Malaga - Costa del Sol

Nov 22 - 25 - Malaga Spain

Wow, what a different place this is!  I had no idea what to expect - I was hunting for AirBnB locations anywhere on the Costa del Sol in Spain, and after much to-ing and fro-ing, finally chose one in the heart of the ‘old town’ of Malaga.  It’s always a challenge to find the ‘right’ place as I can only rely on the pictures posted, and the reviews of others who have stayed there.  Well, this one is everything I expected, and nothing like I expected . . .  if that makes any sense at all!

We arrived at the Malaga airport around 11:30 am, and took the train into the centre of the city.  It cost a whopping 1.35 euros each for a 15 minute ride.  Good start.  From there, we had walking directions to our apartment - about 10 minutes from the train station.  I have to admit that as we walked, I became more and more nervous about what we would find as the buildings were all old, and somewhat run-down looking.  There was a fair amount of graffiti as well.  Lots of people on the streets, and none looked too intimidating, so that made me feel a bit better.  The address we were looking for was #92, and as we walked, we could see the numbers getting into the high 80s on the other side of the street, so we assumed we were getting close.  Well, they aren’t quite so organized over here as at home.  It was another block before we found 92.  Not the most overwhelmingly beautiful looking place.  

Walking from the airport to our AirBnB apartment
Love these tiled sidewalks

Little mini tiles beside a marble staircase.  One
of the more 'basic' sidewalks here.

Street scene as we walked from the train station.

Lots of these parked everywhere!

Our walking instructions from the train station said
"follow the river on your left".  This is the river.
It took us awhile to figure that out.  Most of it is a
skateboard park.  I think it's kept this way to
allow for flash floods.  At least that's the only
explanation I can come up with.  The water
right now is contained in the small dark area
on the right side of the picture!

Loved this graffiti.  I don't know why.  It's actually kind of disturbing,
but so creative.

We buzzed for the cleaning lady who was awaiting our arrival to hand over the keys.  She doesn’t speak English, we don’t speak Spanish - clearly a match made in not-heaven.  She spoke long and loud to us, and with everything we didn’t understand, she would repeat it louder, thinking that would help us to get it I guess.  We finally smiled, nodded and said ‘gracias’, and she was on her way.  Turns out she was trying to tell us the second set of keys was in the box beside the television.  

The apartment is comfy and plenty large enough for us.  We have a little patio (which is one of the things I liked on the AirBnb posting).  However, we’re on the first floor of the building.  Our patio is completely surrounded by four walls and neighbours from the apartment beside us and the two above us all have windows onto our patio.  If we understood Spanish, we would know all their conversations!  In order to tell what the weather is going to be for the day, we need to go outside to the middle of the patio where we can look up and see the sky.  There are no windows to the outside otherwise.  So I guess it’s a typical place in a really old building.  The water works, the power is good, and the shower is hot.  It’s been modernized inside, and other than hearing the neighbours (who keep VERY different hours than us) and their dogs, and their bassoon playing, it’s a great place.  

We're in a one-floor walk-up.  Marble staircase.  No lights
in the hallway unless you turn them on.  Very energy-
conscious building!

Our little patio - taken from the living room sliding doors.
Our bedroom window is on the left. The neighbour's window is
on the right (with the bars). The grass is plastic!

Yep, that's the name of the little store around the corner.  I don't
know what superskunk means in Spanish, but the marketing
guy clearly didn't advise well on how to attract English speakers.
They're closed for the afternoon siesta.

We walk out the door and we’re literally in the heart of the old town.  It’s full of the most beautiful tiled streets, alleyways and sidewalks.  And LOTS of tapas bars.  Hundreds of them.  Lots of fun little shops as well.  There are nut sellers on the corners and when you’re seated at any of the outdoor patios, there are many wandering merchants who would like to sell you Rayban sunglasses, Michael Kors handbags and Rolex watches - cheap!  :-)  

Turn the corner and what do  you know?  A castle!

I'd like to rent the crocheted bike please.

Street scene - look at the tile work.  Note the tile
'gutter' running the length of the street as well.

