I haven’t written a blog for a whilst and seeing we have had a relaxing week in Malaga, Spain I thought I would tell you about it and why we are here. This will give Louise a bit of a break. Back in November last year, when we first arrived in Spain, we saw many people walking the Camino de Santiago and Louise was very keen to do part of it, so we thought we would do 100 plus kms, enough to get the certificate. My brother Tim and sister-in-law Julie were keen to do the walk as well and we had made plans to meet them in Santiago de Compostela on September 9th. That left us with a week to fill in.
Organisation is one thing we have been pretty good at. We had the three months in the UK planned then the four weeks in the Balkans and Romania, but we had this spare week between finishing in Bucharest and starting the Camino walk. What to do? We looked at quite a few options but decided a relaxing week in Spain sounded best. We wanted to be on the coast and initially looked at Alicante, but the flight times were all wrong. However, flights in and out of Malaga were perfect, so we decided that would suit nicely, and what better way to prepare for a 100km walk than a relaxing week in Malaga. We spent three days here pre-Christmas last year and liked the place. It does have one of the best Christmas light displays in Spain. Louise found us a one-bedroom apartment in Malaga for NZ$120 a night, we booked it, arranged the flights and there we were.
Malaga is the capital of the Province of Malaga, with a population of 600,000 and lies on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the sun). It’s the 6th largest city in Spain, and the history spans about 2,800 years making it one of the oldest cities in the world. It is also the birth place of the famous painter Pablo Picasso. Malaga is roughly 100km from the straits of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean. The economy is driven by tourism, construction and technology. Summer here lasts about 8 months and even in winter – December to February – it has an average daytime temperature of 17 degrees making it the warmest winter European City. We had experienced Malaga in winter late last year but this time it was the end of summer with daytime temperatures around 30 degrees dropping to early 20’s overnight.
We arrived in Malaga at 11am caught the airport bus into the city and proceeded to find our accommodation. We knew roughly where we were but were pleasantly surprised to find our apartment was in the heart of the old city, just 60 meters from the main town square. After enjoying a salad and paella at one of the many restaurants, we met the people with the key to our apartment. It was on the 3rd floor, had recently been renovated and had a beautiful roof deck. The Spanish sure know how to make the most of space in a house. A little circular staircase leads up to the roof deck, which had a table, chairs, a hammock and newly laid artificial grass. They use artificial grass a lot in these parts, but it does get very hot underfoot. The view to one side took in the Gothic Spires of the Sacred Heart Church and on the other another church bell tower. No chance of forgetting the time here!
Spending time in Malaga last year we had seen a lot of the tourist sites and this week was about relaxing. We thought we would enjoy some home cooking but after two nights we decided it was much better to join the thousands out and about and enjoy Spanish cuisine. It never fails to amaze me how many people are out and about every night strolling around, eating, shopping etc. It’s a totally different culture to what we are used to in New Zealand. Spain of course stops for an afternoon siesta, so most of the town is quiet between 2 and 5, but from 5 till 10 its awash with people of all ages. Its just nice to wander round with them enjoying the ambience of the town on very warm evenings. The old town is car-free, and all the streets are paved in creamy marble. The walkways are lined with elegant buildings from the late 19th, early 20th century. It’s a very glamorous city. It is made for eating out with so many different restaurants, and for around NZ$65 you can enjoy a good dinner, a beer and a bottle of nice Spanish wine. Back home $65 may just buy a beer and a wine at a restaurant. From the apartment we walked through the old town for about 7 minutes to the waterfront, where many cruise liners berth. Ten minutes more and were at a beautiful beach “Playa de Malaga” which stretches for many kilometres each way. The beach was busy and the water temperature around 23 degrees. Most afternoons about 3pm we wandered down and spent a couple of hours enjoying the sun and taking a refreshing swim before heading back to enjoy a nice cold beer on the roof deck. Malaga seems to have its fair share of shoe shops and the prices are so cheap. We both made a few purchases and why not when they cost about 25% of the price back home. I also needed a dentist after breaking a tooth and losing a filling. I just wandered in through the front door of a place 60 meters from our apartment. It was on three floors and had many staff going about their jobs. I asked if I could see a dentist. Within 10 minutes I was sitting in the dentist chair getting checked out and then returned the next day to have the work done. The place was pristine with all the latest equipment and my English-speaking dentist told me many others from all over Europe come here to get dentistry work. As an aside, a crown costs around NZ $750 (and that includes everything) whilst an implant and crown can be done for $NZ 2,200. Believe me that is cheap, I know.
On Wednesday we caught the fast train to Cordoba, inland from Malaga. Its 168km away and the fast train reached speeds of 267km per hour (maximum speed 310km). We were there in under an hour. Taking in the countryside from the train windows amazed us. Whilst Malaga had greenery the trip to Cordoba took us through vast dry countryside with little if any green areas, except for the many olive groves and lots more new ones being developed. It never fails to amaze us how huge this country is. If anyone is contemplating doing this train trip, book in advance. All seats are numbered and many of the trains sell out. As well, booking ahead saves you money as you pay a premium for last minute bookings. Cordoba was a Roman settlement then colonized by Muslim armies in the 8th century and became one the most important Islamic Centres in the middle ages. The old town is the second largest in Europe and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its full of quaint narrow streets lined with white-washed houses trimmed in bright blue or orange. Standing proudly at the end of the old town is The Great Mosque -La Mezquita. This is immense mosque dates from 784 A.D and the huge prayer hall filled with striped columns is quite breath-taking, as are the Byzantine mosaics. After the Muslims were defeated by the Christians it became a Catholic church in 1236 and a Renaissance-style nave was added in the 17th century. It’s quite odd that a cathedral sits inside a building that is so obviously Islamic. There is a tower and as always Louise had to conquer it. Behind the mosque is the Roman Bridge built in the early first century and stretching 250 meters with 16 arches over a fast-flowing river. It was the only connecting bridge the city had until 1953. It’s a fascinating city to wander around and we were pleased we’d made the journey inland to see it.
Back in Malaga, we climbed to the top of the ancient fort on the hill behind the city with stunning views over the coast, visited the Alcazaba, an old Arab palace sitting above the ancient Roman amphitheatre, and Louise couldn’t resist visiting beautiful Malaga Cathedral again.
So that was Malaga. A wonderful relaxing week in a city that is so clean you could eat your food off the marble pavements. It is also home to many beautiful Tapas restaurants and the Spanish people are so helpful and friendly. In our opinion they are also some of the best dressed people we have seen – casual and elegant, no rough scruffy clothes here.
Next stop Northern Spain, Santiago and El Camino.
