Malaga still in Spain

We docked in Malaga not long past 9am, with smooth seas and lightly clouded skies. I’m not sure yet how cold it is, but since we are in the Sun Coast of Spain I’m hoping for a slightly warmer day.

No alarm clock needed today! A nice, gentle wake up at 8am started our day. Usual cleanup then breakfast at the buffet. I had oatmeal with fruit this morning - simple and a little bit lighter than than the normal smoked salmon and egg (with a waffle if I can find one). Not far from us a rather large lady was having a thick bacon sandwich - thick as in 1” of bacon piled on two slices of bread. The bread was probably brown, just to make it healthy 😅

It’s past 10:30 now and I’m sprawled on the bed writing this… Carm has already left on his tour to the Alhambra - a full day affair with 4 hours of bus ride. When we booked our excursions there was only one spot on the tour and since it was high on Carm’s bucket list I suggested he go on his own.

My tour doesn’t start until almost 1pm so I’ve got the morning to relax and get rested up. But I’ve already gone through facebook and I’ve checked my email… now I’m bored! I can’t seem to summon up the energy to go downstairs to the piazza, don’t want another coffee (those European loos you know), maybe I’ll do some reading, or perhaps have a nap. One thing for sure: I need this little rest.

Speaking of naps and beds, ours is supremely comfortable with a fluffy underpad, white cotton sheets, and a puffy comforter that almost feels like down. The pillows are fantastic and if they had them in the gift shop I’d bring one home. It’s all very cosy.

Our room steward, Alfredo, has been doing a fantastic job. We have fresh towels everytime we turn around and the sheets seem to be replaced before we’ve even slept in them. We don’t often see him as he’s like a ghost, getting our room done when our backs are turned, but when we do he has a wide, friendly smile. I can’t remember if I mentioned before that we had him last year on the Regal. He remembered us :-) (which may be a bad thing - maybe we are slobs!) We actually keep things pretty tidy, and glimpses of other cabins indicate that not everyone's the same.

Today makes 14 days that we’ve been away from home. I miss the dogs and Grace, but with Pat taking care of them I’m not worried. If I think about it I’m a bit homesick, but I’ve been in worse shape with a shorter time away from home so I guess I’m doing okay. We still have just under 2 weeks to go! 

Gosh! I haven’t even had my excursion yet and I’ve babbled a whole post!

I thought that I had signed up for the 2 hour tour… 5 hours later I was back on the ship. Whew! The bus first drove us up to a lookout for a few photos and then we boarded to drive down to the fortress. First we walked down a narrow tunnel till we dead-ended at a tiny elevator. In groups of 9 we ascended to the top of the fortress… well… I’m not a big fan of elevators at the best of times and I didn’t have Carm to calm me so I just sucked it up and pretended like I was a big girl.

The guide walked us through the fortress, much of which has been restored, apparently it was almost totally demolished at some point in its history. When it was time to leave we had to walk down slippery, uneven stairs with no handrails. I’m known for falling down stairs, but luckily my shoes were extra sticky today and I didn’t even slip. 

From there we walked to the cathedral. Once inside, the guide told us all manner of things about it - I remember nothing. At this point she’d talked non-stop for 3 hours and I just wanted it to be over. I really didn’t care that one queen donated the statue of Mary that she used to carry in processions. I didn’t love the giant painting of someone getting their head cut off, blood spurting everywhere. It was vaguely interesting that the building had taken over 240 years to be built and that they’d run out of money to finish gilding the ceiling. I heard others making similar remarks.

Finally the church visit was over, but of all the horrors we now had 45 minutes to explore the confusing labyrinth of streets on our own. WTH. I have no sense of direction and a huge phobia of getting lost and missing the bus. I followed the guide till she veered off to a restaurant and then continued on my way. She said that if I walked up the street and turned right I would come to a big square and from there I’d be able to see the cathedral down any street. 

Apparently not every street. 

Nonetheless, I wandered around and eventually found my way back. I’ll have to say that it is way more fun doing these things with someone else and I don’t know if I’d ever travel by myself if something happened to Carm.

Carm got back around 7:20 so we just dashed to the buffet for some food. It’s a bit too late to catch the show so we are back in our room for a relax with a movie.

Tomorrow Cadiz which is the port city for Seville. We meet for our tour at 8:30am.