Fishermen’s Cottages. They used to be the most common structures in Fuengirola. Since the late 1960s, things have changed dramatically. What was once a fishing village with few public services and with dirt roads connecting it to other smaller fishing villages is now a city of nearly 75,000 incorporating those other villages into the city itself. Our neighborhood, Los Boliches, was one of those smaller fishing villages. Some of the fishermen’s cottages have been squeezed out or overshadowed. But, many remain. Some have been enlarged. Some are restaurants, bars, or other businesses. But, they’re easily recognizable.
Fishing has remained a major industry here. At night, the sea glows with the lights of fishing boats of all sizes. In the early morning hours, I watch most of them head back into port. At those times, with our clear view of the Mediterranean Sea, I find it easy to imagine what it was like when this was still only a fishing village.
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| AFTER A NIGHT OF FISHING, HEADING HOME TO HIS COTTAGE. (CLICK TO ENLARGE.) |
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Author: Moving with Mitchell
From Brooklyn, New York; to North Massapequa; back to Brooklyn; Brockport, New York; back to Brooklyn... To Boston, Massachusetts, where I met Jerry... To Marina del Rey, California; Washington, DC; New Haven and Guilford, Connecticut; San Diego, San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Irvine, California; Sevilla, Spain. And Fuengirola, Málaga..
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Happy to see that some semblance of the past still remains. These are beautiful structures full of history and lore. Great photos Mitch….full of colour and imagination on the part of their 'new' owners.
Jim:
It's too bad that the original developers weren't more forward- (and back-) thinking here. Development was a good thing for people. Healthcare, education, etc. But, during the late Franco Era especially, no concern was given to the history or the environment along the coast as it was developed. As everywhere else, it's still a battle at times, but it IS being fought with good results. But it's certainly not "destroyed" right here as I was led to believe by many people. Certainly much less developed, and more access and exposure to the beach and other nature than the area of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida (and plenty of people still love it there.)
I want to go to the Panda Bar sooooo badly. Go inside and take some pics, yes?
Maria:
Will do. I never go into any of those places. You've given me a reason. Just for yoU!
Mitchell, I feel so fortunate to have your blog to read every day. I love these snippets of life in a place that is so, so different from what I am surrounded by. I can't get my head around the reality that, in my lifetime (welllll, very earllllly in my lifetime!), this town of yours that I get to see every day on my screen, in my house in St. Louis, would have been completely isolated from the everyday life of Americans during my childhood, and that it would have been a little fishing village, with all that the term conjures up. I recently saw an Italian Ingrid Bergman movie (Stromboli) from 1949, and it is set on a fishing village island in Europe. I'm sure the fact that it was an island made it a more rustic spot to live, but your post today makes me wonder what Fuengirola was like in 1949.
Judeet:
Thank you again and again. I write this for the fun of it, but your visits make it so much more fun than I ever imagined. In 1949, I'm sure Fuengirola would have been just like the island you saw in that film. I'm going to start sharing photos of old Fuengirola (along with current ones of the same spots). You won't believe the change since our childhoods. I've only so far found photos from the '60s and not a lot!
Great, Mitchell!!
what lovely photos!
Thanks! Difficult angles and shadows from the sun. I went back to the same places a few times. Glad you like them!
Pintoresco! (I wanted to say 'quaint' but this is the closest my dictionary suggests, which is not quite it.)
Raybeard:
And a new word for me… I would have made it up and said "pictoresco" for "picturesque"; it turns out that means "colorful people." Thanks for saving me some [more] confusion in conversation! I'll see if anyone has a more specific word like "quaint" in Spanish.
Simple buildings, but so pretty. And the history .. Oy!
Bob:
Some of it's really charming but difficult to capture with a camera because of parked cars and tiny streets (no room for a good photo). Our neighbor was born and raised here; her father was a fisherman. She says it's a much better place to live now, but it had its charms when she was growing up… like "sleeping on the beach under the stars."
I love it when the old is preserved to mix with the new.
Stephen:
So do I.
There can be such beauty in the simple, graceful lines of a humble dwelling. You did a grand job of capturing it!
Jacquelineand….
I really appreciate that! I was out walking yesterday and thought, "Oh there's one I should have included. There's another…" On our arrival here, I didn't appreciate the special look of the place. It simply looked like a beach resort to me. Now I see it with a different eye.
I would never date a fisherman
Fishy fingers
John:
Oh… I won't even go there… (although I do love crabs).