"Spain 2004 - Andalucia - Flowers of Spring" Spain by scotlandscotour

This was our first morning, out walking the fields near our cottage.

We were about 6km outside Ronda, in the plains. The area is just discovering tourism but is embracing it slowely, like everything in the Siesta mood. We spoke only a few words of Spanish, but it didn't matter, for we saw few people. Just dogs. All seemed braced for heat, but it was no warmer than Britain, oddly.

A picture paints a thousand words - so ....

Mountains of Andalucia

We flew into Malaga, direct from Glasgow - a 3.5 hour flight on which we were the only people to bring a packed lunch and water.

Being tall I got a seat by the emergency exit, so in return for my responsibilities in event of an accident, I got to see the snow capped mountains of Spain.

Hire Car - A Tiny Lancia - Air Conditioning - Good

Really, car hire was the only feasible option, despite researching buses and trains, and considering locating by the coast.

We were collected from the airport and driven 5 minutes to the car hire depot. 10 minutes later we were loose on the roads, heading inland for Ronda.

Our holiday was based around Ronda, in Andalucia, but many of the tips, social observations and comment will be felt all over Spain.

• Pros:Great food, good prices, sunshine (sometimes), modest tourism
• Cons:Noise, noise, fiestas, scooters, dogs and more noise
• In a nutshell:Away from the tourist mad coastline, Andalucia charmed but too loudly