carry on luggage.

We did drive on to Monda, thinking that we might see more pretty Pueblos Blancos, but found it unremarkable, so we turned around and drove back to the Costa del Sol, having enjoyed our short trip into the hills behind Marbella.

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Spain – Malaga photoset

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In Podcast 12 I talk about visiting the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany and also visiting the pilgrimage town of Altötting that’s known for the shrine of the Black Madonna where many miracles are believed to have taken place. You’ll hear about  our walk around Altötting with many stories and anecdotes about the religious sites there and our afternoon cycling to the swimming lake or badesee. I’ll tell you about the painted houses of Oberammergau and wood carvings, with useful information for attending the Passion Play and my impressions of the play performance with background music from the Passion Play.

To download the Oberammergau Passion Play podcast, right click here [mp3] 28 mins

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

Jesus enters Jerusalem Oberammergau Passion Play

• We started our short visit to Bavaria in the town of Altötting, where we had a tour of the town with a local guide who really brought the place to life with his many stories and anecdotes.
• Altötting is best known as a pilgrimage town for the Shrine of the Black Madonna situated in the Chapel of Mercy on the main town square. The dark interior of the shrine and small dark statue of the Madonna and child are richly embellished with silver ornaments and the caskets containing the hearts of the Kings of Bavaria, as well as solid silver statues in front of the altar which have a story behind them.
• On our tour around Altötting we visited the church of Phillip and Jacob with the famous Tod von Eding clock with a statue of the grim reaper and the church of the patron saint of the town, St Conrad, and the water fountain outside his church where the water is thought to be holy as it flows over a relic of the saint’s finger bone.
• We heard about the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1980 and how he came to plant the linden tree outside the church.
• We also hired bikes at the local bike shop in Altötting and cycled along the path beside the River Inn as far as the badesee or swimming lake near Passau.

Pilate condemns Jesus Oberammergau Passion Play

• The passion play at Oberammergau dates back to 1632 when plague was sweeping through Germany and the villagers made a vow that if they were spared, they would perform a passion play every 10 years.
• The play is a community effort and to participate, all the actors and musicians must be either born in the village or have lived for 20 years in the village.
• We found that everything was very well organised in the village for visitors and you buy a package of play ticket, meals and accommodation, with free shuttle buses to take you around the area.
• We found that the town of Oberammergau itself is an attractive place to visit, and even in the years when the play is not being held is well worth a visit, with painted houses and is also known for it’s wood carving.

Way of the Cross Oberammergau Passion Play

• The play is performed in a large theatre which seats 4500 people and is open at one end with a view of the hills behind and although the audience are under cover, the cast and stage are open to the elements.
• I was impressed by the crowd scenes with around 200 cast members on stage at a time, including young children and animals, making a striking scene.
• The play starts with Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey and continues with scenes from his life which were broken up by orchestral and choral music and with ‘living tableaux’ scenes from the old testament.
• The first half of the play lasts for 2.5 hours starting at 2.30pm in the afternoon with a break of 3 hours for dinner before the start of the second half.
• The second half was more dramatic than the first with the trial of Jesus and his walk with the cross, culminating with the crucifixion scene. The darkness falling also added to the atmosphere and again the crowd scenes especially during the trial of Jesus really made you a sense of what it would have been like to be there.
• The play ends with the scene of Mary Magdalene in the garden discovering the cloth that Jesus’ body was wrapped in and Jesus comes forward and shows himself with the candles and torches really adding to the atmosphere.
• If you want to see the passion play, this year’s season will end in October 2010 and the next performance will be in 2020, as the play is only held every 10 years, so your best opportunity would be to check with specialist tour operators, whether they have any spaces left on organised tours.

Oberammergau Passion Play Theatre

Visitor Resources for Altötting

While in Altötting we stayed in Hotel Zur Post, a pleasant and traditional family run hotel right on the main square.
Visit the Altötting official tourism website
Visit the Jerusalem Panorama in Altötting website
Information on the walking and cycling tours around Altötting

Visitor Resources for Oberammergau

Visit the Official Oberammergau Passion Play Passionsspiele website
Visit the Oberammergau official tourism website
We took our tour to Oberammergau with Pax Travel who organise holidays to many other pilgrimage destinations.

