Spain – Caleta de Velez (En)
Finally, we left Marbella on January 9th. We went to La Caleta de Vélez, a charming fishing village, part of Vélez Málaga, where we met our friends Trudy and Slim, an English couple we met in France two years ago.
Where to stay
We came to Caleta de Vélez because there’s a motorhome area at the port (36.748525, -4.065704 latitude, longitude) that costs €13.15 per day plus €1.92 for electricity with toilets and showers. The problem is that when we arrived, it said it was full, even though there were spaces available, but the barrier wouldn’t open. We called the number on the gate, getting a recording saying to leave a message to call us back. They never did.
On the way to the area, we saw a campervan and a van parked on a street across from the beach, so we went there and parked for free behind the campervan. We called Trudy and Slim and sent them the location (36.748967, -4.070365 lat, long) so they could park behind us, which they did. There are no facilities, but there are garbage bins on the street and a public toilet on the beach opening all day. The people who live on the street are incredibly friendly; they told us it was no problem to park there and that if we needed anything, we should ask. Lovely.
What to see
Since La Caleta is part of Vélez-Málaga, I thought it was a neighbourhood of Vélez-Málaga and suggested we walk to the old town. The GPS said an hour and a half walking. I insisted we walk to get some exercise instead of going by bike or motorbike. After walking for an hour, we ended up on a highway where we couldn’t walk any further. Exhausted, we decided to call a taxi, but no one answered the phone, so we decided to walk back the way we had come, all the way back to the beach. When we got back, I asked how to get to the old town of Vélez-Málaga. They told me it was another town and that there was a bus, impossible to get to on foot, or even by bike! I have to say that Trudy, Slim, and Ben weren’t happy with me, although we laughed a lot about the situation.
What to eat
After the enormous walk to nowhere, we arrived back at the beach around lunchtime and went straight to a restaurant for a drink and a bite to eat. The waiters were in stitches when we told them we’d tried walking to the old town of Vélez-Málaga, and they were very kind to us. We had lunch at the Eclipse Bar Restaurant, and had the menu of the day for 14 euros. For starters, Ben ordered soupy rice with rabbit, Trudy had stuffed eggs with prawns, Slim had prawn salad, and I had broad beans with ham. Trudy doesn’t eat fish or shellfish, and the eggs were stuffed with tuna, so Ben ended up eating all the tuna. For our main courses, Ben and Trudy ordered stuffed aubergines with fries, and Slim had breaded steak with mushroom sauce. Since almost everything had egg in it or was fried, the waiter offered me grilled calamari, which was delicious. We were stuffed, but we still had the included dessert: Ben had a brownie, Slim a cheesecake, I had ice cream, and Trudy had melon. I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the area, as the waiters went out of their way to accommodate our allergies, and the food was delicious, with fresh fish and seafood.
After the big meal, Ben and I went to see the harbour, walk along the beach, and see the lighthouse. Slim and Trudy went to take a nap.
The next morning, we went to the street market that we’d been told about the previous afternoon, which was set up right on the street behind us. They had everything at good prices; Ben and I bought avocados.
In the afternoon, we said goodbye to Trudy and Slim and went to La Herradura, on the Costa Tropical of Granada, which stands out for its typical Andalusian old town and its castle, which you can see in the next blog post.
