Taken on the beach during Monday evening’s La Noche de San Juan festivities.
Category Archives: Axarquía
One Trip Every Month: La Fortaleza, Vélez-Málaga
My trip this month is a local one – to La Fortaleza, the medieval fortress and Alcazaba in Vélez-Málaga, capital of the Axarquía region. Of course, as with many other places, I see the fortress towering above the town every time I pass by, but somehow never got around to visiting before now.
La Fortaleza was in a bad state of repair for many years and, as a result, was not open to the general public – but that has now changed. 
Located on the highest point of the town, about 80 meters above sea level, the Alcazaba or Fortress was built during the 10th century under Moorish rule, but achieved its greatest prominence during the 14th and 15th centuries, as one of the most important strongholds of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada. It’s worth remembering that the River Vélez was once much deeper and wider than it is now, and that the valley formed part of a trade route through the Zafarraya Pass from Granada to Málaga, making the town strategically significant.
Vélez-Málaga may not have been a very large town, but it was well fortified and defended by a solid set of walls, some of which can still be seen.
As with many Spanish monuments, the directional signage to La Fortaleza leaves a lot to be desired, but if you head for the Fernando Hierro Sports Stadium in Vélez-Málaga and take the Arenas road, following signs for La Iglesia de Santa Maria/Museo de la Santa Semana, you will find the Alcazaba (La Fortaleza) just before the church.
The restored Tower of the Alcazaba (the fortress La Fortaleza) is open every Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 1pm and offers spectacular views over the town and the surrounding Axarquía countryside. Admission is FREE.
Don’t forget your camera! 
This post is my contribution to the One Trip EVERY Month Challenge. If you’d like to join me, here’s how:
- Each month, visit somewhere and then write about your trip or describe it using photographs – whichever suits you best.
- Don´t forget to title and tag your entry ’One Trip EVERY Month Challenge’, and link back to this page.
- Display the Challenge logo on your post or in your sidebar.
- HAVE FUN!
Are you ready to join me by taking ONE TRIP EVERY MONTH? What are you waiting for? GO!
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A Sailing Weekend in Torre del Mar
I had great fun over the weekend photographing the 1st Copa de Andalucía de Catamaranes (Andalucía Cup for Catamarans) hosted by the sailing club in Torre del Mar.
The sun was shining and the sky blue, with just a breath of wind.
What a perfect place to while away a few hours taking photos, and sitting in the outdoor bar of the club-house watching the proceedings, chatting with friends, sipping chilled wine and eating delicious tapas 🙂
Weekend sailing festival in Torre del Mar
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Wordless Wednesday: Chameleon
Salmon fillet with a zingy coconut and coriander crust and leeky mash
Now that summer’s here, I’m always looking for fresh and inventive ways to tickle the old taste buds. So, I came up with a delicious twist on a seasoned favourite.
I’ve noticed recently that in the cool-display near to the fresh fish counter at Spanish supermarket, Mercadona, they now have what they call “Plancha de Salmon, sin espinas” – larger pieces of salmon fillet (without bones), usually weighing around one kilo. At €12.50 per kilo, it’s not only a saving of a few euros over the smaller pieces, but no fish bones to contend with either. Result!
I cut the salmon into portions, sprinkled some lemon juice over them, and put them onto a plate in the microwave on a low setting for a few minutes, until they were well on the way to being ready.
In the meantime, after peeling some potatoes to make the mash, I put them on to boil and, in a separate pan, gently fried some leeks in butter – until they had just softened.
For the zingy topping, I didn’t want to use breadcrumbs so I mixed together some grated coconut (coco rallado), finely chopped one of these lovely little chilli peppers I grew in the garden last summer (which has been in the freezer ever since), half a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, a dessertspoon of mayonnaise, freshly-chopped coriander (cilantro) straight from the herb garden, a twist of black pepper and enough milk to ease the mixture so it was spreadable.
All I had to do then was carefully transfer the salmon fillets onto a baking tray, spread the zingy topping mixture over the salmon and pop them under a medium grill.
Whilst keeping an eye on the salmon, I mashed the potatoes and added a little milk and butter then gently stirred in the softened leeks.
After three or four minutes, the crust on the salmon was just starting to brown nicely, so it was time to serve the leeky mash into bowls and drape the salmon artistically on top!
This crust topping will work equally well on any white fish or chicken.
Why not give it a try? Let me know how you get on, won’t you?
East of Málaga 