Today we hopped on the bus and rode about 45 minutes to Málaga. With the 6th largest population in Spain, it is the southernmost large city in Europe. Since it has one of the warmest winters in Europe, it is a very popular tourist destination. Below is a view of the city’s coastline with the bull ring in the foreground. (Notice yet another sunny day.)
Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded by the Phoenicians from Tyre, Lebanon as Malaka in about 770 BC. Around 218 BC it came under the rule of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire as Malaca . After the fall of the empire, it was under Islamic domination as Mālaqah for 800 years; but in 1487, it came under Christian rule in the Reconquista. Below you can see the ruins of the Roman Theater in the foreground and the Islamic Alcazaba in the background.
One of Málaga's important native sons is Pablo Picasso, born in 1881. The city has one of his important museums and this bronze sculpture. Another famous person born in Málaga is Antonio Banderas. Unfortunately, he wasn’t around to cozy up to.
Holy Week is very important in Malaga as it is in many places in Spain. These huge ornate “tronos” (floats), some weighing more that 5 tons, are carried through the streets by more than 250 members of Nuestra Senora de Esperanza.
After our walking tour around the old town of the city, we loaded our bus and continued on to Salinas where six of us joined Angelina and her mother, Pura, for a home-hosted lunch. Our hosts spoke no English so I finally was able to practice my Spanish and was the group interpreter. As you can tell, hand signals help.
Angelina and Pura shared their lovely home which is located in the country surround by olive trees. They grow their own vegetables, raise their own chickens, and collect the eggs. Most of our delicious meal was made from things they either raised or grew. We arrived hungry, but left very satisfied after our six course meal.
With great reluctance, we returned to our hotel in Torremolinos around 5:00 PM. We decided to walk off our great meal and were treated to this beautiful early evening sky.
So, it’s time to finish packing and get ready to move on to Ronda tomorrow morning and then to Seville to spend two nights.
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