On The Main Street of Arroyo de la Miel

Benalmadena train station

A fountain in front of the train station. Straight ahead is the beginning of Avenida de la constitucion.

The main street on Arroyo de la Miel is called Avenida de la Constitucion. But for those who have trouble pronouncing the name, they simply refer to it as the main street or the high street. The street starts from the train station and runs through the center of Arroyo de la Miel into the next town. However, only the beginning of the street – about half a kilometer of it, is busy and touristic.

Here, on both sides of the streets you will find many shops, bars and restaurants. There are also fountains and statues of people who contributed to the development of the town in the early days.

The main street is always busy as this is the heart of the city. In the mornings and evenings, when it is not too hot, it is a good place to have a meal or a drink and watch the world go by.

Besides ‘The Waiter on Arroyo de la Miel’, 👉 HERE the other iconic item that stood out on the main Street of Arroyo de la Miel is a Jacaranda tree when it is in full bloom. The difference is that while the ‘Waiter’ is always present on the street, the jacaranda tree blooms only in late Spring. And it is during that time that the fully bloomed purple flowers of jacaranda catch the attention of visitors.

Imagine walking out of the station, and coming upon the tree in full bloom – a big purple tree in the center of the pavement. Anyone would have whipped out their cameras and snapped a few shorts. If you visit during that period, that will be one of the things that stood out in your mind when you recall your trip to Arroyo de la Miel.

This is the jacaranda tree I was on about.

This is a photo of the tree in bloom, taken by Roger in May.

Straight ahead of the Jacaranda tree are shops, bars and restaurants. There are Thai, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Moroccan and a couple of Spanish restaurants.

And in the midst of them all is Burger King.

And yes, there is a MacDonald’s too. While Burger King has been around since my first visit in 2017, MacDonald’s is a recent addition. The restaurant is located across the road from the train station at the beginning of the street whereas, Burger King is almost at the end on the busy part of town.

Avenida de la Constitucion is a bit quieter between 2pm and 5pm when it is siesta time. Some of the shops and restaurants are closed during that period. Otherwise, the street is the busiest part of town.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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The Waiter of Arroyo de la Miel

Known fondly as ‘The Waiter on Arroyo’, the set of sculptures comprising a table, two chairs and a waiter was the work of Bodero, a multidisciplinary artist based in Benalmádena in 2007.

One day, while drinking coffee, and watching waiters at work, he thought of how service staff had contributed to the development of the Costa del Sol. And yet, their contribution has gone largely unnoticed.

He was inspired to create a set of sculptures “In tribute to the waiters, men and women, who through their work have contributed to the development of the Costa del Sol."

He talked about the idea with the Mayor of Benalmadena at the time, who agreed to his suggestion. He set to work, completed and installed the sculptures. Unfortunately, shortly after they were installed, the sculptures were vandalised and one of the chairs was stolen. Since then only one chair remained – until this year, when the council commissioned Antonio Quesada, an artist responsible for many of the works of art displayed on the streets of the municipality, to create an exact replica of the chair that still remains. 

And now, there are two chairs again.

I didn’t know the story behind the sculptures and the missing chair until recently. When I first saw them, I thought they were intended as such. I found the set of sculptures at the beginning of the main street of Arroyo fitting and iconic. It was a good representation of the cafes and restaurants on the street.

Now that I know the full story behind them, I find them even more meaningful. I think the same applies to any art piece or sculpture. When you know the story behind it, you can relate better and the artwork takes on a new meaning – even though you might not like it a lot, or agree with the artist’s concept.

Anyone who has been to Arroyo would have seen the set of sculptures, remembered it, and most likely, had a photo of it. The sculptures could easily be the most photographed thing in Arroyo. In fact, when I visited Arroyo for the first time and came upon them, that was the first thing I did – took out my camera and took a few shorts of the sculptures. Now, I see curious tourists posing and taking photos when I pass by the area.

Here’s the link to the full story of the Waiter on Arroyo de la Miel. Have a look if you are interested.

👉 Source

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmadena

Benalmadena train station. Out of the station, and you are on the main street.

Arroyo de la Miel is one of the three urban centers and districts that make up the municipality of Benalmadena, along with Benalmádena Pueblo and Benalmádena Costa. One could say it is the town center of Benalmadena.

There is a main street in the heart of the town. As with any town center you will find restaurants offering cuisines from all over – from European to American, from Mediterranean to Chinese. Most of them do brisk business. Outside of the main street, the town is a maze of winding side streets, back streets and plazas.