Photo Credits: Passionplay photos are copyright of the Oberammergau Passionplay website and photo of theatre interior by Heather Cowper

More articles about Oberammergau and Altötting

A pilgrimage to see the Black Madonna at Altötting in Germany
Tips for seeing the Oberammergau Passion Play
Painted houses and wood carving at Oberammergau – in Bavaria, Germany

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Germany – Oberammergau in Bavaria photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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As we were wandering along the seafront at Fuengirola in Spain after our lunch at the Chiringuito, I noticed this sculpture and asking our friends about it was told that it was a monument to the peseta. Of course the peseta was the currency of Spain for over a hundred years until it was replaced by the euro in 2002 and I can vaguely remember those pre-euro days when you had to change money at every border.

Peseta sculpture on the beach at Fungirola

It doesn’t seem strange to me that a country might be nostalgic enough about their currency to create a sculpture commemorating it. Money is what we grow up with, what our parents send us to the corner shop with to buy a loaf of bread, or give us pocket money to buy sweets on a Saturday morning, or what we count with in our maths lessons at school. From childhood our currency is ingrained into our thinking. When the currency changes, we have to find a different way of counting and of thinking.

I know from my sister who lives in Greece that the coming of the euro was widely experienced as bad news as it was accompanied by inexplicable price rises. No-one seemed to know whether prices just being ’rounded up’ in the new currency or whether unscrupulous shop-keepers were taking advantage of confusion over the exchange rate, but it did seem that overnight everyday items seemed to cost a little more. Only natural then, that one might hark back to the ‘good old days’ of the Peseta or the Franc or the Drachma.

Of course for travellers it’s mighty convenient that you can travel throughout the euro-zone with a single currency and only one type of coins to set aside in a drawer when you come home. Do you live in a country that changed it’s currency to the Euro and did it change things for you?

This article is posted as part of Photo Friday, hosted at Delicious Baby – head over to see all the other Friday photos here

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Other Spanish sojourns to savour

Seafood on the beach at the Chiringuito in Spain
08 Valencia in the Springtime – podcast
The City of Arts and Sciences – in Valencia

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Spain – Malaga photoset

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During our visit to Bavaria to see the Oberammergau Passion Play we spent a couple of nights at the pilgrimage town of Altötting, an hour or so’s drive east of Munich. I’ve heard that the town is the German equivalent of Lourdes in its importance as a site of pilgrimage, and over the three days of Pentecost 30,000 people converge on the town for a candle-lit procession around the town square. Altötting was somewhat quieter during our stay and was a very pleasant, picturesque and relaxing place to stay for a couple of days.

Chapel of Mercy at Altötting in Germany

After our flight into Munich we arrived by coach at our Hotel Zur Post, Altötting, right on the main square and had the rest of the day free to try some Bavarian specialities for lunch in the cafes around the square, followed by a wander round to get our bearings. We didn’t spend too much time that afternoon looking around the many churches as we knew that we would be having a guided walking tour of the town on the next morning.

The heart of the town is the small Chapel of Mercy at one end of the town square, housing the shrine to the Black Madonna, with a small black statue of the Madonna and baby Jesus, clothed in richly embroidered robes. The Black Madonna is believed to have granted many miracles, the legend apparently originating in the 15th century when a young child who had drowned nearby was brought before the altar by his desperate mother, whose prayers to the Madonna were answered and the child was revived.

There is an ambulatory or covered walkway around the exterior of the chapel where every inch of the walls and roof are covered by small pictures depicting the miracles experienced by those who have offered their prayers there, all with the phrase Maria Hat Geholfen (Maria has helped) You can even see a collection of crutches and leg braces that have been discarded by those who have been cured of their ailments. There are also wooden crosses available in the covered walkway of the chapel and the custom is for the faithful to carry a cross three times around the perimeter while praying to the Madonna for forgiveness from their sins.

