Liverpool
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26th November 2023. Very pleasant trip through Liverpool Airport's bag drop and security. EasyJet to Malaga departed on time. Arrived 20:30
Our shuttle bus was a bit late in coming, but eventually we got into our Blue Hyundai and set off for Benalmadena using my TomTom which I had meticulously prepared a week ahead of arrival. Unfortunately I had done it wrong and we were heading past our destination. We managed to recover and arrived at our AirBnB which is fantastic.
Area Recon
We headed downhill towards the sea. The roads winds around a lot , but we kept going downwards, eventually arriving at a main road. Got ourselves two small full English. Decided to abandon trying to reach Sea, and returned home to collect car. Went to a big Mercadonna and filled a trolley up and a bit more. The store layout was complete nonsense and our failure to remember to get our car park ticket authorised at the checkout caused us some fun.
Started to watch 'Squid Game - Challenge' and got a bit hooked. Nice smart TV we can use to cast our photos and vids to, as well as play BGA of course!
Malaga
Drove into Malaga, parked up and headed to the centre. Couple of liners in, the tourist area is busy. Stopping for a drink by an enormous church we get maximum ringage as the bells chime the fourth quarter then 12.
We get to the Picasso Museum and spent a good time there. Unlike the Mercado, the exhibition is well organised. Taking you through his works in chronological order. That in itself is an eye opener. During parts of his life some of his work was a bit edgy. During the war his work became dark and serious.
We try a small part of the coastal path. There is a colony of Cats here, they are very tame. Volunteers look after them. Tourist may not feed them, but many stop to chat with them and have a stroke, that is allowed.
A day out is never complete without a climb up to the castle which is a mesmerising mixture of building styles . The views are wonderful and the excercise is too. The whole thing is tended with hedges and plants making it almost like a park.
Mijas
Headed West along the coast road, exploring towards Fuengirola. Nice enough but not significantly different from other coastal towns. We popped Mijas into the TomTom and headed straight up hill into the mountains away from the sea.
What a gem Mijas is, we arrive and go down a hill to the bottom of the 10 story car park which charges 1e per day and is quite full. The lift takes us up to a small entrance in the main square, where the Burros and Horses await your custom. This town is extreemley beautiful and well maintained. Craft shops, boutiques and restaurants line the 3D maze of streets. Everyting predominantly white, with blue ornaments, usually flower baskets.
We visited the bull ring, the smallest in Spain. Built 1900 and ceased 1969. Despite the dangers, what a joy is is to climb up and down the stone seating areas, relying on common sense and not just H&S.
There is a long tradition of making leather here, but now it is made elsewhere and there must be almost 100 shops scattered about selling almost everything, made of leather.
There is a botanical garden set on the hillside with views to the far away sea. Here there is a narrow gorge and we see climbers ready to come up towards us. TomTom takes us home via the sceenic route in the mountains.
Malaga Christmas
Early morning walk down to and along the sea front in the Sunshine. Back to Mercadonna to get more of their prepared meals.
We headed off to Malaga on the train, wishing to see the Christmas lights switch on. On the way I had a couple of games of Chess with a local. They set up six boards and seats and passers by are free to join them. No trash talking or hustling, just play Chess. Lost game 1 in some tactical complications, here is the moment I allowed Qb6 and bad news on f2, even my Arthur Brown Hoodie could not save me...
... but won the second game with a nice combo. I just attacked the W Knight winning a piece, but Dave missed that and moved his Knight forwards, so Rh1+ leads to checkmate.
Nice packing solution here, very rigid and transportable.
Benalmadena Pueblo
Light rain! No matter. Hop in the car. Not much there but the old town is pleasant to walk around. From the mirador we spot a fairytale castle far below. It is the Castillo Monumento Columbus, a massive folly. We visit it and share time with excited Spaniards all shouting 'Hola!'to each other while sticking face out of small windows posing for a photo.
Back home via Lidl, to watch Matt Hancock Covid Inquiry, recorded yesterday.
Marbella
One hour in the car and a Lizzy parking spot followed by lots of walking along the front. Fish restaraunts are very popular. Coffee and a trip to find a certian shop, El Corte Ingles which turned out to be somewhere else. Interesting place , but in the short time there could not decide if it was tourist or business. Probably both. In the end felt it was not a good place to stay.