Our first meal in Malaga - tapas dishes cost 2 euros each.  And
tasted waaaaaay better than the ham and cheese bread in Barcelona
that cost 17 euros.

Another street scene.  Lined with tapas bars, beautiful
buildings and oh yeah, the marble street.  No pavement
for these folk!

I have taken so many pictures like this one.  If I post
them all, you might get bored.  But you'll definitely
see a few more.  Is this not the most beautiful alleyway?

Not your average doorway

There's a huge Moroccan influence here.  These lovely lamps were for
sale along with some 'medical marijuana' gear.

There is a large Roman ruin excavation in the middle of town, and what European town would be complete without a castle on the hill?  The one here is called Gibralfaro castle and dates back to the 1300s.  It’s a bit of a hike up a hill to the old castle ruins - spectacular views up there are worth it, as is the hike itself which goes through a forest of pine and eucalyptus trees.  The scent is heavenly. 

Roman theatre in the middle of town with the Alcazaba
castle in the background

Roman basins belonging to a salted fish factory from the second
half of the 4th century A.D.  The basins were used to make the
fish sauce called garum.  They are a little hard to see because
they are under a glass pyramid (picture below)

The 'Louvre' of Malaga. (my name for it!)
It's a lot smaller :-)

Walking the wall of Gibralfaro Castle at the top
of the hill in Malaga.  The place is huge.

A guardhouse on the castle wall

Malaga in the background.  

More wall.  There was a lot of it!

Typical stone and brickwork seen inside the Gibralfaro Castle
grounds.  I love this stuff!

Inside the castle walls - beautiful gardens.  No buildings really
remain though.

In the castle museum.  Quite the outfit!

Hope he didn't have to run in those boots!

We walked over to the newer part of town and the waterfront shops and hotels.  The cruise ships stop in here, and so it’s mostly full of overpriced shops and restaurants.  So glad we’re not staying in that area.  We’ve spent our days walking a LOT and trying to get used to the fact that many shops and restaurants close down in the afternoon, and really don’t reopen until about 7 pm.  Some do stay open, but if we want groceries or if we want to do much in the way of shopping, better get it done early or wait until evening.  It’s always busy with people, but seems quite safe.  We’re really enjoying the experience.

Over the next few days, we plan to visit some of the towns along the coast, take an inland trip to Ronda, and go to Gibraltar for a day.  We considered a trip to Tangiers in Morocco, but it’s a crazy long day, and we decided that Morocco can’t be experienced by visiting a port town for a half day.  So another time!

View from the castle to the waterfront cruiseship terminal area
and marina

Bull ring in the centre of town - as seen from the path up to the castle

Monster cactus plants all over the place.

I'm not sure what these flowers are, but they are so pretty.

Stone bench with marble seats for resting on the way up to the castle

Most beautiful staircase on the pathway

Love this little stone seat!

Through a park from the old town to the waterfront

Walking through a pathway of orange trees.
Full-of-oranges trees!

City Hall Malaga.  

These grow everywhere.  Gotta love a place that calls this normal.

Detail on the city hall.  That guy has a lot of weight on his shoulders.

Hiking down from the castle

Plaza near the Picasso Museum.

Can't get enough of these streets and alleyways.
Seems no two are the same!

Not content with tiling the streets, these people also tile the
street names onto the sides of buildings.

Alleyway with a tapas bar patio in the foreground

Street lamps on the side of the buildings.

Pretty plaza.

Calamari rings.  Huge.  2 euros. Oh and they give you a bowlful of
olives whenever you order a drink.  Good thing I finally developed a
taste for them a couple of years ago!

Glen is not having a problem with the door sizes here like he did in England.

The Christmas decorations are going up all over town.
But NONE of them are lit up yet.  We're hoping they
do so before we leave.  I think it will be quite a spectacle.

Our favourite place to eat - La Madeinterranea.  Yes, I spelled it correctly!

Who thought this up???  I just don't think I want to
order anything with a name like this.

Dessert.  White chocolate curls (LOTS of them) on ice cream,
strawberries and kiwis.  This is after we've had a few bites out
of it.   Good thing we only ordered one!