In the town of Benalmádena, west of Málaga, in southern Spain

 "Far away places, with strange sounding names, Far away over the sea...

Those far away places, with the strange sounding names, Are calling, calling me...
I start getting restless whenever I hear The whistle of a train ...
I pray for the day I can get under way And look for those castles in Spain!
They call me a dreamer, well maybe I am, But I know that I'm burning to see
Those far away places, with the strange sounding names, Calling ... calling me"
-- a few lines from "Far Away Places” (written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer)
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 (on southern Spain's Costa Del Sol in Andalusia) Benalmádena is a town just 12 km (~8 mi.) west of Málaga, on the Costa del Sol. Benalmádena is rich in attractive beaches and popular places like the Colomares Castle (shown here [dedicated to Christopher Columbus]), the 33-meter-tall Buddhist Benalmádena Stupa, and the Benalmádena Marina.

+ Benalmádena covers an area of some 27 sq. km that extends from the summits of the Sierra de Mijas to the sea, falling in some places as a cliff.

+ Benalmádena has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It experienced a remarkable development during the period of Muslim domination. Its development was paralyzed after joining the Crown of Castile in 1485 due to various natural disasters and the intensity of the activity of privateers in the area.

+ In the early 21st century Benalmádena has become one of the main tourist destinations on the Costa del Sol, with leisure facilities including an amusement park, two aquariums, a casino, and one of the largest marinas of Andalusia.

+ Columbus was a great navigator, illustrated in geography, astronomy, Holy Scripture, mathematics, humanities, etc. Seven years before the "discovery," he presented his plan to other States and only the Catholic Monarchs accepted it. He needed marine experts for his companies and he found them in Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva province. It was Martín Alonso Pinzón who got those true "sea lions" to accompany the Admiral.) It was the crown of Castile and its Queen Isabel who helped him and believed in him. They left Palos on August 3, 1492; there were 96 crew members, almost all from Andalusia, and after a few days of provisioning and repairing their ships in the Canary Islands, they left for the unknown and reached an island 33 days later. It was the day of the Pilar on October 12, 1492. The island was baptized with the name of San Salvador, and the natives called it “Island of the Iguanas”.

The three ships that Columbus used in his journey are represented, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María in this Castle Monument. La Niña at the top of the building, under the arch of La Rabida, the Monastery that sheltered Columbus when he arrived from Portugal. La Pinta, on the main facade, this being the nave of the Pinzones brothers, with the Pegasus horse, which supports it. The Santa María, isolated from the other two, as this ship suffered an accident and sank on Christmas Day, in Santo Domingo.