spain – joloyolo

We all had good intentions on Sunday 14th June as the plan was to spend the morning on the beach, come back for pool or siesta time and then go out for a meal at a pre booked restaurant this evening. Claire had been looking after everyone and she had suggested a lovely loll on the Fuengirola beach.
Unfortunately, by the time we had ransacked the breakfast buffet, time was ticking on and we sacked off the idea. We went round the pool and I decided it would be good to get us some bucks fizz. I’d not paid for a taxi last night, nor had I bought any shots (which we thought were probably not the real Tequila Rosé, anyway) so it was a small gesture to show I wasn’t the cheap chaser I came across as in my blogs!
I also treated my roomies to a strawberry Calippo each. I thought the on-site shop was, once again, reasonably priced and was well stocked with cold drinks. Here’s what I paid with prices in Euros.

Ramada Hotel shop
1 carton orange juice 2.50
2 Calippo lollies 6.00
1 bottle of Cava 8.50
Total spent €17.00 (£14.43)

For lunch the gang had more munchies from the shop but I made my sandwiches from breakfast bread rolls and the left over pork knuckle – it was still amazing! I really do think not wasting food and eating more leftovers is the way forward, even on holiday.
At the Ramada by Wyndham resort there was a train to take guests around but we never quite timed it right – such a good idea when it’s sunny or for families, though. Of course, I’d made use of the washing machine facilities and done a wash ahead of my 4th destination tomorrow. By late afternoon a few of us were lounging around our room and decided to play some of the games Claire had brought. It was a great way to pass the time when we had a short shower of rain and I enjoyed having a laugh with everyone.
In the evening we ventured out for drinks and dinner in the very classy Mijas Pueblo – I even popped on a long black dress and borrowed a strapless bra from Dawn. We had some lovely wine, cocktails and sangria at Alboka Gastro – a delightful place not far from the donkeys we had been warned against riding. I’d been there a handful of times over the years and it’s never been on my itinerary to ride the donkeys or horses, it’s just cruel! We had a nice little wander around the area and got a few photos. A couple were hogging a horse statue for way too long so I ended up taking their photo.

The placeholder we had booked for dinner was cancelled and Claire went on ahead to scope out a more suitable alternative for our evening meal. She chose Restaurant El Mirador which had good views, a substantial menu, cheap house wine and lovely staff – perfect for our last night together!
Having already eaten a large breakfast and most of the other half of the pork knuckle in sandwiches for lunch, I wasn’t particularly hungry so I plumped for a mushroom risotto – it was huge! I didn’t eat it all but decided left over risotto tomorrow before our flights might not be a good idea and didn’t bother with a doggy bag this time.
Everyone enjoyed the meal but I was so full I could barely move – Carol’s Fat Club scales, when I got back to Dalyan, were not going to be favourable at all! The free limoncello nearly tipped me over the edge but we didn’t want to offend the kind staff so it was forced down.
Claire and I got a taxi back leaving the younger and wilder ones to give the ball a kick for the last night.
I’d had such a lovely weekend away and it was really good to have taken some time off. Tomorrow 6 of the gang were heading back to Bournemouth or Gatwick, while one lady was staying an extra night with a friend in Fuengirola and I was off to another exciting destination.

Gratitude List
1. A relaxing Sunday with the gang at Ramada by Wyndham
2. A classy night out in Mijas
3. Great food and hilarious company.

Photo Credit – some photos by the Costa Del Sol gang

After a lovely night’s sleep on the pull-out sofa bed I went outside to see what the view from our room was like on Saturday 13th June. It was lovely and I was pleased with the room we had, as we wandered to the breakfast area. I was very impressed at the choice and availability of the buffet style breakfast too and had plenty of it – all in the name of research, of course! By 10.30am 4 of us had decided that walking off the big breakfast may be a good idea and off to explore we went.

