The coast continues to be upmarket ( or "money-raddled" as Laurie Lee put it ) until you reach ESTEPONA , about 30km west of Marbella, which is a more Spanish resort. It lacks the enclosed hills that give Marbella character, but the hotel and apartment blocks which line the front are restrained in size, and there's space to breathe. The fine sand beach has been enlivened a little by a promenade studded with flowers and palms, and, away from the seafront, the old town is very pretty, with cobbled alleyways and two delightful plazas. The fish market is definitely worth seeing: Estepona has the biggest fishing fleet west of Malaga, and the daily dawn ritual in the port, where the returning fleets auction off the fish they've just caught, is worth getting up early for - be there at 6am, since by 7am it's all over.
From May onward, Estepona's bullfighting season gets under way in a modern bullring reminiscent of a Henry Moore sculpture. At the beginning of July, the Fiesta y Feria week transforms the place, bringing out whole families in flamenco-style garb. Beyond Estepona, 8km along the coast, there's a minor road leading into the hills to CASARES , one of the classic andaluz White Towns. In keeping with the genre, it clings tenaciously to a steep hillside below a castle, and has attracted its fair share of arty types and expatriates. But it remains comparatively little known; bus connections are just about feasible for a day-trip (details from the turismo).
Further west, 3km inland from the village of Manilva, are some remarkably well-preserved Roman sulphur baths . If you want to partake of these health-giving waters you'll have to be prepared to dive into a subterranean cavern, and to put up with the overpowering stench of sulphur, which clings to your swimwear for weeks. The beaches beyond Estepona have greyish sands (a trademark of the Costa del Sol that always seems surprising - you have to round the corner to the Atlantic coast at Tarifa before you meet yellow sand ), and there are more greyish developments before the road turns inland towards San Roque and Gibraltar
Estepona's bus station is on Avenida de España, to the west of the centre behind the seafront. The efficient and centrally located turismo ( Mon-Fri 9.30am-9pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am-1.30pm; tel 952 800 913 ) is at Avda. San Lorenzo 1, east of the centre near the seafront. For rooms , Hostal El Pilar , on the pretty Plaza Las Flores, and the friendly Pensión San Miguel , Calle Terraza 16 , a little to the west, with its own bar, are both good bets. Estepona's nearest campsite is La Chullera III - Tel 952 890 320 , 8km south of town, just beyond the village of San Luís de Sabanillas. The town is well provided with places to eat , among them a bunch of excellent freidurías and marisquerías along Calle Terraza, the main street which cuts through the centre - try El Chanquete or La Gamba . There's an excellent churrería towards the southern end of Calle Mayor ( one block back from, and parallel to, the promenade ) - get there before 11am as they sell out early. Another good place for buying food is the covered market on Calle Castillo, in the mornings. Estepona's nightlife centres on the recently pedestrianized c/Real, running behind and parallel to the seafront, whose clubs and music bars - with plenty of terrace tables on hot summer nights - compete for the custom of a mainly local clientele.
