It was on the very first day after my arrival to Spain, when I went on a sortie to Malaga. On the way to the Montemar Alto station (btw. suburban trains are literally the best way to travel along the coastline between Malaga and Fuengirola, with a pitstop at the airport), when I was sweating like crazy and had enough hiking for the rest of the day, I saw the greenery overlooking Playa de la Carihuela. The view was truly mesmerising and the area has become my favourite spot in town.
On one of those late summer evenings, when siesta was over and I had my afternoon nap, I took a walk to discover the place. At first I couldn't even believe how big it was! No kidding! Eveytime I had looked at it from a nearby bridge, it had always looked like a regular park you can easily come across in many towns. But once I entered Parque La Batería, the area almost overwhelmed me with its calmness, beauty and charm. It seemed as if I had just discovered my private oasis of serenity, not so far from the city hubbub yet looking like a completely different world. Not really crowded with tourists (truth be told, if you decide to spend the whole day at the beach to become the grilled version of a man, it's very improbably that you show some interest in what's around you as long as it's not someone selling fake Chanel bags), the park has an area of approximately 74,000 square metres and is a home to over 40 various species of a tree. If you're lucky you can also spot little birds which, compared to what I'm used to in Eastern Europe, look really exotic and make you admire Mother Nature even more.
Parque La Batería is situated on a hill which during the Moorish times was covered in fortified towers to defend the area against pirates. To commemorate these times, there's a 15 metres high tower - a symbol of the pre-8th century era. But apart from being a monument, the park is also a great leisure spot with a huge artificial lake, many cycling paths and running circuits. There's also an area for children with swings, roundabouts and slides (and also probably many other things which seem to have no name for me).
I couldn't quite remember the place from my earlier stays in Torremolinos but during my research I found it opened in 2007 as a public area so 10 years after that it's still beautiful and clean (it's really clean and trim and the entry is free!). Even if you're not into hiking, there's a bus stop near the park so there's probably a way to get there using public transport :) And if you're into some sweating, the effort is totally worth the view you get from the park (I didn't climb the tower but from what I know it's not closed, so a real lucky strike for all the landscape lovers and photographers).
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