Claire, Dawn, Carol and I trotted downhill to the beach and wandered along the promenade all the way in to Fuengirola and stopped for a soft drink along the way. By the time we were headed back, the sun was shining, we were definitely getting sweaty and one of us needed to buy comfier footwear. It was all rather pleasant until it dawned on me that I was the most unfit out of the group and struggled on the hills at the end.

By 12.30pm we were rehydrated, armed with Lays crisps from the on-site shop and in our swimmers by one of the various pools. We had chosen one with less families and with a good mix of shade and sun. It was the first time this year that I had been in a swimming pool and it felt great.
A few nibbles and a couple of beverages were had in the early afternoon and everyone, but me, had sandwiches, quiches or sausage rolls for lunch. The on-site bakery and shop had such a good range of products that it would have been quite easy to survive by not leaving the resort, should we have wanted to. In the interests of not wasting food, I had the warmed up tagliatelle carbonara from last night and it tasted even better the second day.
In the later part of the afternoon, we sat out on the garden area outside our room, enjoying the sea view, drying our towels and swimmers while drinking tea or coke while we waited for the Cava in the fridge to chill a bit more and the other 5 to head over for pre dinner drinks.

Claire, who had become the one in charge by default because most of the rest of us couldn’t be bothered to step up, was the star of the evening. She had arranged some paraphernalia for each of the celebrators; Dawn who was celebrating her 50th and wore her tiara very proudly, Jamie who was less keen to sport an amazing vest top full of images of his cheeky face but loved the Gay Who? game and bracelet for his 40th, and Spawn, the bride to be was donned with more twinkles befitting her outfit and we all had a mask to show our support for her.
The Cava flowed and we laughed a lot, not having time to do the games we had ready much chance, before heading off to the delights of Fuengirola and to feed our hungry bellies. I knew it was going to be a good night and decided to draw out more cash. The ATM charged me €5 to draw out €60 which was an error on my part as I should’ve just paid on card, but I wanted it for drinks/taxis later. We promenaded our way to the port and Claire had spotted a lovely looking venue which was fairly busy (always a good sign when choosing an eatery on holiday). The waitress at Ku’ Damm stuck us at a large table at the back, surrounded by interesting memorabilia and got busy with taking drinks orders. I really enjoyed the sangria and this kind of restaurant was right up my street as it sold pork! The ceiling of the ladies toilet in this Berlin-esque restaurant was certainly unique.

My next ‘mistake’, in some people’s eyes, was to order a pork knuckle with potatoes, gravy and gherkins. When it came it was ridiculously large and had so much crackling on – we’ve had smaller joints of meat at a family Sunday roast. A lot of the girls ordered the schnitzel and that was definitely not a small portion, either. The food was incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed my pork knuckle. Obviously it defeated me and I ended up asking to take half away with me. This is much more common abroad but, again, it amused most of the gang. There is no way I could have wasted any of that pork! Our bill was split between 8 of us again and I paid €40, remarkably the same as last night!
Next, with very full bellies, we wandered (I most definitely waddled) over to a bar where it appeared it was part of the evening to be ‘forced’ to drink Tequila Rosé shots at the bar.
Ordinarily, I do love a Tequila Rosé but I had overdone it on my meal so I struggled to get the first one down. Not one to be a party pooper too early, I took a second while one of the girls had to do a tactical chunder in the bogs! I almost followed suit and decided 2 was enough after a good amount of sangria and went on to water. While the celebrators really got in to party mode, I started to feel my age and was aware just how much I can’t drink, or stay out late, like I used to. Claire and Carol were either thinking the same or had took pity on me wandering the trendy bars of Fuengirola with half a greasy pork knuckle in a takeaway plastic bag. The 3 of us got an Uber back to the Ramada and Carol paid on her app.
Back in our hotel room, having put my meat in the fridge, Claire and I tried to wait up for Dawn by watching a bit of TV but she still had to knock me up as we had fell asleep – was I turning in to a brunch friend rather than the party person I used to be!?

Gratitude List
1. Waking up to a sea view and included breakfast at the Ramada
2. Spending time on holiday with the Costa Del Sol gang
3. That huge pork knuckle!!!!