Benalmadena marina

Benalmadena Marina

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

The Benalmadena marina, Costa del Sol, can accommodate more than 1,000 boats and yachts.

Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail

Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail in Marbella

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

A Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail, the Marbella midday sun, and the shimmering highway to Puerto Banus beckoning.

Restaurant in Fuengirola

La

Restaurant in 'Fish alley', Fuengirola

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

It's late afternoon and the tables are set at La Casa Rustica , an attractive little restaurant in Fuengirola's renowned 'Fish Alley' (Calle Moncayo).

Calle San Miguel - Torremolinos

Calle San Miguel - Torremolinos

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

Calle San Miguel (the street of San Miguel), descending circuitously from the centre of the town to the seafront, encapsulates the age-old traditions and modern cosmopolitan character of Torremolinos.

Gran Bucanero - Spanish Galleon

Gran Bucanero - Spanish Galleon

Photographer: Gerard McLoughlin

The Gran Bucanero is an authentic replica of an eighteenth century Spanish galleon. Built in Spain in 1985, it was used in the recreation of the landing of Christopher Columbus in San Salvador. This photograph was taken in Benalmadena.

"Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amethysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores."

'Cargoes' - John Masefield

Mijas Street

Mijas Street

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

A typical street (calle) in Mijas. Spotless and luminously white. Silent in the blazing afternoon sun save for the constant chirruping of an unseen canary.

Welsummer Cockerel

Welsummer Cockerel

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

This colourful breed of cockerel was the model for the Kellogg's Cornflakes rooster. Strutting in the Andalucian sunshine, it is every inch the classic Barnyard King.

Mijas - Donkeys

Mijas Donkey Taxis

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"A middle-aged tourist stood cheek by jowl with a braying ass and mimed a surrealistic duet while his giggling partner dutifully videoed the performance for shameless posterity. The animal's impassive owner looked on with the resigned air of a man who had seen it a thousand times before. Mijas makes people behave in strange ways." 'Spanish Reverie'

Bullfight Poster

Bullfight in Benalmadena

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

Another searingly hot afternoon in Mijas. This colourful poster

appears to be trying to edge farther into the shade.

The Church of the Rosary, Fuenguirola

The Church of the Rosary, Fuengirola

La Iglesia del Rosario, Plaza de la Constitucion, Fuengirola

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

This church is popular with Fuengirola's many tourists. Inside there is the following message:

"You are in a holy place. God is here. His eucharistic presence is the finest treasure we can offer you. Come in then, properly dressed. Honour him greatly. Bend your knees before him and pray with humility. Afterwards admire silently the art with which Christian people have wished to recognise his presence. When leaving, acknowledge this again."

Crowing Cock

Crowing Cock - Mijas

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"Rising to the occasion,

The cock's shrill clarion

Shatters the gauzy stillness

Of a sundazed Spanish afternoon."

'Spanish Reverie'

Street Musicians, Spain

Street Musicians, Spain

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

It's afternoon in Spain. A deceptively serious-looking musical trio entertain passers-by with a jaunty version of Tom Jones's 'Delilah'.

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter." John Keats ('Ode on a Grecian Urn')

Marbella Art

Marbella - Watercolour

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

Through the alchemy of sunlight, a canvas comes to life on a street in Marbella.

"O I have dreamed long sun-filled afternoons

Of scented blossoms and wine-languorous bliss."

'Spanish Reverie'

Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación

Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación - Marbella

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

From the shimmering stillness of a Spanish sky, the bells of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación call the faithful to prayer.

Marbella - Image

Marbella - Bougainvillea

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"Marbella in the mid-day sun,

With scarlet blooms basking

On dazzling white walls."

'Spanish Reverie'

Marbella - Flowers

Marbella - Bougainvillea

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"The magenta bougainvillea clambers and tumbles profusely around the balconies of Marbella's little streets. One can but wonder what secret delights lie within." 'Spanish Reverie'

Marbella Beach

Marbella Beach, Spain

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

Marbella beach barbecue. Blazing sun, sparkling sea, and the mouth-watering fragrance of charcoal-grilled sardines.

Mijas Bullring, Spain

Mijas Bullring, Spain

Plaza De Toros De Mijas was built in 1900.

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"It is Saturday, the day before the bullfight. We pass through a side door and emerge blinking in the sunbaked ring. The bulls, the matadors and the animated spectators are missing; but, momentarily blinded by the glaring sand and dazzling white and blood-red walls, it is hard not to hear the snorts, the cheers and the loud 'Ole's'." 'Spanish Reverie'

Mijas - Donkey Taxis

Donkey Taxis in Mijas, Costa del Sol

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"Tasselled donkeys stand at the ready, braying convulsively to the amusement of passers-by and posing for endless photos under the proprietorial gaze of their nonchalant owners." 'Spanish Reverie'

Images of Spain - Mijas

Mijas, Costa del Sol, Spain

Photographer : Gerard McLoughlin

"Mijas is magical. This picturesque traditional Spanish white village on the Costa del Sol is a revelation. As the bus from Fuengirola wends its way up the narrow labyrinthine hill, we marvel at the flower-bedecked sugar cube villas set in the precipitous mountain slopes. Bemused tourists, cameras at the ready, wheel through 360 degrees, trying to take it all in. What to photograph first? So much to capture, so much to record. Vibrant images to illumine winter days." 'Spanish Reverie'