Andalusia is Al-Andaluz, the kingdom of the Moors (Muslim Arabs and Berbers), who ruled southern Spain from the eighth to the 15th century. Way back then, Andalusian cuisine was the most opulent of all of Europe, in the use of spices, herbs, almonds, rose water, orange blossoms and other exotic flavourings of the Oriental heritage.

Cured ham is called jamón serrano, or mountain-cured ham. It can be very good. But, Andalusia has some special pigs with a southern accent. These are a native breed called iberico, a small brown pig which thrives on the acorns from scrub oaks and cork trees.

Five of Andalucia's eight provinces have stretches of coastline (Almería, Granada, Málaga on the Mediterranean; Cádiz and Huelva on the Atlantic), while a sixth, Sevilla, has a tidal river and a seaport. So, you can imagine that the cooking of the coastal regions is distinguished by a huge variety of seafood. The fish market is a great place to get acquainted with the local catch.

The RENFE train station in Fuengirola is located on Avenida Jesús Santos Rein, just one road away from the bus station. From here you can catch the Fuengirola to Malaga commuter (cercanías) trainline C-1 which takes 48 minutes to get to Malaga City, via Benalmádena, Torremolinos and Malaga Airport.

The Estacion de Autobus (bus station (95 238 24 19) in Torremolinos is not a bus station but a bus lay- by on Calle Hoyo 8 oposite the Hospital de Dia and near the junction with Plaza de las Añpujjaras. There is a small kiosk to purchase tickets. There are regular buses to most of the main Coast de Sol towns, including Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Marbella.

Andalucia has some excellent cheeses, often eaten as a tapas accompanied by a glass fino or manzanilla sherry. The cheeses are mostly made from goat's milk, from herds which live in the mountainous areas of the region. A whole round of cured cheese with textured rind weighs between one and four kg and costs about 12-18 € per kg.

The bus station in Fuengirola is located in the town centre, on Calle Jacinto Benavente, just one road away from the train station. From here you can take buses along the Costa del Sol, west to Algeciras and east to Malaga.

Andalucia is best known for its beaches, sunny weather and flamenco. But food is a hugely important part of southern Spain - indeed, the Mediterranean diet was recently recognised as being part of UNESCO's world cultural heritage.

The bus station is located within the same building as the train station, in the Estación Intermodal. ( Intermodal station; meaning bus and train combined station). the building opened in 2005 as the first of its type in Spain. It is open from 05.00 to 24.00 hrs. Here is a plan of the station. You are able to take buses from here around the city.

Bus service operates from Marbella to Malaga Airport (AGP), Algeciras, Almería, Benahavís, Benalmádena, Cádiz, Coín, Córdoba, Estepona, Fuengirola, Granada, Jaén, La Línea, Málaga, Ojén, Ronda, San Pedro, Sevilla, Torremolinos and Madrid.

The main bus and coach station is located just to the west of the centre of town, next to the Train Station. There are also coaches from here to Costa del Sol and Andalucia.

There are bus services from Jerez de la Frontera ato Seville and Cadiz and other towns and villages in the surrounding province of Cadiz.

Granada Airport, situated in the area known as "Vega del Genil" or plains of the River Genil 16 km west of the city of Granada and 106 km south of the city of Jaen. It traditionally handled national flights to Madrid and Barcelona but recently has expanded with a number of international flights from low cost airlines. The first recorded flight at the Santa Fe location was in 1911 to celebrate Corpus Cristi.

Málaga Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Spain with over 22 million passenger movements in 2023. Malaga Airport offers full range of passenger services. The airport essentially operates from Terminal 3 which was opened in March 2010. The second runway which is only used at peak times was opened in June 2012.

There are 9 international airports which serve as regional gateways. Five are located within Andalucia; Malaga, Seville, Almeria, Granada and Jerez, and four located just outside Andalucia; Gibraltar, Faro, Murcia, Alicante. There are also a number of privately operated airstrips which serve non scheduled private aircrafts.

Gibraltar airport (IATA: GIB, ICAO: LXGB) is located about 2km from the town centre, adjacent to the frontier with Spain. The new 84m pound terminal, which opened in 2012, is spacious and pleasant to use. It has a design capacity of one million passengers a year.

There is no doubt about it: being a vegetarian in Spain, and Andalucia, can present a challenge. The Spanish eat a large amount of meat (especially jamón), and the majority of dishes have pork or chicken as their main ingredient; here in Andalucia, fish is also very popular.

There are regular national flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Sevilla, Melilla. There are also regular International flights to London Gatwick, Stanstead, Munich, and Dusseldorf. See the table below. Charter companies also fly to Almería, making it the second most important airport in terms of foreign tourist arrivals in Andalucia.

Mobile broadband is a type of internet used for mobile phones, laptops and tablets such the iPad when there is no WiFi or landline available. It is also known as 3G, 4G or 5G internet. 5G provides internet with speeds many times faster than current WiFi internet, however it is not currently widely available in Spain.

The Coast to Coast footpath's starting point is on the beautiful stretch of beach which lies just beneath Maro, one of the prettiest villages of the Costa del Sol, next to the Mediterranean Sea. After climbing up to the village past the old sugar cane factory the day begins in gentle mode as you head along a broad forestry track.