14^th April   MARINA DEL ESTE

Another bad forecast, so another day in port. So now very glad of the push through to Caleta de Velez earlier in the week. I went to the marina office and asked the guy if he had any recommendations for bars/restaurants in Almunecar, the town visible to the west of the marina ( a mile or so as the crow flies, about 5 round all the houses). He suggested a bar called Los Parachitos near the Plaza del Constitucion. So we ordered a cab and got dropped at the Castillo, which dominates the old town.

I had texted Finn to let him know where I was – and he got straight back saying that Almunecar was where Laurie Lee ended up! It must have been amazing then, before the buildings…...having said that, they are generally better than most of the developments I’ve seen – and the stand alone ones, on the best sites, are magnificent, with beautiful steep gardens and views of the ocean below.

The Castillo was good (very windy!), Moorish with additions, I think the Brits came along to destroy it at one point in the 19^th century. The museum was interesting – saw the oldest written language found on the Iberian peninsula, on an Egyptian urn. In the middle of town are the remains of a Roman fish salting factory.

Off to Los Parachitos – found it about 12.30, it was shut. There was a guy standing outside watching as we tried the door. “One o’clock” he said. So we came back at one. It was tiny and packed. Young people, old people, men, women popping in and out, guy behind the bar frantically handing out bottles of Estrella, each one of which came with a tapas – whitebait, chicken, prawns etc, which he remembered to give to each person who had ordered. It was heaving. A really good place.

Then back to the marina, and a meal in the restaurant next to El Barco for a change!

And so to bed, with a better forecast for Sunday, weather quietening through the day.