Riogordo (Rio-river/gordo-full) is the nearest village only five minutes away by car past the olive groves. There are a selection of small shops and a supermarket which sells fresh bread everyday also a bakers, a pharmacy, butchers, fishmonger, a weekly market every Wednesday morning, general stores, a shop for stamps and two banks. The village is a typical Andalucian pueblo with white washed houses, winding streets and small lively tapas bars with the locals playing dominoes.

A drive past the turquoise lake of Vinuela brings you to the town of Velez Malaga (20 minutes). Here there is a new shopping complex ‘El Ingenio’ which is open all day and evening. Other shops close at two, open again at five until eight pm. South of the town there is a water park Aquavelis (June-September). Horseriding, tennis, board sailing and mountain biking are all available locally near Periana. The weekly markets of the local towns are listed in the Cortijo.

The coastal road between Torre del Mar and Nerja passes little villages and seaside restaurants called ‘chiringuitos’. Here you can eat freshly cooked sardines cooked over an open fire on the beach. The beaches are clean and mostly uncrowded. Some are long and wide, pebble or sand, others are small with rocks which are great for mask and snorkelling. There are naturist beaches, beaches to drive down windy tracks through tall trees and others in the Natural Park (Parque Natural).

Fiesta means fun and party time! Every village holds at least one fiesta during the year. Fiestas include: carnivals, pilgrimages, processions, fairs, passion plays and degustacions. You will hear the sound of the Spanish guitar, intense singing and the wild flamenco dance expressing Andalucian folklore. The Malaga feria opens with a gigantic firework display and the feria runs for two weeks! The horse fairs include demonstrations and competitions of beautiful horses in La Axarquia region.