Since Arroyo de la Miel stands on hilly slopes at the base of mount Calamorro, there are slopes everywhere – from gentle slopes to moderate slopes to very steep slopes. The back streets, and side streets weave through the slopes. You are either going up or down a slope.

Here, you find smaller shops and businesses catering to the locals in the area. You would be amazed at the number of cafes and restaurants you find here. Most of these are small, local restaurants serving simple, local fares. However, there are also restaurants serving foreign cuisines to the enclaves of foreigners living in the area.

Arroyo de la Miel has many holiday apartments owned by Europeans who come here to escape the cold in Winter, or to enjoy the sun and sand in Summer. A big section of the people living here are retirees from the UK.

Arroyo de la Miel does not have the hustle and bustle of most cities where everybody is in a hurry. Besides the tourists on the main street, the residents in the town are mostly elderly people or retirees spending their holidays here. So, the pace here is slower and more relaxed.

Arroyode la Miel, or Benalmadena for that matter, is a nice place to visit, if you are looking to spend a few relaxing days.

Here are some places of interest in Benalmadena.

1. Costa del Sol
Costa del Sol is the main attraction of Benalmadena. You can take a leisurely walk along the coast, or rent a sunbed and soak in the sun, or look for a nice restaurant along the beach (of which there are many), have a drink and watch the world go by.

2. Puerto Marina in Benalmadena
Puerto Marina in Benalmadena is voted one of the most beautiful marinas in the world.

3. Sea Life
The Sea life aquarium located near the Puerto Marina is supposedly one of the top Sea Life Marines in Europe.

4. Parque de la Paloma, or Park of the Doves. They were voted one of twenty five most beautiful parks in Europe. As the name implies, you will find many doves and pigeons.

5. Benalmadena Cable Car
You can take the cable car to the top of Mount Calamorro to have a bird’s eye view of the town below. On a clear day, you can see as far out to Africa.

6. Benalmadena Pueblos
Visit the villages on the mountainside. Marvel at the interesting designs of the houses built on the slopes of a mountain. Ingenious, I find.

Other than the above mentioned, Benalmadena is a town where holidaymakers relax, enjoy the sun, eat, drink and party. If that is the kind of holiday you look forward to, Benalmadena is definitely worth a visit. Just take it easy and go with the pace of the place.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Humour

Life would be dull, and gloomy if people did not have a sense of humour, if there were no laughter. It is through humour, and laughter, that we soften some of life’s demand on us. And once we can find laughter, no matter how painful the situation might be, we can survive it.

Cultivate, and develop your sense of humour because it is when things are not going well that we need our humour most.

The following images are taken from Facebook pages and Whatsapp messages. I hope they bring on a chuckle or at least put a smile on your face. May your days be filled with laughter.

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Holidays in Spain

So, here I am again in Benalmadena, Malaga, Spain. I arrived on Monday hours before Qatar closed the airspace. This is my seventh visit, and I will be here for the next five weeks on a home-stay holiday. As usual, I will be staying with my friend, Roger.

I have written about my visits to Benalmadena. I think I have covered quite a bit about the place and people here in my past visits. For those who have followed me for a while, you would have a rough idea of what Benalmadena is like. I will try to look for interesting stuff to post, and not repeat too much of what I have posted. For new followers to my blog, stay tuned to find out about Benalmadena. You might want to pay a visit here one day.

Benalmadena is a small town in the province of Malaga in Spain. It is located on the Costa del Sol, Spain’s immensely popular holiday destination, at the base of a mountain range.

Arroyo de la Miel, where I will be staying, is one of the three urban centers and districts that make up the municipality of Benalmadena, along with Benalmádena Pueblo and Benalmádena Costa. Pueblos refer to the villages, and Costa is the Costa del Sol, the coast. Arroyo de la Miel is the town center between the Pueblos at the base of the mountains and Costa del Sol on the coast.

In the town center, there are many holiday apartments owned by Europeans who come here to escape the cold in Winter, or to enjoy the sun and sand in Summer. So, basically, Benalmadena is a town of holiday makers and retirees. The pace of life here is slow and laid-back. Life is simple, and affordable. The locals are friendly and accepting.

The town is self-sufficient. There are many little shops and supermarkets all within walking distance. One doesn’t have to go far for the daily necessities. The city, Malaga, is half an hour by train.

And that, is a brief introduction of Benalmadena. I will write when more comes to mind.

This is the view from Roger’s balcony.

This is where we have our dinner, as we watch the sun set behind the mountain range. We take turns to cook simple meals. Roger cooks western cuisine, I cook Chinese.

After dinner, we will have drinks, and talk about anything that comes to mind. With over 140 years of living between us, there is a lot to talk about.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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