Sunday, April 18th "Punta Umbria"

We had lunch in Punta Umbria, a small coastal town just outside of Huelva which has been built up over the years. Piling into two cars were members of Granada's and my family for a total of 7 people. Restaurante Miramar is simply the best place to eat in Punta Umbria as the crowds indicate. If you plan to go on a Sunday do make reservations ahead of time or you may find yourself eating at 5pm, or not eating at all. The place at one point was more of a shack, where you could order up seafood and eat it there or take it with you. Over the years the owners have had great success and it is now a full service restaurant. If you're lucky you get a table next to the window which is right on the beach. On this day there were high winds so very little beach goers but plenty of wind surfers. If you eat here the absolute best dish is probably the coquinas, little clams that for one reason or another aren't consumed often in the U.S. (I don't pretend to know why). They are bigger than average in Miramar and served in an olive oil and garlic sauce. I think just about any seafood ordered at the restaurant will please you, but for good measure here's what we ordered: cazón en adobo, gambas al ajillo, calamares (incredible - best I've ever had), coquinas, merluza in a shellfish sauce and another plate of some fish that was quite good. Afterwards dessert - the fig cheesecake is a good choice even though it sounds strange - then coffee, then a mixed drink and then back home to Sevilla.

We had hoped to make our way around the town but the wind and the mouthfuls of sand that go with it , led us to the decision of a "car based tour". Basically driving through a few smaller towns along the coast until we hit the main highway back to Sevilla. I also got to practice my driving a week before our Marbella trip. Many years ago the highways weren't in great shape in Andalucia. I really think that's changed over the last 10 years with new stretches in much of the province. In my limited driving experience I'd say they are better or equal to a lot of places in the states. Those routes being Sevilla-Aracena, Sevilla-Cádiz, Sevilla-Córdoba, Sevilla-Málaga and Sevilla-Huelva. I'm sure there are some bad stretches somewhere, it's just that I haven't hit them yet. So if you plan to drive don't worry about the highways so much. It's the small one-way city streets that will prove difficult.