What I Plan to Blog About

The last one and a half weeks has just gone by at lightening speed but yet it has been so relaxing here in Mijas Pueblo in the heart of the Costa del Sol in Spain! I have settled into my temporary abode in a small apartment that I will occupy until my more substantial residence is available beginning in November. Here in my blog I will share what I have seen, heard, tasted, learned, and, more appropriately for my blog, my impressions and feelings about my experiences.

I am writing my initial entry from the apartment balcony. It is almost 9:00 AM and other than for me and the nearby crowing rooster, there are few out and about in this small pueblo village of about 7500. I am uncertain if the population numbers include the large expat community (composed mostly of citizens from the United Kingdom). The British are everywhere as many not only are here on holiday but also have, like me, taken up a residence. The village will really start to come alive around 10 o’clock or so when shops (other than the bakery which is already open) come alive in anticipation of the arrival of the tour groups.

Mijas Pueblo has applied to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site and through my blog I will share more about it in coming entries. But the mainstay of the community now appears to be tourism. Located about 450 meters above and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on the south coast of Spain, the pueblo attracts people from around the world. In an hour or so the busses carrying Koreans and others from numerous Asian countries will arrive. That’s when the leather and novelty shops spring into action. They aren’t the only visitors but there seem to be lots more of them than other European groups.

There are definite favorite attractions for the Korean visitors. There are horse-drawn buggy rides around a preset route through town as well as burro “taxis” that follow the same route. One can imagine a time when the burro taxis were in fact used for that specific purpose! The visitors, however, really are excited to take the buggy rides and call out a friendly “hola” to everyone they think is from here! They, like most tourists, all have cameras. But I have seen a uniqueness in many having a long metal arm attachment to the camera for taking “selfies!” Yesterday, I went to a bullfight in Mijas and I will discuss it in another blog entry. But the Koreans were there en mass and I wonder what they must be thinking about this unique Spanish sport.

That’s all for today’s entry. I hope you will return as this lone American further describes what’s happening in his experiences living in Spain.

Barry Day