The Chapel of Mercy at Altötting, Germany

The Chapel of Mercy at Altötting, Germany

The interior of the chapel is painted black, the colour once created from the soot of the many candles but the colour is now perpetuated in the painted walls. In front of the altar are a couple of large solid silver statues – the one on the right was commissioned by Emperor Karl Albrechy after his son recovered from a fatal illness, using 41 pounds of silver, the same weight as his son.

Black Madonna at Altötting in Bavaria

Opposite kneels the silver statue of Saint Conrad of Parzham who was the sexton of the St Anna’s Capuchin monastery and is buried in St Conrad’s church.Within the inner part of the shrine, the dark walls are covered by silver ornaments and from the ceiling hang silver caskets, containing the hearts of the Kings of Bavaria from the Wittlesbach dynasty, starting with Elector Maxmillian I, interred here after their death. For this reason and because of the geographical position and religious significance of the town, Altötting was called the ‘Heart of Bavaria’ by Pope Benedict XVI, who was born nearby in the town of Marktl and has a close connection to Altötting.

After starting our tour beside the shrine, we followed our guide around the many churches of the town that have been built over the centuries to house all the pilgrims coming there. I was reminded how worthwhile it can be to hire a local guide as we were regaled with little stories and anecdotes that brought the town to life for us. After the 30 years war ended in 1670 the townspeople decided to make the current large open square. We learned how there were originally plans to build a larger dome over the small chapel, with the foundations marked out by the hedges around the chapel, but the money ran out so the chapel was left unchanged and a larger church later built in 1876 alongside the chapel.

Tod von Eding clock at Altötting, Germany

Our guide pointed out the metal cockerel on top of the steeple, placed there to remind of what Jesus had said to Peter that ‘before the cock crows you will have betrayed me three times’. If you wish to light a candle, you do so at the small kiosk near the front of the chapel as candles are not allowed inside for fear of fire.

We visited the church of  St Phillip and Jacob where our guide pointed out that the ornate and brightly coloured statues of the saints were not made of plaster, but traditionally carved from wood and then coloured with a lacquered finish. At the back of the church was the much photographed Tod von Eding clock with the statue of the Grim Reaper on top, swinging slowly from side to side.

It was put there to remind everyone of the number of people who had died from plague and during the 30 year war (1618-1648) and as an altar boy, it was our guide’s responsibility to wind up the dropping movement that powered the clock before it was converted to electricity. In the basilica we paused in front of a group of small photos of men from the town who had been killed during the second world war, and our guide told us how he had six brothers, three of whom had been killed in the war – ‘Crazy War’ was all he said.

St Conrad's Water fountain Altötting

I particularly liked the interior of the church of St Conrad, part of the monastery where Saint Conrad of Parzham was a Capuchin friar. He died in 1894 and was beatified in 1934.  In contrast to the other ornate churches this one was much more simple and in the base of the altar, the remains of the saint were interred in a life size metal statue, with his skull on display. We could see the small room where the Saint had slept as a doorkeeper at the church. Outside was a water fountain coming from a statue of the Saint and as we wondered at the steady stream of people coming to fill their water bottles, we were told that the water was considered holy, as it flowed over the fingerbone, in a casket, of the saint himself.

Just outside the church of St Conrad, our guide pointed out a small tree, now known as the Pope’s Linden tree, which was planted by Pope John Paul II on his visit to Altötting in 1980. Our guide told us how there was originally no time in the schedule for the Pope to stop outside the church and ‘throw a couple of shovels of mud’ over the tree, but how he had found someone who spoke Polish to have a quiet word with the Pope who had agreed to stop and plant the tree. As the guide showed us a photo of him meeting the pope and the rosary that he had been given by Pope John Paul II, a number of people instinctively reached out to touch the blessed rosary that had been touched by the Pope.

