Sol Classic Car Club

Montejaque Run

Classic cars brave the rain!

When SOL Treasurer Bob Livermore organised the Club's January run he was confidently expecting "our usual sunny weather". Nothing could have been further from the truth on Saturday 23rd January! Undaunted by the heavy rain falling from a leaden sky, 38 members set out from the Taberna de Urbaneja in Monda on their first run of the new year.

The destination was the small pueblo blanco of Montejaque, nestling among the spectacular rock formations in the Guardiaro valley near Ronda, where the locals were eagerly anticipating a display of 23 classic cars in the town square. Sadly, on the day, several of the less weatherproof soft-tops had to be left at home though their owner-drivers came along in hardier vehicles for support.

While the Rolls Royce occupants could watch the rain from relative luxury, it was more of a challenge for the lower slung sports cars, particularly Caterham 7 driver, John Campbell, who was probably the closest to the puddles!

The first leg of the drive, from Monda through Guaro and Yunquera to El Burgo, generally provides some breathtaking views across the mountains. On this particular Saturday, however, the view was almost totally obscured by very low cloud and was more reminiscent of driving in English fog, though here and there were tantalising glimpses of early almond blossom to remind members they actually were in Andalucia.

The coffee break at Venta El Yoni was accompanied by claps of thunder and flashes of lightening while the rain bounced off the patio outside where normally you can sit in the sunshine and enjoy the view of the river winding along in the gorge below. Then it was on to Ronda on the narrow mountain road splashing though foaming muddy streams of water running off the olive groves.

On the final leg of the journey the rain thoughtfully tapered off and allowed drivers and passengers to appreciate the picturesque road into Montejaque, winding through the cork woods and down through huge rock formations, passing a large dam where the January rains had already formed an impressive lake. As the cavalcade entered the village the locals appeared from doors and windows waving and shouting.

Luckily by the time the cars reached the town square the rain had just about stopped (new members Robert and Sonia Kynaston bravely put the hood down on their Ford Mustang to drive in) and a crowd of adults and children were gathered to welcome them, armed with cameras – and umbrellas!

Lunch, and a roaring fire, were waiting inside El Elefante Amarillo, the boutique hotel on the square, newly acquired by Yorkshire hotelier Chris Risbey. The building has a chequered history, having originally been a family mansion house which then was used as a sausage factory and was subsequently converted into a hotel, the Palacete de Manara in 1998. It now has a new name and a new image – The Yellow Elephant. Chris and his assistant manager, Cherie, gave us a great welcome and looked after us all extremely well.

The rain continued to fall throughout the afternoon but members of the SOL Classic Car Club were enjoying one another's company and a four course lunch in the dining room where the weather was forgotten for a while. It was unanimously agreed that the run should be repeated later in the year when the usual sunshine could be guaranteed. This particular run will probably go down in the annals of the club as the wettest on record – rather like the Christmas and New Year holidays in Málaga this year. Bob promised us all "a memorable event". He wasn't wrong!