Venice & Dubrovnik Cruise - Malaga Page

Friday 18th October 2013

It was still dark as we approached Malaga but by time we could get off the ship, the Sun was up in the East, making attractive shadows on the buildings, which were reversed as we left, of course.

We took the expensive port shuttle (which we had expected to be free but was €4 per head, return), to the West end of the prom & walked up the pedestrianised main drain, the Marques de Larios to Constitution Square & by Calle Palma round & back to the Plaza de la Merced. No market but Picasso's Birthplace. Opposite in the square, is a somewhat over-sized statue of him sitting on a bench & surrounded by (live) schoolgirls.

The marble Marques de Larios	Typical balconies	Constitution Square
Picasso's Birthplace	The Picasso Statue & fans	I organised them for my photo & took one for them as well. We walked off the South-West corner of the square to the Picasso Museum, which has 11 galleries of sparsely spaced works, at present prices, about a billion pounds worth at least. Some, I did not know at all.

The Picasso Museum

The Picasso Museum's austere interior

The Picasso Museum's garden

We had coffee there & then, to the Cathedral, which had the cheek (especially considering how wickedly the church behaved under Franco) to charge €5 each to get in. It is vast & has excellent wood carving on the choir stalls & some pretty gruesome paintings of martyrdoms.

We made our way back to the shuttle & ship, as it was now rather warm & Avis had done her 10,000 paces. After lunch, I walked into town, along the wharf, which comes out to a complicated traffic intersection but opposite is a staircase up the hill to the Alcazaba Castle. I went up it, through the tunnel & by a road to the belvedere near the top of the hill, which has views over the Bull Ring & Town Hall, down to which I descended & returned to the ship.

The Alcazaba from the town

The Acazaba from the port

I went up it, through the tunnel & by a road to the belvedere near the top of the hill, which has views over the Bull Ring & Town Hall, down to which I descended & returned to the ship, cutting through the buildings to the beach & walking along it.

Inland from the high road

Across the City

Bull Ring from the belvedere

Malaga waterfront

Town Hall

Some laundry necessary, including today's sweaty clothes. Sail-away was at 1800.

Then,we had dinner at 1830 in the Palms, as there was a peculiar set of acts in the evening programme. The Show Team as in the Coral Club, doing "Up the Anchor". I was roped in to the audience participation, having to try to follow Katy's moves but it was a bit fast to be anything other than farcical. However, I am qualified in making a fool of myself. I had told Holly I had written to Explosive, saying how good they had been in April 2012 & that had not replied. 4th Dimension were on after but we did not stay long.