We find the old town, and reflect on how things were here before tourism. Conclusion, very different.
I took the wheel home for my first drive, discovered Hyundai horn was not working and the rental persones agreed it must be changed. The Hyundai was quite smart and a good ride at 120KPH in 6th but low gears were a bit jerky. Now replaced by a white Peugeot , seemingly better ratios but not quite as smart, but a better ride overall. Anyway , a useful exercise to find the Rental return spot, which uses a shuttle bus system to the airport.
The TomTom has been great (as usual). Most of the roads here are either Autopista or oneway parking on both sides with delivery trucks blocking them (LOL).
Watched races 1 - 6 of Americas Cup Prelims, from Jeddah, Pleased to see Italy battling against the Kiwis given the owners back story.
A view of the Atlas Mountains and Gibralta in one go.
Sports Bar
Played Bezique 1,000 up in the morning and Liz managed a rare Doube Bezique which she nurtured home to win. Chelsea at home to Brighton in the Sports Bar at 15:00 kick off. There is a group of 15 CFC fans from London having a great time. They all seem to know each other but it seems they may all live here. It is not clear. But the best conversations are the ones shouting with your mate who is the other side of the room. The TV volume is at 97 but you can not hear it. Anyway great to have been there and although down to 10 for the second half, clung on to win 3-2.
Nerja
Raining. Great drive to Nerja on an Autopista where we met up with Sallie and Paul for a wander around their hotel area including the old town.
They are surprised to discover, in the main square, that six trees have been drastically pruned overnight. Work is continuing on the remaining five. Certainly going to make the square a different place from now on. The restaurants put their tables out in the square and now there will be no shade. But anyway, like I said, it is raining today.
We all visited the caves. At the start the spelunking is average, the floor and walk way have been well made. Suddenly we arrive at a Cathederal size void. Stalagtites everwhere, all reaching to the floor. Totally amazing, there is a central formation, the largest in Europe , must be 30 feet diameter. All around at the edges other formations are everwhere. Although obviously formed by water everything in the cave is dry, if not arid today. We are looking back in time 8 million years perhaps. Then there is a section which has been disrupted by Earthquake. Large columns have tilted over and now rest in strange patterns.
On the way back we take a detour to find the villa owned by Eric and Anne. There it is, easily found, unlike the Ayo restaurant on Burriana Beach, which TomTom thought was on the top of a cliff.
Chilaxio
A coffee in the marina near home and a view of an apartment we considered as a possibility for staying at. The Marina is beautiful, many boats of all descriptions and these apartments built around the Seaward side in horse-shoe shapes.
Video conference tonight with Audley regarding Auz next year. Should be good.
The 'onion' was one of three bought on day one. I thought we left it in the fridge, imagine my surprise to find it on the kitchen table when we returned! (With a doughnut).
Gibraltar
Boris day 1 of the Module 2 C-19 Inquiry. With hindsight, I am able to write today's diary in the style of his answers.
Mr Wilson, can you tell us a little about the town of La Lenea in preparation for your visit to the Rock? You have described it as 'a giant car park, lacking investment and any amenities for the local population'. Do you stand by this?
PW- Look, that was simply the sort of healthy banter I liked to use at the time. The true position is that the local Spanish people work extremly hard and do a wonderful job looking after this important strategic area.
Mr Wilson, it was raining when you arrived was it not?
PW- No, if you actually look at the data you will see that the cloud base had simply decended to sea level.
And so from a mile away you would not be able to see any part of the giant rock of Gibraltar at all? PW- Correct.
Mr Wilson, it is a matter of recorded fact you entered Spain using your Eire passport, Why then did you not realise you would need the same passport to leave Spain?
PW- Nobody actually told me that UK passports were being stamped on entry. Look, at the time I understood I was entering the UK and I simply did not see any value in bringing my Eire Passport on this trip.
Mr Wilson, you were eventually allowed out of Spain but not before causing a big delay to the others trying to do the same in the queue behind you.
PW- Yes and I apologised to all of them in person at the time.
Mr Wilson, even though you say it was not raining, you did try to source an umberella, is that correct? PW- Well yes, It could easily have started to rain.
