Miercoles, Day 3 - On to Marbella via Montilla and Antequera.

The next morning, we hit the road for Marbella, a beach resort town on the Mediterranean coast. On the way, we stopped at the small town of Montilla. We had hoped to sample some Montilla, a sherry-style white wine often served as an aperitif and, of course, named after the town, but we didn't have any luck finding the winery mentioned in the guidebooks. (Our guidebooks had an annoying habit of mentioning wineries without giving actual addresses or contact information - we never did actually get to visit a winery in Spain). The trip was not wasted, though - we stumbled across the beautiful town cemetery.

Next, we hit the road again and stopped at Antequera. This ancient little town (hence the name) boasts a castle 13th Century Roman castle on the top of a hill with a breathtaking view. You get to the castle by walking up a steep, steep hill and through the Arco de los Gigantes, which is much newer - built in the 16th Century. After visiting the castle and the nearby church, we had lunch at the El Escriban café, strategically situated between the arch and the castle, and enjoyed what we soon realized was a typical Spanish view.

Antequera's other claim to fame is the lover's rock off in the distance. This rock, which looks like a man's face in profile if you look carefully enough, is of course the site of local legend. Supposedly, sometime in the 14th Century, a Moorish woman and a Christian man fell madly in love. When their forbidden love was discovered, they fled, and were chased by Moorish soldiers to the rock. Rather than face life apart, the two jumped from the rock to their doom.

After lunch, we got back on the road and within an hour arrived at our hotel, the beautiful Los Monteros resort on the outskirts of Marbella. The resort was nice enough to acknowlege the fact that we were honeymooners by providing us with a bottle of champagne and some fresh strawberries upon arrival. After some champagne, we went straight out to the on-premises swimming pool to relax for the rest of the evening.

- Day Four -