St Conrad's church in Altötting, Germany

The Panorama at Altötting, Germany

And so, with many other little interesting stories our tour passed around all the many churches of Altötting. At the end of our tour, we took an optional visit to the Jerusalem Panorama at Altötting. This panoramic painting on the curved walls of the large, dome shaped room, depicted the city of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’s death with different scenes from the Crucifixion around the walls. As you stood in the centre, as if looking from a viewpoint at the countryside around, the audio-guide told the story of the scenes being viewed. The Panorama art form became very popular in the 19th century but this example, painted by Professor Gebhard Fugel in 1903  is one of the few remaining in Europe, and made an interesting addition to our pilgrimage tour of the town.

There are a number of walking and cycling trails through the area surrounding Altötting,  including the Benedict Route which takes cyclists 248 km around towns that are significant from the Pope Benedict XVI’s childhood and youth. The town would also be well worth visiting in the Advent and Christmas period with a Christmas market on the chapel square and many advent concerts in the churches.

Visitor Resources for Altötting

While in Altötting we stayed in Hotel Zur Post, a pleasant and traditional family run hotel right on the main square.
Visit the Altötting official tourism website
Visit the Jerusalem Panorama in Altötting website
Information on the walking and cycling tours around Altötting

Photo credits: All by Heather Cowper except photo of the interior of the Chapel of Mercy from the Altötting official tourism website

Other places you’ll enjoy in Bavaria

A cycle and cool lake swim in the badesee- in Bavaria, Germany
A Comfortable Bavarian Gasthaus at Hotel Zur Post in Altötting
Tips for seeing the Oberammergau Passion Play

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Germany – Altötting in Bavaria photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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This guest post takes us to the gorgeous Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica where Dahlia Nahome of Costa Rican Vacation is lucky enough to live all year round. Dahlia visited Costa Rica on her travels and couldn’t bring herself to leave the deserted beaches and beauty of the area where she now lives with her family – reading this article I can’t say I blame her!

Beaches in Costa Rica

Seven months ago my husband and I decided to sell our flat, put everything in storage, give up our jobs and go on an adventure with our  two children. The aim was a round the world trip calling at Costa Rica, New Zealand, Tonga and Australia. The aim was to spend quality time with Leon aged four and Delilah aged one and to possibly find a place to try and live a very different kind of life to the one we had in London.

We chose Costa Rica because we had visited parts of it five years previously before having children.  We loved it and knew we wanted to come back to spend a little more time here. What we didn’t expect was to fall in love with it so much that we ended up cancelling the rest of the trip and have since settled here, in Hermosa on the Nicoya Peninsula. In the last seven months we have had some truly brilliant travel experiences. So good and off the beaten track that we want to share them with people who are thinking of coming to the Nicoya Peninsula,which is on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

When to visit the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica

Weather wise the official line says that high season runs from November to April. This is the dry season or summer in Nicoya. There is very little, if any rain but you will find back to back glorious hot sunny days, unbelievable sunsets and clear night star filled skies. When I say hot, it gets pretty damn hot by April, so should you come at this time at year be prepared for some tremendous sweating and I would hugely recommend staying somewhere with air-conditioned bedrooms. May through till November is the wet season or winter here. It is true, there is rain. Some days lots of rain but if this doesn’t bother you, it is also, in my opinion, the best time to come to these parts and the cheapest and quietest.

Fantastic Beaches on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica

OK, it’s important to say that Nicoya is one of the more difficult places to get to in Costa Rica. Hard but so very worth it. Forbes magazine voted one of our beaches in their top 10 in the world and our beaches were also voted the number one destination in Central and South America on Tripadvisors 2010 travellers poll.

I cannot describe the quality of these beaches. I’ve spent lots of time all over Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia and trust me, have been to some pretty special places but this part of the world is a hidden gem that so far, only A list celebs and surfers have made the effort to get to.Some of my pictures should help show this but some days you feel as thought they are your very own private beaches, even in the high season, because there is hardly anyone else on them.

