After “mostly” sleeping through a loud party in the hotel
courtyard (apparently not everyone slept well – we heard some disgruntled
guests at reception this morning) we got up at 9:00 (!) and had the included
hotel breakfast – the usually European fare of everything imaginable - and went
for a walk downtown.
Malaga is a very easy city to get around in and has a party
feel to it. Everyone greats you with “hola” then good morning, as they somehow
they know we are English speakers. Language has not been a problem. This city is
packed with history. When we checked in yesterday the check in girl gave us a
map of the area. Downtown is a very short walk from the hotel. Looking a
greater distance on the map it is a very pleasant cobblestone/tile walkway with
a maze of narrow streets filled with shops, bakeries, outdoor cafes and more.
Being Saturday there were fresh produce markets set up along the streets as
well the “Marcado Atarazanas” being open (it is only open until 3:00 p.m. so was
closed on our walk last night). It is a huge indoor market area with fresh
produce, outside eating area, etc. It made for a no elbow room street for the
block it covers.
We viewed the impressive Roman Catholic cathedral, the
Moorish Palace and the bull fighting arena (now closed and in the process of upgrade
presumably for the upcoming season). The sidewalks were jammed with tourists
some of which originated from the docked cruise ships. There were numerous tour
groups at these sites using a variety of transportation from walking, bicycling,
horse drawn carriage, Segways and motorized scooters. We spent some time
walking in a botanical garden-like park where we were regaled by screeching
monk parrots.
We had mentioned yesterday there weren’t many beggars.
Scratch that. Is it because it is Saturday, or the cruise ships are in or we
were out earlier today? There were beggars on many corners as well as buskers
at the touristy areas, singing opera, playing piano, etc. Other entrepreneurs
were painting portraits, making/selling jewellery, selling almonds and the
like.
On the way back to the room we checked the hotel’s basement
parking and found our motorcycle waiting for us. It even has our name on it!
All the group (3 couples and 2 singles: 4 Canadians and 4
Americans) met the guides at 6:30 this evening for a general introduction and
briefing. This was followed by a group dinner at 8. Spain eats dinner really
late! Tomorrow we go on the first leg of our trip.
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| Cathedral |
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| Cathedral Interior |
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| Moorish Palace |
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| Vegetable Market |
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| Almond Street Vendor |
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| The tour group in Malaga |
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