Mr Wilson, you did eventually find one and pay quite a high price for it. But the thing is it turned out to be defective did it not? At least one of the spokes was broken. PW- I do not remember that as such. It did start to rain and the umberella did a perfectly good job of protecting us both.
Mr Wilson, In the afternoon you shared one of the mini bus tours with a couple from Poland. The driver was accomodating and tailored his tour based on the weather. You visited the caves with the sound and light show, The Barbary Apes, the tunnels with the gun emplacements and the Sky Walk of Death, is that correct?
PW- Well no. Visibility was about 10 feet and so we could not see anything of the Sky Walk.
Nevertheless Mr Wilson, your companions were enjoying the trip, making the best of it and having a generally good time, correct? PW- Well it is possible, but you would have to ask them.
Mr Wilson, all the evidence suggests a visit to Gibraltar is a worthwhile and enjoyable endeavour. But you continue to promote the opposite ideas. Can you please explain why that is?
PW- Well yes of course I can. One of the first problems is when you get cash change, the £1 coins are old style and you have to find a way to spend them on the Island or have to take them in person to TBOE for exchange. An another point is the long queue there is to leave Gibraltar. There is no cover from the Sun, or as in my visit, the rain and the whole process of leaving is a bunfight with Spaniards pushing forward to use the automatic barriers which are not available to UK citizens. That is a mess.
Mr Wilson, Gibralta is not an island (smile) but on the point of queueing, that is a problem for the UK government to solve is it not? PW- Well yes and I think you make a good point that more should be done, in fact, I think you will find that more has been done already and within the next weeks a second man will be deployed on the gate.
Cadiz
Cadiz is a very ancient city and consequently full of interest. We grab the hop on hop off bus tour from the Cathedral but stay on for the whole round trip. It is simply wonderful to have the Sun back. The Cruise Liner 'Norwegian Epic' is here along with over 4,100 passengers and 'Icon of the Seas' is also here. The narrow streets are busy with shoppers. We try to find a place for lunch, plenty of free tables but poor food everywhere. Eventually we find an interesting restaurant and order Ravioli. Liz reckons it was one of the best things she has eaten in Spain. 6 pieces of ravioli covered with ragout and crunched up beetroot and parsnip crisps.
We pick a route home through the hills on a smallish road that passes through Jerez. Here the centre is all cobbles and horse drawn carriages. We do not stop.
Chilaxio
There is a National holiday going on over the week end. We walk up to the cable car station, but operation is suspended due to winds. Find there is a procession, carrying the Madonna on the shoulders of ten women, slowly through the streets. A very large band follows playing wonderful music. Flutes, Tubas, Clarinets and of course plenty of snare drums. A wide range of ages involved.
Malaga again
The public holiday is in full swing, Malaga is full and nowhere to park. We give up and escape with TomTom. On the journey back see the cable car is moving and head to the Tivoli Gardens for a trip up. It is 15 minutes to the top, amazing views already. Then there are several pathways to clamber upward yet more. The sheer scale of the buildings, the number of people and the parked cars that line every road comes into perspective.
There are Falconry displays up here and although there is no show on right now, we get to see some of the birds.
The bald eagle is actually a sea eagle. About 90 cm long and has a wingspan of 2 metres (6.6 feet). Females, which grow somewhat larger than males, may reach 108 cm in length and have a wingspan of 2.5 metres (8 feet). The bird is not actually bald; its name derives from the conspicuous appearance of its white-feathered head. The beak, eyes, and feet are yellow.
A view of our apartment's area and of me taking that photo.
Ronda
Along the coast Westwards, then turn right straight up the mountains on a hairpin road. Motor bikers love it, one going past us, knee on the ground, racing style.
Ronda is famed for the bridge across a deep chasm, that united towns on either side. The air is wonderful and only a yellow Sun is in the sky. Ate al fresco, under the gaze of the Church as usual. Chorizo and scrambled eggs with potato rondels for me, Calamari for Liz.
Second half Everton v Chels in the sports bar, another loss.
Fuengerola
We drove the coast road and stopped at Fuengerola. Walked along the front. Had a coffee, took one picture. Visited the Supermercado quickly. Back home, I wrote a lot of this. In many respects this has been a test of blogging and gaming for Australia. I have not managed to write each day and am way behind choosing and processing the images.
