We arrived in Malaga about noon after a nice breakfast of very hot French Toast at Cosmopolitan. Having it in the restaurant, I can ask the waiter to bring it to the table piping hot enough to melt the butter which is the way I like it. On any buffet it generally is only lukewarm. We won the morning trivia.
Our ship provided tour had us meet at 12:45 p.m. Our tour to the nearby village of Mijas began at one o’clock. We had a very nice guide who gave us lots of information about Malaga. The port city is the capitol of the province of the same name. The beach towns form a beautiful white chain along the coast. She talked about how it used to be peaceful and quiet whereas now there is the never-ending construction as everyone wants to retire or summer to this beautiful coastal Andalusia. Together with tourism and technology the construction industry is key to the current economy.
Mijas is uphill from the city as the mountains begin immediately from the coast. The sparkling white buildings are iconic of Spain. Their red roofs really set off the stucco in a most picturesque way against the deep green of the evergreen hillside. The buildings may have some stucco, but their appearance is really developed from years of painting and bleaching the bricks to prevent mold and mildew from the humid climate.
As we wound our way up to the center of town, we passed beautiful villas that must have stunning views of Mountains and seashore. Some look to be estates that may be hotels or private homes with swimming pools. Maybe Air B’n’B is done here. That would be amazing and quiet and inspiring! We were dropped off overlooking the view to the sea. Where we stopped there were rest rooms obviously intended for public use. We have not run into any on this trip requiring you to pay or having a woman handing out toilet paper for a tip. However, it is always good to have some tissues in your pocket for places just like here!
The guide had said we could have our picture taken with a donkey, and we could. A large metal donkey statue you could sit on had metal steps up to it to allow you to climb up gracefully. Most everyone happily posed. Real donkeys were lined up, attached to carts which could take you around the town. The poor little donkeys seemed sad if they were just tied up and not chosen. Some families traveling independently were enjoying this option with their gleeful children.
The first stop on our walk was at a little park. Here was a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Rock. It was built from natural stone and was unpainted. Across a long, narrow patio with restaurant tables and chairs was the Casa Molino Restaurant and now closed hotel. We came to the shopping street. Shop owners seemed to know that we would keep walking but invited us to stop in on the way back down the hill. They definitely knew the tour guide plans and to not interfere with them!
We followed our guide up the tiled street passing a small carefully curated and labeled botanical garden decorated the walled walkway. We came to the place where the house owners had agreed to the floral arrangements that hung from next to their doorways. Sky blue containers held matching arrangements of geraniums and ivy against their white walls.
Next, we came to the Plaza del Toros de Mijas with its white painted bull ring, built in 1900. At a bullfight you pay more for a seat in the shade. In Mijas they only have a few fights a year during the weeks of their big festival. They do not kill the bulls here whether they win or lose. (I think they only do that in Madrid and only once session a year.)
The pavement in the square at the top of the village was set off by large raised floral tile designs which could cause you to stumble if you were too busy looking at the view! A colorful circular fountain was a focal point as was a blue one on the opposite side. The entrance to the theatrical amphitheater is here. All is shaded by tall old trees making the place seem very restful.
During our free time here the lady with the blue jacket and toothache from Valencia found us to tell us that she was able to get her prescription and felt much better. She then went on to complain that her guide had left her group here and thought we must have the better one. Perhaps she was not paying attention when the guide gave the directions back to the bus area as our guide gave us just a few minutes later and left us!
Carol and I bypassed the shopping street option and instead went through the other square. While Carol took pictures, I went into the LLadro shop, situated away from the other more touristy things, where a saleslady quickly approached. I told her my Mom had collected them and I could open my own shop!
Adjacent to the meeting point was the main modern square shaded by large, looming trees. Children were climbing and running at the playground. Tables lined the sidewalk edge of the semicircular stone pavement as they do in European cities. Ladies strolled pushing strollers. Men chatted in groups. Some people darted in and out of stores carrying paper shopping bags. And, as always, so many dogs were casually walking on their leads or playing with each other!
Soon we once again boarded our bus to return to the ship. We had thought we might be asked to be dropped off in town to walk around before returning to the Apex. We did not. Along the shore are parks but across the wide street is very much the center of business activity. It was another holiday, and many places were closed. We opted to just return to the ship. It was not long until we would be sailing away.
We enjoyed dinner at Tuscan, then the show Guitar Fusion. The two men had a unique style of strumming the strings and using the guitar surfaces to create different levels of drumming sounds. It was the first time they performed on a cruise ship. They were very nervous. It was a little relaxed or random and even seemed sort of a jam session. Also, they neglected to acknowledge the band, lights, sound, stage crews, and cruise director as is pretty much ‘de rigueur’ at the end of a ship performance! The other performers will soon help them understand.
