Seville,
Granada, Cordoba, Cádiz – just the very mention of these quintessential
Andalucian cities conjures images of what most people imagine the ‘real’
Spain to be like. White-washed villages, a fiery midday sun, colourful fiestas
and festivals, sensuous flamenco, Moorish palaces, midnight tapas, sherry from
Jerez. But there’s more to Andalucia than just the images portrayed on so
many travel posters.
There are also the hidden gems, the unspoilt corners of
a region of Spain roughly the size of Wales. Travel One’s gem is Mijas, one
of Andalucia’s prettiest villages, situated in the hills to the north of
Fuengirola – less than a 20 minute drive from the coast but a totally different
world.
Here, in beautiful scenery, you would be forgiven for thinking you are
a million miles from the bright lights and jet-setters of Marbella, Puerto Banus
and the rest of Spain’s Costa del Sol. The pace is gentle, the air scented
with bougainvillaea, there’s woodsmoke, gastronomic aromas, pretty little
whitewashed houses with colourful flowers and plants, and always a friendly ‘buenos
dias’ from your Andalucian hosts. This, most definitely, is the ‘real’
Spain. | 
