Wild flamingos on lake at Fuente de la Piedra

I drove inland from the coast at Malaga this morning up through rising hilly terrain until we reached a plateau, where K. and I decided it was time for another coffee. We stopped in Fuente de la Piedra, which you can see straddling the higher ground in this picture, and in a roadside cafe had the most wonderful toasted roll with butter and local jam. Delicious, especially with the strong black coffee.

From there we headed to the edge of town to see this famous 'laguna' which was the first of three destinations we had planned for our trip. It is the home of these wild flamingos which appear to live here all year round. It wasn't possible to go to the edge of the water as it is a protected zone for the wildlife but we managed to see some at close quarters on a small newly created pond close to the visitor centre.

We were advised that we could get photos from a hide about a mile further around the lake, to which we then drove, and I took this picture looking back towards the visitor centre and the town just behind. It was wonderful to see them in the wild as I've only watched other types from other parts of  the world at WWT Slimbridge. Here however I watch some of them flying across the wide shallow lake, which is several miles long. What I really wanted was to see a mass take-off and flight of the whole community, as I've seen on films from places such as the Serengeti in East Africa. It wasn't to be today.

We then headed off to see the famous dolmens at Antequera, at a UNESCO World Heritage site but it was closed on Mondays! We did see their approximate location, and K. told me some fascinating information he'd gleaned recently on an earlier visit. Then we drove back towards the south and climbed to the summit of the big hills between the town and the coast. A winding narrow road leads up to the top of the justly famous Jurassic limestone 'karst' scenery which had far reaching views across the foothills and of the coastal area where Malaga is situated. There it was much cooler and there was a stiff cool breeze so we didn't stay long. All in all we've had a grand day out!