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City Van Life
City Van Life
Arrival
When I arrived in Malaga I had absolutely no idea where to park up. Knowing that I wanted to find a relatively safe area I decided to look for the street which was home to the most expensive houses. I found this by a simple google search. The area I chose was on a hill and a 15 minute walk from the city centre. The streets were lined with orange trees and each house had big iron gates which meant I wouldn’t be too overlooked by the residents.
Living
I found living in a van in the countryside relatively easy. When I needed to go to loo I would find a bush and when I needed a shower I would find a tree to hang my shower from. Living in a van in Malaga is a little bit different. I was having to find a café each time I needed the loo and used the free showers at the beach but found that shaving legs whilst washing hair was frown upon. I felt a little bit timid to go back to the back for the third time and knew that I needed to find a more permanent solution.
There was a gym for £30 a month on the other side of Malaga, which would allow me to have hot showers and the use of a hairdryer. I had to tell a few white lies regarding my address in Malaga in order to join. And had to sign up for a minimum of 3 months.
Cooking was another problem, I have a small portable stove and tend to cook outside the van, typically I would cook under the orange trees, and then wash up. The lack of running water made the whole cooking process a bit tricky. I found that the residents would cross the road to avoid me and generally weren’t overly impressed with my setup.
Relocating
I decided that I should relocate to give the residents a break (plus the walk each day to the gym was getting tedious). I found a street closer to the gym and as I was parking I made a friend. A lovely dreadlocked guy with excellent English and who lived in a flat at the end of my new street. He kindly offered me use of his shower, WiFI and living room. I brushed the offer off and it wasn’t until a week later and numerous encounters in the street that I accepted his offer, connected to his WiFi and joined him for tea.
Security
I take my security and safety quite seriously, especially being a solo female traveler. I had been living on the street for a few weeks when one day I came back from coffee in the city centre to find the two cars in front and 3 cars behind my van with broken windows. I was surprised my van was unscathed. Nevertheless I was nervous to spend a night in the van. As my hippy friend was away I decided to head back to the street lined with orange trees as I felt safer sleeping there. I stayed on this street for the rest of my stay in Malaga.
Overall
I found van life in Malaga super easy, of course there was the one scare and I did have to get over being stared at. I feel very lucky that I found such a beautiful street, so close to the city centre to park up on. In fact it was so successful that I managed to find a job in Malaga (I will save that post for another day!) which resulted in me saving a tonne of cash and living in a great area. I loved it so much that I have since been back to Malaga for a weekend break and parked up in the same spot!
