Mijas Favorites

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Favorite thing: Hidden away in a corner of the town ( to the right of the Burro Taxi ) you will find the 16th century SHRINE OF LA VIRGEN DE LA PENA . This shrine holds the image of the Virgin of the Rock, the patroness of Mijas. It is set in the rock by the El Compas vantage point. According to legend the image of the Virgen was hidden during five centuries and was found in 1586 by a builder, the father of two shepherd boys who were led to the hiding place by a dove.

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Favorite thing: The bullring or PLAZA DE TOROS was built in 1900 through the many petitions made by the villagers. A curiosity of the bullring is that it is an oval shape.
I have never been or will I ever see a bull-fight. It is just too cruel a sport for me to watch.
Located just inside the entrance to the bull-ring, there is a small museum. I believe the price for entry was 3 Euros.

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Favorite thing: The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH or Parroquia de la Inmaculada Concepcion, existed as a Parish Church before 1492. It was ordered to be built in 1541 - 65 on the site of the ruins of the ancient Moorish castle and one of the castle's towers was used as a bell tower, but was not finished until 1631. It is a stone building with three Mozarabic naves supported by marble pillars. During restorations in 1991 - 92 a series of frescoes of the Apostles were discovered on the columns and they date back to approximately 1632.
The inside of the Church was absolutely beautiful.

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Favorite thing: What makes Mijas charming are the NARROW STREETS & LITTLE WHITE HOUSES. It was fun to walk up and down the narrow streets, some cobblestone, some tiled.
What I also enjoyed, was the balconies displaying pots of colourful plants.

Favorite thing: Hidden away in a corner of the town, overlooking the wonderful valley leading to the coast, is the 16th century shrine of La Virgen de la Peña, formerly a Hermitage. It is built into a rocky outcrop, and nowadays looks rather out of place, with the more modern buildings surrounding it. I think there was a small entrance fee or donation required (Carmen, help!!), but it I remember correctly you can't take photos inside the Hermitage, which is now a Religious Shrine.

Fondest memory: La Virgen de la Peña is the village's patron saint., and according to legend the image of the virgin remained concealed for eight centuries, until June, 2 1586, when it appeared before two shepherd boys who had been led there by a pigeon. Another story says that; " an image of the Virgin was found concealed in a recess in the tower where it had been hidden for 500 years."

In 1656 work started on the sanctuary cave, which is nowadays always decorated with flowers and pictures as offerings from thousands of people.

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Favorite thing: The XVII century CHURCH OF SAN SEBASTIANwas rebuilt from ruins thanks to charity. A plaque on the outside of the Church reads:
"This Church was erected in the late 17th century and has since undergone many reforms. It has a single nave covered with a ridgepole structure and a square main chapel covered by a domed vault resting upon pendetives with moulded plasterwork and scrolled plaques. At the head of the high altar is a groin-vaulted niche with a fresco of small angels dating from the 18th century. The simple portico at the eastern entrance, incorporates a round arch framed by pilasters, an entablature and divided pediments , the whole facade crowned by a belfry gable with a single opening.

Favorite thing: If you have memories of Costa del Sol as being a quiet coast dotted with fishing towns, then it has been a long time since you have been there. Spain has benefited economically from being in the EU, and has received an enormous amount of outside investments. Along with that means new construction. A lot of it. Everywhere we looked along Costa del Sol, from Marbella to Malaga (and probably further than that, but that is as far as we went), we saw huge cranes building mega condominium complexes with hundreds of units each.

It is mind boggling to try to understand how there can be so much demand for accommodations. It is even more mind boggling to try to understand why no one is protesting all this development right on the coast, and on the hills overlooking the coast. We weren't sure if the insfrastructure is in place to support all of these residential units. From what we saw, there was a huge amount of residential building going on, but very little commercial development.

Fondest memory: Mijas, while quieter and less developed than the towns and cities right on the coast, hasn't escaped this new development craze. The subdivision (or "urbanization") we stayed in was still being developed with newly added multifamily dwellings. Across the Mijas road was a new development that was just beginning. Roads and utilities had been laid, and dwellings were just starting.

The good news is, it won't be difficult to find accommodations in Costa del Sol for a long time. The bad news is, if anyone bought here for investment, I doubt that person will make a fortune, given the growing supply of accommodations these days.

Favorite thing: Our visit to Mijas coincided with some of the worst weather the Costa Del Sol had experienced in years. The temperature was pretty cool, not chilly, and the mountains were shrowded in mist. It actually made our visit all the better because the town was not full of tourists!! Parking can be a problem but Carmen found somewhere on the edge of town, so we had rather a nice 'walk' from one end to the other.