Sometimes the crowds and beaches of the main tourist areas on the Costa del Sol become a little overwhelming and the thought of getting away from it all can seem quite a good idea. One of the many things I like about this area of Spain is that you don’t have to travel far to see a completely different landscape and way of life far removed from the hustle and bustle of holiday tourists and ex- pat lifestyles.

This journey will take you from the San Pedro/Marbella area away from the coast and up into the mountains behind Estepona. A beautiful scenic journey which if you set off about mid-morning will enable you to have lunch in the mountains and be back home in time for ‘tea’!
You travel westwards along the coastal A7 (N340) around Estepona until you come to a choice of roads - the A7 toll road or the A7 coast road. Take the latter and when you come to the roundabout follow the road signposted Casares. The road immediately goes away from the coast and you feel very quickly that you are in the countryside (Alternatively you could take the road signposted Algeciras/Cadiz and follow the A7 coast road until you reach the turn off for Casares – it is well signposted).

Travelling this journey in springtime ensures that the landscape is green and the many wild flowers unseen in the summer months are flowering in abundance. The variety of different colours - red, pink, yellow and all shades in between make for a beautiful view and a peaceful ambience that in many other places has been destroyed by progressive developments over the years.

Eventually you will reach the MA546 that leads to the village of Casares. As with many ‘white villages’ the locals have realised the potential of tourism and there are many more bars and restaurants opening but the feel is still one of a typical rural Spanish village. If you feel like an uphill walk, park the car and walk up to the church which is perched on top of the hill and provides spectacular views of the coast. (If you happen to be there on November 1st - the day when the Spanish honour their dead - seeing all the local spanish dressed in black with bunches of chrysanthemums walking up the very steep cobbled path to the church despite arthritic legs and walking sticks, makes one a little bit ashamed to be complaining of tired legs and straining lungs!)

As you drive out of the village on the MA528 towards Gaucin and Ronda – look back at the limestone crags and you will see an excellent photograph opportunity showing the height and steepness of the village clinging to the rocky outcrop.

As you leave the village you are now in the Genil Valley. The road is winding but the views are wonderful. It is possible to see the village of Gaucin high on the other side of the valley but to get there you have to travel down to the bottom of the valley over the small bridge and then up the other side. Driving with your window open allows the heavy scent of pinewood to give a sense of freshness and well-being.
Gaucin has a castle which is worth climbing up to and some very narrow streets. The ‘ex-pats’ are there but as yet not in too much abundance, but the tell tale flag poles and advertising boards are beginning to appear.

Travelling away from Gaucin on the A369 going towards Ronda (32 km away), yet again the scenery is expansive and beautiful. You will pass the signpost for the small village of Benarraba, you can drive down to it but be warned there is no through road - you have to come back the way you went in - and the road is steep and the streets very narrow.
At the village of Algatocin turn right towards the village of Genalguacil on the other side of the valley. As is nearly always the case you have to travel down hill to the bottom of the valley cross a small bridge and then begin the ascent up the other side. Where this particular bridge crosses the River Genil an enterprising Spaniard has opened a large venta called San Juan (closed on Thursdays) which caters for the many Spanish families who travel there at weekends to ‘cool off’ in the river and eat a leisurely lunch chosen from a varied but very local menu. There is a campsite situated nearby but of its quality I know not!

Travelling up the other side of the valley through the shade of the cork and chestnut trees you eventually reach a sharp right turn signposted 5km to the village of Genalguacil. It is a very long 5km around many bends but the only sounds you hear are of the many birds or the very occasional vehicle and of course the landscape is worth the slow drive.
The village itself is small and untouched by foreigners, developers or cranes! You can stop at the venta on the left at the beginning of the village and enjoy their ‘menu del dia’. Definitely unsophisticated but nevertheless tasty and reasonably priced. The best advert really is that it is usually full of Spanish workmen and villagers of all ages having their lunch.

The village doesn’t have a through road. Option 1 is that you drive back 5km to the main road, and then travel towards Jubrique and eventually Estepona or you can take Option 2! - This option is really only if you are the type of traveller who likes a bit of adventure and have a car that you don’t mind driving over rougher roads than normal! If you choose to go this way you will need to travel to the far edge of the village where you will see a track-like road and a sign that indicates that the road is not tarmac. Just follow this track through the forest, pass by a ‘rural hotel’ (just opened) and the odd farmhouse. Only the sounds of the countryside can be heard and it is unlikely that you will get a signal for your mobile phone (possibly worth the bumpy road just for that?) This ‘short cut’ will bring you out near the top of Mount Reales which rises 1450m above Estepona.
Yet again the views of the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and the coastline of Africa can be spectacular on a clear day. The journey down the mountain is winding and pleasant eventually bringing you into Estepona on the ring-road.

This round trip totalling about 115km gives a completely different and refreshing aspect of this part of Andalucia.