Beaches in Costa Rica

Kids play on the beach in Costa Rica

There are also some incredible rock pools which you can either sit, swim or snorkel in during mid to low tide. Two local favourites are at the southern most tip of Hermosa beach, which opens up like a massive swimming pool when the tide is drawing back and the other is half way between Hermosa and Manzanillo. You can’t miss it. These are a favourite with the kids and make for some incredible photographs.

If you enjoy running or jogging as I do, there is nothing more inspirational than bare foot running on the beaches here. I am a London girl and still cannot believe the views I have everyday to motivate my legs to keep on going.

Beach in Costa Rica

Adventure activities on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica

Map Pais, Santa Teresa and Hermosa have some of the best surf in the world too and there is another little hidden surf spot round the tip of the Peninsula (during the rainy season only), in a little sleepy spot called Cabuya. Not many people know to surf there. It’s more famous neighbour Santa Teresa gets rave reviews but it’s a hidden little gem for surfing at certain times of the year. The list of activities to do here whether single travellers, families with young children, or couples / group of friends is long but here’s my tips for finding the best of them:

Surfing

Surfing (obviously) but you can have lessons with some exceptionally talented surfers / teachers. One such teacher is Jofrey Garcier, who can be reached at + 506 8877 4139. He is based out of Map Pais but will often teach at Hermosa and Playa Carmen dependent on the surf. He is the local surf champion and has been surfing since the age of about six. His English is fantastic and costs about $45 for a two hour private lesson.

Beach in Costa Rica

Horseriding

There is also horseriding along golden sandy beaches for miles and miles and miles. You can even take a sunset ride along Montezuma beach on the full moon and ride back by moonlight – I did it five years ago and it is really special. Rides are easy to arrange and cost about $50pp for a 2 hour ride when you book through tour companies on the main drag but take care to ask for a horse that is ‘tranquilo’ or calm to ride. For people looking for something a little less touristy around the Santa Teresa area, try taking the unique horse tour through www.costaricanvacation.com. It takes you through a 5000 acre private beachfront cattle farm just north of Manzanillo. A family owned and operated ranch protecting one of Costa Rica’s most important watersheds including key turtle nesting habitat and the Caletas-Ario National Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy a natural landscape of rivers, mountains and beaches accompanied by local cowboys maintaining local customs and traditions culminating in a delicious cooked meal or BBQ prepared with local fresh ingredients.

Horseriding on the beach in Costa Rica

Horseriding in the forest in Costa Rica

Zip Line

Another great activity for those not scared by heights, is the zip line canopy tour in Mal Pais. I did it with my sister in law a few months ago and I was utterly petrified as we were taken through the safety tips and practice zip line. Once in the air, it was exhilarating.

Quad biking and 4 x 4

Beach sunset in Costa Rica

One last tip is my favourite little secret but is only really possible to get to in the dry season. You take a quad or 4x4x up Manzanillo beach, drive up towards the Bongo River, crossing a few low rivers on the way. A little way before the Bongo, you can take a little dirt road off the beach and head inland. This takes through amazing farm lands and eventually you hit a cross road. On your left is La Perla. It is a small bar which only serves beer and whisky and is run by a local family with some very strange looking dogs. For a piece of the real Costa Rica – this is a gem.

Yoga and more

There is yoga, nature walks through protected ancient rainforest parks, quad driving, sports fishing, mountain biking, animal sanctuaries, baby turtle sanctuaries, every Saturday there is an organic food market on the beach in Santa Teresa, amazing restaurants with awesome views of the Pacific, good shopping with artisan products made by talented local artists ………the list goes on and on and I have recommendations on all of them. There is something for everyone here. Come and visit soon.

Thanks to my guest writer Dahlia Nahome of Costa Rican Vacation for sharing the gorgeous part of Costa Rica where she lives – you can check out her website for more information and inspiration to plan your holiday there.

