When we say that Back to la Tierra is close to everything but away from it all you may wonder what we mean exactly.
What are we close to? and what are we away from?
We are located close to Mijas Pueblo in the province of Malaga i.e. the Costa del Sol. When you hear about this sunny coast your first association may be tourism, lots of it. German beer drinkers, Dutch kroket eaters, people partying till sunrise to sleep out their hang overs under the beach parasols for the rest of the day. A place where hedonism is a common religion. Yes, these things do happen, just like they happen in your home town on a Saturday night. In fact, you may recognise the crowd.
There is an interesting arrogance involved when we talk about wanting to experience the ‘real Spain’. Don’t worry, we all do it, but it turns out that the real Spain is in fact everywhere.
What we personally love about this coast is the incredible variety of people, nationalities, languages and cultures. The majority were born here, most with a Spanish passport, some, like our children, with a different one. Some moved here in a later stage, built their lives here and morph from one language to another in seconds including facial expressions and mannerisms. Some live here and continue speaking their own language with no intention of wanting to understand anything foreign. Others are here on a holiday to briefly enjoy the sun and lack of obligations.
The group of third generation 'foreign' kids is growing. These are children of people I went to school with in the 70’s who grew up on the coast and speak Andaluz as they look at you with their blue eyes and matching Swedish blond hair. The Costa del Sol may actually be the best version of Europe, in a nutshell. In all it’s brilliant imperfection.
We love to go to our favourite Spanish beach restaurant and have our plate of boquerones fritos and pimientos asados. We also love the fact that we can get German bread, Swedish cakes and Moroccan couscous in the shops. We love being close (max two hours) from the fascinating cities of Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla and even closer to smaller and equally fascinating towns ike Antequera. We can't wait to visit the Atlantic Coast with its white beaches and impressive waves to spend the day or a long weekend.
I am writing this in chiringuito Kalifato where I used to come as a young girl with my parents and friends. The same owner is still running it, albeit a little older and greyer. It’s on the beach, Sunday lunch chaos, kids running around with ice creams, people on the beach playing ball, swimming, paddling. The La Cubana bar a little further on, is more colourful and trendy, younger, beautiful people. Prices are good in both, the vibe can’t be better.
We're close to that too.
As I drive home in 10 minutes and the finca gate closes behind me I realise: this spot really has the best of all worlds.
Come and see what you think.
