Head east along the coastal road from Malaga and just beyond the Baños del Carmen you will find the small maritime promenade of Pedregalejo. Unlike so many other seaside places, it has preserved its local character and charm without being overly influenced by tourism. The beaches here, called Las Acacias, are famous for the way they have been divided up into small, u-shaped coves. This makes them an excellent and manageable place for families with little children. Of course the shower facilities, bars and rocks with crabs help, too. The mild climate and the breakwaters mean that these beaches can be visited at quieter times and not just in the summer months. Throughout the year you can see a curious mixture of Spanish locals and tourists with the occasional foreign resident, occasional fishermen sitting on the ends of the piers, and, in more inclement weather, kayak enthusiasts surfing the waves.

Of course, many people do not go just for the beach but to feast on the delightful food served there, too. The restaurants from the Nereo boatyard up to the Arroyo Jaboneros are: El Lirio, El Morata, El Maricuchi, El Cabra, La Paloma, El Caleño, Los Espigones, Miguelito “El Cariñoso”, El Merlo, La Carihuela Chica, Las Acaricias, Los Cuñaos, Las Palmeras, and Los Hermanos Muñoz. Most of these restaurants have been around for twenty years and Miguelito “El Cariñoso” has even been running for more than sixty years. All of them are just a few feet from the beach and with terraces from which you can see the espeteros barbequing sardines on stakes and a few of the last “jabegas” (the traditional fishing boats used by fishermen in the area since Phoenician times) resting on the sand with their painted eyes staring back at you. If you just need a cup of coffee, an ice-cream for the children, or a drink while you watch the sun setting behind the Malaga skyline (and a trip to the toilet) after being on the beach all day, there are a good number of places such as Roca Mar or La Tortuga.

Pedregalejo has recently gained in popularity for its weekend night life, as the music in the bars is ideal for dancing but not too loud for those who, seated outdoors in the moonlight, prefer conversation. Not only does Pedregalejo appeal to young people from all parts of Spain, but it also attracts lots of foreign students who come to Malaga to learn Spanish. There are several language schools in the area and quite a few private households that take in students. There are also dozens of small hotels, comfortable boarding houses and hostels for those who only want to stay for sightseeing or relaxation.

When going there it is important to remember that parking spaces in Calle Bolivia, close by the shore, are limited, but are much easier to find a few streets back from the beach front. The number 11 bus takes about 15 minutes to the Alameda in the centre. This excellent bus service into Malaga City centre makes it a good base for exploring the regional capital, its historical monuments and museums.

On the other hand, the only real cultural event left to Pedregalejo is the day of the Virgin of the Carmen on the 16th of July which is, in my opinion, one of the best examples of a local fiesta. Devotion to the virgin is demonstrated with colourful intensity. After the afternoon mass in the parochial church, the procession goes along the promenade towards the Baños del Carmen until the Arroyo de los Pilones accompanied by a church band and locals dressed in their Sunday best. Then the statue is loaded onto a boat – a jabega – which sails towards the Levante in order to bless the waters.

Pedregalejo used to be an old fishing village, but it long since became one of Malaga’s most bustling areas. This past transition can be seen in the long, tree-lined boulevard, Avenida Juan Sebastian Elcano, that leads past the bourgeois summer residences built in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, although the more humble “casa mata” (rustic house) style of dwelling along the sea front is much more predominant. Both are a far cry from the dreadful hovels which the fisher folk had lived in up to the mid 19th century.

Also of historical interest, is the Baños del Carmen, a bathing resort that was opened for the rich in 1918. A long, high wall separates the still beautiful building, its ruined gardens and stony beach from the noisy, main road. The Malaga city hall has plans for renovating it after more than twenty five years of decay. The idea is to extend the beach and to connect the two promenades of Pedregalejo and the sea front walk of Malaga, La Caleta. The voices of dissent are already bewailing the serious environmental repercussions on marine life due to the projected artificial beaches and breakwaters. Furthermore, there is the boatyard Nereo which is to be found just in between the Las Acacias beaches of Pedregalejo and the Baños del Carmen. The fact that Astilleros Nereo is the only remaining boatyard continuing the four hundred year-old tradition of sardine boat-building, restoration and fine carpentry in the area and that it has been declared as Historical Patrimony is probably the most insurmountable impediment to the City’s plans. Indeed, the boatyard has blatantly refused to move and has proposed to set up an ethnological museum, alongside its present workshop and school, to impart knowledge of the fishing culture and history of the area.

No matter what happens with the plans for the Baños del Carmen, this pleasing little promenade, the bundle of white-washed and colourfully tiled village houses, prettily painted boats with fat fisher cats lying beneath them, the intimate style of the beaches and their adjacent restaurants are all bound to change. Let’s go and see these things now and hope that change is slow!