Beach
Little promoted in the tourist publicity, the beach of Playa de San Juan aroused my curiosity when I saw a very inviting offer of accommodation. I ended up risking two weeks, and it was a success. The family insists on repeating next year, and at the moment I have no objections.
High tides
The beach stay is often disturbed by 3 days of spring tides, according to the whims of the moon.
We caught them on the second day, but they were so soft that they only made the bath more lively. A strong side current disorganized the waves scaring the most fearful, but only the yellow flag was shown, and without great practical restrictions.
On the fourth day the sea was replaced by a stunned lake.
Temperature
The tragedy of global warming has its compensations. Never in my life did I expect to find water at 29º in the oceans of Europe. It just happened, coincidentally, in the warmest waters of the Spanish coast and probably of Europe. You no longer need to go to the Caribbean or the Red Sea to swim in the soup.
The price… well, let’s hope…
Shades
As usual, here and there there are concession areas, where you can rent shade and sun loungers.
What is unusual is that between these concession areas and the sea there is a forest of umbrellas, usually only authorized next to the concessions.
Perhaps the higher than usual price of the concession is the reason for so many and so disorderly umbrellas.
Night
With temperatures above 30º at night, the beach continued to be a temptation for those who don’t spend nights in bars.
They played so much in the sand that the boys ended up convincing their father to take the midnight dip.
Safe, pleasant, they just had to beat the cold to get out of the water.
Towel, quickly!
Jellyfish
In recent years, baths on the Spanish coast are frequently interrupted by attacks by jellyfish.
Despite all the care, my oldest grandson was attacked in Marbella, and the signs took months to disappear.
Now, alert, he was the only one to see “jellyfish” in the sea. Two of them were hedgehogs, but the third, according to the father, was real. Without continuity or consequences, the bath was always safe, in water where all the toenails could be seen.
Eating in Playa de San Juan
We should spend one year eating in Playa de San Juan to test half of the restaurants. This is what we could do in a single visit.
Take away from Palapa
Take away from Palapa
Right in front of our exit to the beach, this restaurant advertised as “oriental” offered take away.
We had lunch, with an assortment of Thai and Vietnamese dishes, which everyone enjoyed. even children (with occasional rejection).
Entering the restaurant surprised us, as the space is very well designed and arranged, conveying a feeling of refinement and comfort.
There was a lot of food left over, and in the evening, another small order supplemented the leftovers, and it was no surprise that we saw the long line at the door when we went to pick it up.
So far it’s clearly the best we’ve found in Playa de San Juan, and we’ll be using it more often.
Umami woks
Using the traditional wok technique, this restaurant serves a variety of pre-set combinations, and allows customers to choose their own combination of base, sauce and components. It was pleasant and so plentiful that four boxes were needed to carry the leftovers.
Still good for dinner!
Fontana kebab
More touristic places offer a diversified offer of all types of food. Different and cheap, kebab is not lacking, and we also tried it in Playa de San Juan. No repairs, well served and tasty.
Buffet libre
Buffet libre
Risottos by Fornello
Risottos by Fornello
Continuing with our program of researching various take away alternatives, Fornello emerged as the first of those surveyed offering risotto.
It was just what I wanted, and we tried 3 different risottos.
Richly served, tasty, the price a little higher than the competition seemed perfectly justified.
Very good impression, and perhaps we will repeat, despite the dozens of alternatives that we can still test.
Facebook: Fornello
Yes, I went to Mac Donalds
Yes, I went to Mac DonaldsIt was inevitable!
Traveling with children, the Mac Donald’s ghost had to appear in the way of even a staunch anti-fast food activist like myself.
Lunch was as bad as I expected (it’s guaranteed to be the same there), but the children’s happiness made up for the sacrifice.
We started by disputing access to some panels, to tell the computer that controls the business which of the poisons we would opt for, and then, while some sat down, others went to the queue that awaited the exit of a tray with disposable stuff (everything except the tray).
At the first bite of that plasticine-like dough they call bread, a yellow sauce squirted immediately down the back, running down to the elbow.
Half licked, half cleaned by 3 of those little paper sheets they call napkins, I controlled the damage, and turned the set to bite on the side of the sauce. Using my 10 fingers I managed to prevent that soft dough they call a hamburger from jumping on the side that I had attacked initially, and, getting the hang of it, I nibbled around, achieving the success of just having to lick my fingers at the end.
That was very unpleasant because the sauce on the fingers seasoned the fries, which, obviously, in the name of progress, I had to eat with the fingers.
Nobody gets me wrong, but, more and more, I like to pay homage at table to our “great-grandparents” who invented that antiquity they called “cutlery”.
And to grandma’s food!
Fontana take away
A long list with interesting take-away dishes caught our attention, and at the first opportunity we decided to give it a try. We chose two different paellas, but both let us down. They didn’t taste bad, but they were harrowingly poor. Too much rice, and mere traces of everything else that was supposed to be in the paella. We will hardly go back there!
Pizzeries Popeye
Two restaurants less than 100 meters away share a name, logo and decoration, denouncing that they are two spaces of the same company. We ate in one of them, convinced that the service will be identical.
We arrived at Spanish time (too late for us) and paid the bill – a slow service, in a reigning confusion and the prehistoric modernity of eating everything by hand disregarding that achievement of thousands of years called “cutlery”.
The food was good, the price was reasonable, we might go back there, but I’m not convinced.
Aries apartments
Aries apartments
The price was so good that I was suspicious!
I took the risk, and I got it right! Although with some years and signs of use, the apartment in Playa de San Juan was very spacious, comfortable, very close to the beach and shops, with a large swimming pool in a garden with playing fields and a private park.
With two more air conditioners it would be perfect.