Connecting the TomTom to the laptop has been useful. It is much easier to research an exact destination on the laptop and sent it to the TT than try that on the TT itself.
Malaga
The Botanic gardens gets a general thumbs down from TripAdvisor, but we plan to go after dark for the sound and light Christmas trail, so that's all right then! We drove into Malaga and left the car there, tried to buy tickets in advance. It seems this event is run by a separate company so they did not sell them. I got the feeling they were a bit miffed by the whole thing taking over their gardens. Anyway we found a place to get them in the centre of Malaga booking 19:00.
Tomorrow we would discover the temperature today reached 30 degrees, being the hottest day in Malaga in December since the 25 degrees in 1996. Very pleasant to lurch from cafe to cafe, sit to watch the people pass.
The Museum of Contemporary Art deserves a whole blog to itself. Magnifico.
The Music Museum is wonderful as well. Instruments from all over the world, old and new. Also the chance to play some of them. We were lucky to have the place to ourselves otherwise it could be noisy. Screens near the instruments allow you to select what you wish and then play it properly!
Returning to the Light show there are two lanes to enter rather like the tour of Buckingham Palace. We wait in the 19:00 as the 18:30 latecomers drift in the other lane. Eventually that 18:30 sign is changed to 19:30 and we start moving. It is a great show, not overly Christmassy but some of the trees were given lights in ways that suited them.
Malaga
We went to Plaza Mayor, a big shopping centre, by car, parked and took the train to Malaga from there. By contrast to yesterday it was overcast and much cooler. We explored on foot to find the Pompidou Centre and the Hard Rock Cafe nearby. We seated ourselves at the same table and watched the ships and boats going about their business.
The Pompidou did not inspire us as much. The Contemporary art was much more edgy. However we did both laugh and take a good look at one work especially.
We had an escape room booked at 16:30 and we walked in the general direction towards it, looking for a snack and finding nowhere we were happy with. As we go nearer the escape room, as is often the case, the ambience of the area gradually changed. From bustling tourist streets to empty council house area. The game was fun. Trying to help planet Earth's problems, a chemical that dissolved all organic waste had been invented. It worked well, but it overlooked that it was also lethal to living things and also the obvious terrorist threat. A doctor had been working on an antidote but had vanished leaving the work unfinished. Our job was to complete his work. Unfortunately, although we succeeded, we exposed ourselves to the lethal chemical. Fortunately our games master was able to administer the antidote when we exited the room.
PW, PB today 15,200 steps.
Semi Chilaxio
Lazy late start and Unlock games on the balcony. Then we set of to Fuengirola to a restaurant we had visited a few days ago and looked like good food. Now all these restaurants specialise in fish obviously however there were plenty of alternatives. I chose pork medallions, new potatoes veg and a peppercorn sauce. Unfortunately the first mouthful tasted of fish and so did the second. Perhaps they used the fish grill? perhaps they did not wipe the frying pan? It was difficult to decide if it was the sauce, the meat or both. BTW the new potatoes were deep fried. Anyway I sent it back immediately, not choosing to replace it. Liz had a wonderful Gambas Pil Pil so not all was lost. Back home I opened up the tinned chilli bought on day one, heated up the rice in the fridge and crumbled some lime crisps over the top. Great I ate it thinking of Columbo.
Chilaxio
A walk up to the Friday market, the usual things on offer but very many stalls. No sale. Back home balcony Sunshine and completing the Unlock Legendary games trio with Sherlock Holmes being the last and best Liz walked to Mercadonna and returned with her favourite fish and meat balls for me. I must say we have had a wonderful stay here and ventured out a long way for exploration. The apartment has served us well. The laptop on the big screen has made playing games a pleasure. Also we have watched previously downloaded iplayer stuff and YouTube provided Only Connect and Covid Module 2 inquiry as well as some Strictly results and lots more. The flat has a Netflex account and we used that too.
Homeward
We have an early start to get our flight home. Aiming to leave 20 minutes before dawn. Our flat looks East and when we arrived Sunrise was 08:06 and the day length 9:57. Today Sunrise is 08:23 and the day length 9:39. We have a table booked at the Red Fort with James and Ollie for 17:30, we will gain an hour on the plane.