Malaga and the start of our cruise

 

Reluctantly we struggled out of bed at 5:15 AM to finish packing and leave for the airport.  (Note to self – we are not 25 anymore and cannot spend the evening drinking wine!)  Check in at the Lisbon airport was very easy.  TAP Portugal Airlines has a section just for premium passengers and we were the only ones in line.  After passing through security, we went to the Lounge for some much needed coffee.  Our flight left at 8:25 and took about 1 ½ hours to reach Malaga. It was not my favorite flight – it was an ATR turboprop.  The seats were not very comfortable and did not recline.  Most of the flight was smooth, but on landing we had to fly through some dark clouds and it was quite bumpy. When the wheels touched down, I was finally able to let go of Bill’s arm – he probably had no feeling in it as I was really holding on tight.

From the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel, the AC Marriott.  We really lucked out on location – the hotel was right off the main waterfront street, in the center of the pedestrian walkways, next to the Malaga Cathedral, and only a short 2-block walk to our ship. Malaga is a beautiful city on the Mediterranean Coast of Spain (Costa del Sol region). It is the 5^th largest city in Spain, but the third oldest city in Europe.  It is very pedestrian friendly; most of the small, marble-paved streets in the center of town are free of vehicles (only taxis and the few cars of people who actually live in the center are allowed). 

In the afternoon we walked around the center of Malaga.  We visited the Malaga Cathedral.  Malaga´s cathedral was built between 1528 and 1782 on or near the site of a former mosque. While original plans called for two towers, only one tower was completed.  There are two stories about why the second tower was left unfinished.  The most prevalent was that during the American Revolution, the British were enemies of Spain and therefore Spain sided with the colonists.  The Spanish Governor of the Louisiana Territory, Bernardo de Galvez, was friends with the Bishop of Malaga.  He asked the Bishop for funds to help Spain in this endeavor.  The Bishop supposedly sent funds that were originally destined for completing the second tower.  There is a plaque at the base of the tower that states the funds for completing this tower were sent instead to help the American colonies defeat the British.  According to our guide, the people of Malaga celebrate the 4^th of July to commemorate Galvez’s efforts on behave of the American colonists.  The second story says that the money was diverted for use in the renovation of the roadway called the "Way of Antequera" (which began in the present street Calle Martinez Maldonado).  The missing tower has led to the Cathedral being popularly known as La Manquita (the one-armed lady)

The outside façade is in Baroque style, while the interior has influences of the Renaissance and baroque styles.  It is stunning inside with many little chapels and a 17th century choir stall of mahogany and cedarwood which was designed by Luis Ortiz.  There are twin organs, one on each side of the choir stalls.  It reminded us of the Cathedral in Segovia, Spain.

We then walked to the entrance to the Alcazaba, an old Moorish fortress, built on the hillside in the 11^th century.  At the top of the hill is the Castillo de Gibralfaro, built by Abdar-Rahman I (a Cordoban emir) in the 8^th century.  We did not go in as all that remains of the fortress and castle are the walls, and we had a good view of them from the 15^th floor sun deck of our hotel. 

In front of the Alcazaba entrance is the excavation of an old Roman theater.  It is the oldest monument in Málaga and one of the oldest Roman theaters on the Iberian Peninsula. It covers a large area, roughly the size of a football field.  The theatre was built in the first century BC, under Emperor Augustus, and was used until the third century AD.  Subsequently it was left to ruin for centuries, until the Moors settled in Andalucía. From 756-780AD the amphitheater was used as a quarry by the Moorish settlers who used many of the stones to build the Alcazaba.  Over time it became buried under dirt and rubble, and remained hidden there for almost five centuries.  The theatre was rediscovered in 1951, when the construction of Casa de Cultura (a garden) gave the first archaeological clues.  The garden was then demolished and work began on the excavation and restoration of the theater. 

After viewing the ruins, we walked down the beautiful, narrow pedestrian walkways and through a botanical garden until we reached the water front.  The pier area where our ship will dock tomorrow is a beautiful pedestrian street lined with many palm trees.

For dinner we asked the hotel concierge where to find good paella and he recommended Los Mellizos, located a block from the hotel.  Although it was about 7 PM when we got there, that is still early by Spanish standards.  We ordered the seafood paella and where not disappointed – it was loaded with a lot of seafood and was very good.  We then headed back to the hotel for our last night before boarding our ship.

Wednesday morning (April 13^th) we checked out of our room and walked to the pier area.  Although there were people waiting to take our luggage, we could not board the ship until 12:45.  So we found a nice little café along the waterfront and enjoyed a glass of wine and the beautiful weather.

At 1PM we boarded the Corinthian and spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting settled in.  We met Rita our guide (she is from Lisbon, Portugal, speaks excellent English and seems quite knowledgeable about our itinerary).

At dinner on board that ship we met 3 couples from our group (the Blue Tribe).  We had sat down at a table (it is open seating), and the people that joined us were all from the Blue Tribe.  We had a good time getting acquainted and before we knew it, it was time for bed.

Thursday was our first full day on the ship.  We were still docked in Malaga and in the morning we had our first city walk with Rita and a local guide.  Unfortunately we did not see anything different than we had seen the day before.  In the afternoon, our guide took us to the Picasso Museum.  Picasso was born in Malaga and lived there until his parents moved to a city up in the northern part of Spain.  When Franco became dictator of Spain, Picasso (who did not get along with Franco) moved to France where he spent his remaining years.  The museum was okay, but neither Bill nor I are art lovers, and Picasso is certainly not one of our favorite artists.  The fascinating thing about the museum was the basement level.  The building was built over old Phoenician and Roman ruins that were left just as they had been found.

Our ship sailed at 4 PM that afternoon for Seville.  We will travel all night and arrive in Seville about 9 AM.  Just as we were finishing dinner, the Captain announced that we were traversing the Gibraltar Straits and the Rock of Gibraltar was on our starboard side.  Tonight was a little rough going through the Straits and out into the Atlantic, but we both managed to get a good night’s sleep.  Must have been all that walking we did during the day and the wine we consumed at dinner.