Spain | I experienced a hidden treasure

For the past three years, I’d been watching everyone else travel and enjoy beach holidays while I sat at home. Well, this year I decided to change that. I booked a seven day trip to Fuengirola, Spain.

I stayed at the Globales Gardenia, a three star hotel almost directly on the beach- perfect for me. But, the holiday didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts. When I arrived, I was told the room I booked had been taken and we couldn’t be offered another room with a balcony (that ruined all the typical “going out” pictures that every girl must post on Instagram). We also had to wait for a new room for over an hour in our travelling clothes, in 30 degree heat watching everyone else sunbathing and swimming. I won’t lie, I was furious. However, it worked out pretty well because we were offered an upgrade from half board to all inclusive as a sort of apology. Free food and drinks? I’m in!

So, the first few days involved a lot of cocktails, sunbathing, swimming and eating. But, that’s really not the kind of traveller I am. I love to get out and discover new things, so I decided to book some excursions. I decided on a day trip to Gibraltar (if you haven’t read my blog post on that- check it out here) and a day trip to Caminito Del Rey.

I travelled to Caminito Del Rey on the final day of my holiday, the day after my Gibraltar (probably not the best idea because I was exhausted when travelling home). It’s a walkway along a bridge which is built high up, on the edge of a gorge with a lake beneath. A great hiking visit for those who aren’t scared of heights. I’m not, but I have to say, I did get nervous at times when I was walking up steps very close to the edge and across the bridge when it got particularly windy. I was too scared to get my phone out incase it fell through the gaps and I still felt risky using my Nikon camera because I’m just so clumsy.

Of course you had to wear a helmet which added a bit of security but I can’t say it did anything for my ‘look’ and in 33 degree heat, I ended up with tremendous “helmet hair” after the 2 hour hike. It was a laughable sight.

Anyway, I’ll stop moaning. Honestly, I would describe this place as the most prepossessing hidden treasure I have ever witnessed. The scenes were so picturesque, at times I was looking at the lake and I thought it didn’t look real. It looked as if a painting was just hanging there because there was no imperfections. I stopped caring about the sweat dripping from me and how high up I was because this place was just so beautiful. I was constantly stopping to take more pictures.

I really never wanted to leave.