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

More glorious places to visit in South America

Historic cities, natural beauty and a warm welcome in Colombia
Relaxing in the rainforest at the Tambopata Ecolodge – in Peru
A beach paradise at Cabo Polonio and Valizas in Uruguay

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What could be better than eating a plate of seafood with the sand running through your toes and the sound of the waves in your ears – that’s what you’ll get when you eat at the chiringuito or seafood beach bar in Spain.

Squid and octopus at Los Boliches at Fuengirola

These traditional restaurants are typically right on the beach and in the good old days it really was just a few tables on the sand under a makeshift roof, with the fish grilled on charcoal set on the top of an old fishing boat that had been filled with sand.

Sardine barbeque on the beach at Fuengirola

Nowadays, things are a bit more sophisticated and you’ll find yourself stepping up off the sand into the wooden floor of the restaurant, but the fishing boat barbeques are still there and typically used to grill rows of sardines on a wooden skewer.

If you’re settled on the beach for the day, you’ll be in and out of the chiringuito – buying drinks and ice creams, and taking a leisurely lunch or evening meal of great tapas or seafood dishes. The menu can be pretty varied but if you’re eating anything but seafood or paella, you’re really missing the point. There won’t be too much that’s fancy here – just super-fresh fish that’s quickly cooked, with brisk service and plenty of family groups enjoying their holiday meal.

I ate at a couple of different chiringuitos on my recent short break to Southern Spain, staying on the Costa del Sol at the holiday resort of Benalmadena.

Chiringuito Las Gaviotas on the beach at Benalmadena

The first was at La Gavotina, just one of a string of seafood restaurants that you’ll find if you walk down from the coastal road onto the beach promenade that runs all the way along from the Los Mollinitos (windmill) roundabout to the Puerto Marina.

As we’d met up with English expat friends at 7pm we were impossibly early for eating by Spanish standards, so we decided to sit at the beachside tables of the chiringuito to have a drink in the evening sun while we checked out whether we’d like to eat there.

At 8pm we settled into one of the restaurant tables with only a few young families for company but by the time we left at 10pm the place was almost full, the charcoal in the boat was stoked up and the accordion player was doing his rounds.

Boquerones Fritos at Los Boliches at Fuengirola

The next day we ate our lunch on Spanish time at around 3pm with my Spanish friend Ana at a restaurant that a friend had recommended especially for the boquerones fritos. These are large anchovies, cleaned and beheaded then deep fried in batter and delicious with just a squeeze of lemon.

I was initiated into the art of eating the boquerones; first you pick one up and carefully eat the fish from one side, then take hold of the tail to peel away the backbone, and eat the other side of the fish. The technique worked wonderfully well. Of course if you were polite, you might want to do it all with the knife and fork but this is a place where the enjoyment of the food comes before such niceties.

Our friends told us these were far superior to the small sardines grilled on the fishing boat charcoal, which they never bothered to gut. Observing a few diners painstakingly removing the bones, head, tail and guts for only a tiny mouthful of fish, I could see their point.

Sardine barbeque on the beach at Fuengirola

My friend Ana had a plate of Calamar friend in batter, with rings of the squid accompanied by tiny ones fried whole, which were also delicious and there were plenty of families being served large pans of paella. Our chosen venue for the best boquerones fritos around (according to the local knowledge) was at a restaurant on the other side of the road from the beach at Los Boliches in Fuengirola and if I ever find their business card again I’ll tell you more…

Update: I found the business card! It was La Carihuela Chica, Plaza San Rafael, Edificio Don Alberto, 29640 Los Boliches, Fuengirola Tel 952 66 06 73

But really just look for the chiringuito anywhere on this coast that’s packed with Spanish families enjoying their seafood and paella! That’s all the recommendation you need.

This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesday hosted at Wanderlust and Lipstick – do head over to for Gac fruit from Vietnam and more foodie delights

More stories to dine out on

The sweet taste of Horchata – in Valencia
A shop full of sardines at Conserveira de Lisboa – in Lisbon
A seafood feast at Limski Kanal – in Istria, Croatia

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Spain – Malaga photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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