Andalucia

This week, I´m having a relaxing break with friends on the Costa del Sol. The September weather is glorious – long sunny days and balmy moonlit nights. It’s hard to believe that autumn is just around the corner.

We flew down to Malaga with Monarch Airlines on a wide-bodied airbus (the sort used on long haul flights) – so there was more legroom than usual and ample space for hand luggage. The onboard breakfast cost £6 and included two cups of coffee or tea.  Considering that most airlines now charge over £2 for just a hot drink, it was good value and tasty too!

Here in the pretty resort of Nerja, I’m enjoying daily thalassotherapy – not in some super swanky spa, but in the warm waters of the Med. Using one of those long polystyrene tubes sold in beach shops, I stay blissfully and securely immersed for ages, stretching, floating, riding the waves and carrying out all sorts of aquarobic exercises. This natural thalasso is an exhilarating tonic with a tangible ´feel good’ factor.

For maximum enjoyment, the sun should be blazing down and the sea should have a slight swell so you can bob over the top of the waves like a cork. Yesterday afternoon, a breeze whipped up, making the sea quite rough. I waded in slowly as usual and was suddenly knocked off my feet by a large wave that snatched off my sunglasses. Before I could retrieve them or my balance, another huge wave sent me sprawling and rudely washed through my nasal passages! Not quite the idyllic experience of the previous day, but a reminder of the awesome power of nature and the sea.