Coín
Written by Geoff Forster
Coín: Coín is one of the largest inland towns of the Málaga province of Andalucía.
When we were househunting it was one of the areas we considered, the nearby towns of Yunquera and El Burgo in particular appealed as prices were relatively low compared to the Costa del Sol and much of the area is in or is close to the Sierra de Las Nieves Natural Parque.
One mid August day we set off early in the morning along the A369 road to Ronda. At Ronda we took the A366 and headed towards El Burgo.
The road from Ronda to El Burgo was a lovely drive through some wonderful scenery. The Sierra de Las Nieves Parque Natural lies to the south of the road and it is breathtaking. It must be very beautiful in winter with snow on the mountains.
Jane was more concerned about the twisty mountain roads covered than ice than beautiful snow capped peaks and forests!
We passed El Burgo and headed towards Coín, the A366 up to this point had been an enjoyable drive, it was about to turn into the worst 'A' class road in Andalucía. The surface was very badly broken, bumpy and pot holed.
However there were major resurfacing works taking place, so things will be better in a year or two, but this only made things worse for us!
Kilometre after kilometre we bounced along at around 5km/h we had planned to go to Coín and return by the same road and stop on the way back in Yunquera and El Burgo. This plan was about to be changed.
The sign above was as close to Yunquera we got!
Both El Burgo and Yunquera were bigger than we'd imagined and there was quite a lot of new build urbanisation's going up.
So we headed to Coín, the road works were eventually left behind and a delightful newly finished road sped us the last few kilo meters into town. 
Coín is not an easy place to find a parking spot if you are new to the town. We drove around for ten minutes before finding a place at the end of this pretty plaza. We were either too early or too late for the party. 
The next photograph is of the tower of the 18th century convent of Trinitarios Calzados in Coín. It was started in the mid 17th century and is famous for its triangular floor, only the tower remains.
Note the road signs. Anyone worried about driving the signs are usually identical to ours. Including Stop signs .. 
The next building is the Iglesia de San Andrés (St. Andrews church).
It dates from 1520 and has an unusual L-shaped floor. It was built over a Muslim castle. 
There were lots of churches in Coín, this is St Juan's (St Johns) it houses the Virgin de la Fuensanta, she is the patron saint of Coín and is only 11cm tall ...
Regular visitors to the site may have noticed the increased factual content on this page, we got a free guide book from the Coín tourist information shop near St Juan's church.
The church has impressive steps and is set at one side of a lovely square with a fountain. 
Here's fountain number two. 
Finally we have three fountains in Coín .... 
The fountain above is in the Plaza de Escamilla. It was mid-August and it was a hot one, we walked very carefully around Coín, the pavements in Coín are made of a marble like substance which is incredibly slippery, pretty but not very practical. It was a toss up (sorry) whether it was safer on the pavements in Coín or to walk on the roads with the mad motorists circling the town looking for parking spaces. This next photograph is of the pretty Parque de S. Agustín, probably my favourite part of Coín. The second photo is a close up of the wonderful obelisk in the centre of this small shady garden. 
Jane was unimpressed by the shops in Coín, in fact they were widely scattered and there didn't seem to be a main shopping street.
There were lots of estate agents! 
This is an official building, it looks like the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) but we found this modern monstrosity below which probably is the real Coín Ayuntamiento. 
Okay no more 'Coín' jokes.
The town Coín is actually pronounced 'Co' as in abbrev. for company and 'in' as in the word in. We headed to the car. We were both a little disappointed by the lack of shops. The fountains, parque and churches were worth seeing.
We won't be rushing back to Coín until that road is finished.
So we checked the map and instead of returning the way we came we headed to the coast and the Costa del Sol resort of Marbella!
here i lived 7 years