Costa del Sol

Al and Marc's House: El Carligto

Ronda

View from the Hilltop

After 4 days in Madrid we caught the brand new high-speed train heading south. Oh, what a pleasure…clean, quiet, stress-free travel. Our coach ticket was 78€ each. 165 miles an hour and 2½ luxurious hours later we arrived in Malaga, which is on the Mediterranean at the Costa del Sol. We never got to see much of the city because we rented a car at the train station and headed immediately out to Al and Marc’s house, near a village called Canillas de Aceituno (trans: Olive Crossings or Olive Pits, depending on who you talk to).

I began to get a little concerned as our directions led us higher and higher up into the mountains. By the time we reached the village, I had already stopped breathing, and was hanging upside down from the ceiling. This fucking village is quite literally hanging on to the side of the mountain. Marc and Al met us at the village roundabout and proceeded to lead us around a series of twists and turns on a cliff-face dirt road just wide enough for a car and a half. After about 15 minutes we reached their property, perched on top of a summit facing south, toward the sea. They have a 4-bdrm house with pool and 500 yards away is a duplex with another 4 bdrms and pool. They are about to refurbish it into a luxury guest house so we snuck in before they start charging people. They are surrounded on all sides by hillsides of olive orchards and grape vines, although how anybody can pick grapes at a 45 º angle is beyond me.

We spent 4 luxurious days here at El Carligto (trans: the eucalyptus tree), sunbathing, sleeping late, drinking wine, and having long dinners. It was heaven. The four of us took a day trip to Ronda, a gorgeous little town built over a ravine so deep that I can’t even talk about it.