This afternoon we drove up to Mijas pueblo for some last minute present shopping, something Clare loves to do when we're on holiday. We found the village streets decorated with festive lighting installations, celebrating the village patronal festival honouring the Virgen de la Peña, Our Lady of the Rocks whose shrine is in one corner of the promontory on which the first settlement was established in ancient times. The largest of the public squares was given over to a street market and fun fair. The church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin on September 8th, and the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th when the weather is somewhat cooler and more varied, so why not make a fiesta at a more congenial times, before the kids go back to school for the autumn term?
The terrace behind the parish church of the Immaculate Conception, on the promontory which overlooks the sea plain contained a stage with a band performing, lots of tents selling drinks and snacks, and lines of tables for people to sit around and socialise. Many of the young women and girls were turned out in flamenco dresses, a beautiful sight, wearing their local identity with pride and dignity. It was a real family occasion with children playing freely in front of the bandstand, while their parents relaxed and chatted without any worry that a child might stray and get lost.
We decided to dine out in a restaurant we discovered back at Easter, called the ‘Secret Garden’. Behind what looks like a small tapas bar and restaurant is a courtyard, and beyond the courtyard is an extensive flat gravelled terrace under a canopy of trees, set into the hillside. There was a bar and a large open air barbecue grill served by two chefs. We had an excellent and reasonably priced evening meal in pleasantly cool surroundings, and for part of the time we were serenaded by a man playing classic Spanish favourites on a fine resonant acoustic guitar. Such a treat.
We walked the streets again after dark, admiring the decorations and festive activities. When we returned to the terrace behind the church, everything was closed and the last reveller had left. Lights were on in the church and the doors open. We looked inside and found it was full of worshippers, at ten o’clock at night. In the cool of the evening, the late, (or was it early?) Mass had reached the Gradual Psalm. We stayed as far as the Gospel, then slipped away, through streets, still busy with pedestrians, past the funfair to the car park, to make our way home.
The steep descent from Mijas pueblo in the dark isn’t the easiest of roads at the best of times, the dominant speed limit is 30kph, although there are also brief stretches where it is either 40 or 50kph. It was particularly important to keep within the limit, as a police car was following me. At a roundabout near the bottom of the steepest section, I was summoned to stop. I was asked if I was aware how close to the edge of the road I was driving, and seemed to be wavering.
The hard shoulder along this stretch of road is concreted (to assist with water run-off, I imagine) and stands out in contrast to the tarmac. What I didn’t notice was a broken white line painted on the tarmac in non-reflective paint, about 200cm in from the hard shoulder. The official edge of the road, in effect, if you could see it properly. I admitted to being unsure, not very confident on an unfamiliar stretch of road, and this was accepted. Another police car, unmarked, pulled in behind as well. My driving license was checked, and presumably the car’s details were checked out on someone’s mobile internet device, and I was sent courteously on my way.
I believe that checking my speed as I did all the way down was the chief cause of my wavering, as the speedometer is on the centre of the dashboard in this marque of Citroen car. Not having straight line of sight over the steering wheel, interfered minutely with hand-eye co-ordination and made steering a straight course around the bends more difficult than usual. I certainly know to beware of this on future dark nights.
