I am cutting my time here short; my Airbnb is abysmal and I have reached the limit on what I can tolerate with cockroaches and filth. I have explored the city from one end to the other, and there are some beautiful parts. Here are 5 free things to do in Torremolinos Spain that I have enjoyed.
Battery Park
Besides the promenade that I covered in a previous post, the other favourite place for me in this city is Parque de la Bateria. Located in the centre of town, this is a beautiful green space, well maintained, and an oasis of peace.
A new structure resides in place of the old watchtower that was once located here and surrounded by artillery. Climb this for exceptional views of the park itself and the coastline of the Costa del Sol. Within the park grounds is a rubberized walking/running path, cycle route, outdoor gym areas, fountains, small library, large playground and four of the original wartime cannons that can be explored.
A man-made lake fills one large space; however, it is looking quite empty at the moment. At one time visitors used to be able to sail little boats around, perhaps this is only a summer time activity.
Bullring
Once I found out there was an actual bullring here, I needed to explore. How unique, I have only ever seen these in Mexico before. Visitors will find this located on the north side of town, in an area that also includes the municipal swimming pool, running track and auditorium.
Build in 2003, if you go on a Sunday, when the market is open, you can have a look around inside. One of the doors is open for the use of the toilet facilities. It was interesting to see and my brain immediately jumped to memories of visiting the coliseum in Rome.
Mirador Sansuena
A viewpoint up high in town and over looking the entire coastline. Visitors can wander around this vast space in amongst the chimneys of the apartments below. On this sight, in 1905, was a country house and adjoining castle. An English officer named George Langworthy and his wife Anne, purchased this property called Santa Clara and made it their permanent residence.
Perched high atop this cliff in Torremolinos, they turned the rocky, cactus and weed filled space into luxurious terraced gardens.
The poet Luis Cernuda named this once special place, Sansuena, and he writes….
“In Sansuena, the eyes open to a pure light and the chest breathes a fragrant air. No desire hurts the heart, because desire has died in the beatitude of the living; living like things live: with a passionate silence.”
Torre Pimentel
A watchtower built in the 14th century by the Nastrids. It sits in the centre of town. The origin of this towns name was from this tower. Once called Torre de los Molinos, or Tower of the Mills. Torremolinos was a small settlement built around milling. The stone wheels that an observant visitor sees all around town are from those very mills.
At the end of the 15th century, a soldier helped Ferdinand and Isabella conquer Malaga for the Kingdom of Granada. It was at this time that the tower had a name change to his name, Pimentel.
El Morro Cat Colony
Located down at the waterfront, in fact, it is the base of those original terraced gardens of Sansuena, is the feral cat colony of El Morro. What’s left of this natural rocky cliff, has been eroded to form thousands of small crevices of which the local wildlife has made home.
Here see birds, lizards and especially cats. This cat colony is very well cared for by a group of volunteers. Have a seat on any of the multiple benches and give some love to these friendly felines. They are so incredibly sweet.
My time in Torremolinos has come to quite an abrupt end. I will eventually write a post about my budget for this leg of my journey and at that time I will show and tell photos from the Airbnb and what transpired. More details can be found now in my Instagram posts. I do hope if you are here currently, you are enjoying a lovely hotel that is perhaps located on the west side of the city.
