In Malaga today — An Elegant Sufficiency

We were berthed in Malaga today.

It was a port we'd not particularly noted, thinking it was probably more of a beach resort with a couple of interesting places to visit. I knew Picasso had been born there but beyond that, knew little else.

We were blessed with the ace of guides: Juan. An older gentleman with spirit and a good clear speaking voice. He issued us with earpieces and set off at pace, pointing out such places as the building across the road, now the University Administration but previously, the old Post Office. As he walked, he chattered, ending virtually each sentence with the phrase “very nice!" which made us smile.

Our first stop was the Alcazaba, built above the Roman theatre, using some of the materials from there, and generally a reconstruction based on the Alhambra in Granada.

From here, we could look down into the Roman remains below, rediscovered when the city had flooded in 1951.

Now I had already worked out that it was going to be a bit of a climb up to the top here and the steep slopes had no handrails nor walls on which to steady oneself. Juan advised that we'd take the same route up as we would coming down, so at any point, we could step out and stay there until the party came back again.

Just around the corner when the steep steps began, I opted out, identifying a place to sit and draw whilst handing my camera to my Hero, who would take pictures of everything I was missing.

I sat and sketched this view, enjoying the company of Karen from North Carolina who had also recognised that she probably wouldn't enjoy the climb!

Thankfully, we were joined by our heroes and everybody else and Juan pointed out the cross once more, placed by the Catholics when they overcame the Moors in the 15th century.

From here, we walked through some of the “very nice” old town and turned a corner to see a magnificent sight: the cathedral.

I think we all gasped as we entered this amazing building, for none of us had imagined that Malaga was the home of such a treasure, But no sooner had we gone inside than Juan was leading us back outside the opposite entrance…he said he had something very special to show us.

Indeed he did, for the west entrance of the cathedral was an architectural masterpiece in rose marble.

Unfortunately, not only were we on a tight schedule, but the ironwork surrounding this part of the cathedral meant that we couldn't step back far enough to get a decent picture!

We could, however, look beyond the fence that contained us and take a snap of the Bishop's Palace just across the way.

Returning to the inside, Juan took us around the side chapels, each of which was “very nice”.

He pointed out so many details I couldn't scribble (and take photos!) but suffice to say that all of us were so enchanted by now, it was all we could do to keep up with the pace.

So we were glad of an opportunity to sit down and admire the choir, the two organs placed opposite one another in here and the fine carving of the miserichords.

Approaching the high altar, we looked up as Juan explained how water had seeped into the roof and dislodged pieces of stucco that had fallen onto the congregation below. As a result, a safety net had been put in place!

He used the chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella to tell the story of Chistopher Columbus’ efforts to raise funds for his voyages to the New World and told of the Catholic monarchs’ marriage and “business arrangement”.

Still overwhelmed by the scale and the beauty of the cathedral we moved on back outside into the light. The street outside was bustling and it was time for a short break. Tieing his flag to the mast of the amused almond seller, Juan suggested we meet here again in half an hour and whilst he went off for a coffee, he recommended this chap's wares. After a taste of the caramelised almonds, I had no hesitation in finding enough Euros to buy a couple of bags to bring home!

Others went shopping for T shirts and souvenirs whilst we enjoyed our favourite pastime of people watching!

We were especially amused by the large number of people who appeared to be taking a photo of the garage door opposite, until we realised that they were really taking selfies of themselves with the background of the cathedral behind us.

From here, we retraced our steps past the base of the Alcazaba, alongside the Roman Theatre.

We were headed for El Pimpi, a bar where we'd enjoy a glass of Malaga wine and a snack of some fresh peanuts. El Pimpi's claim to fame is the owner: Antonio Banderas, who is a local boy, we learned.

We had just one more landmark to visit and headed off through the narrow streets of the old town.

Past women playing cards on an upturned cardboard box…

past the church where Picasso had been baptised and into a square.

Here was a bronze of the artist, sitting on a bench. Quickly, whilst he had no companion sitting with him, I snapped his picture. There behind him was the apartment where he had been born - twice, according to legend. The midwife had declared him stillborn, but his uncle, a doctor, came into the room and breathed his cigar smoke in the baby's direction, at which point he coughed and was breathing again! Hmmm….

After a short stop at the castle, where we both opted to stay at ground level rather than climb another set of rickety steps, we headed back to the harbour. Our lovely Voyager didn't have the company of the big ships today but instead, there were just a couple of yachts there with her. One, the Tatoosh, provided us with interesting reading.

As we switched off the lights, I noted the time…around 10.30pm and remembered that it was about the time we were due to pass by Gibraltar. I grabbed my camera, leapt out of bed and onto our verandah just in time…