Around Fuengirola, there are many other marinas, such as Torremolinos towards Málaga or Marbella and a little further west is Civitas Puerto Banús, which is the jet set place of Costa del Sol.
We had the last days of our autumn sailing ahead of us, and we wanted to visit another smaller place. We chose Duquesa because it looked cozy in the pictures.
We sailed from Fuengirola to Duquesa, and the leg turned out to be a pleasant 32 nautical miles day sail. The harbour is surrounded by holiday homes and numerous restaurants in a U-shaped layout. The harbour office itself is located in a cheerful blue and white tower. We found Duquesa to be truly lively and cozy, where we spent the last days of our autumn sailing just chilling out. The atmosphere was really relaxed.
Duquesa was the first place on the Costa del Sol where waiters in every restaurant spoke English directly and didn’t even try to serve in Spanish first. This may be due to the proximity of Gibraltar. There were so many Brits in every restaurant here. Duquesa is only a 35-kilometer drive from Gibraltar, and when we visited Gib, many mentioned that Gibraltar almost empties out at weekends when locals head to their holiday homes along the Costa del Sol.
We also waded in the beach waters and enjoyed the wonderfully warm autumn days. The sea water was super clean but very cold, as the waters of the Atlantic flow through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean Sea.
All in all, Duquesa had really friendly people. When we checked into the marina, we were warmly welcomed, and we received a bottle of the harbour’s own wine as a welcome greeting. A couple of days passed quickly before it was time to return to Suwena’s winter home in La Linea.
