Day 8 Saturday, March 9th: Churro heaven or coma?

It is a beautiful and sunny day in the city of Málaga. Our only real plan for today is to make our Málaga Free Walking Tour start at 11 am. I reserved this group time more than a month ago. This is the same outfit we used last Saturday in Sevilla. Lana can sleep in later this morning so that is a bonus. Firstly though we need to get some fruit and sparkling water at the neighbourhood supermarket Dia that Antonio told us about yesterday. Yup, it is open and 2.71 Euro later we have a large water, bananas, apples and tomatoes. We return to our apartment, drop off the groceries and then walk to the Plaza de la Constitucion located about seven minutes away so pretty close. We stop in a bakery for a couple of Spanish pastries for our breakfast and then Lana needs her Starbucks hit. Lana picks a Dulce de Leche croissant--basically a croissant filled with caramel and it is delicious but very sweet!! I concur!

A churro dipped in chocolate but more on that later...

The guides have our reservation so that is good. There is a huge group of English speaking clients so the group is split into two. Our tour group leader is Maria. Very personable and humourous. We are lucky. There are people from all over the world in our group as each person needed to identify themselves and where they were from. There were five other Canadians in our group. The following is general information I took note of:

• the city of Málaga is one of the oldest cities in Europe being 2800 years old and first founded by the Phoenicians
• the Muslims from Africa occupied the city for over 800 continuous years
• the main streets in this area are made of marble which is beautiful but can be slippery
• the word "smurf" in Spanish means a breakfast order--coffee and a sandwich. 
• the street Calle Fresca means "shaded" and the Muslims purposely built these narrow streets at all angles for not only shade from the brutal summer sun but also to thwart invaders
• the fragrant aromas in some areas result from the flowering of the orange trees and the Spanish word for this aromatic fragrance is azahar which is a Muslim term
• regarding oranges as we already know the vast majority of the orange trees we see are bitter oranges used as marmalade jam
• in the Columbus days many sailors got scurvy but not the Spanish sailors as they brought marmalade made with Sevilla oranges (yes, all those trees) on these long sea voyages and that gave them the vitamins they needed
• Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga and we saw the apartment he was born in
• plus, there is a museum devoted to Picasso art pieces that are not for sale - private collector
• the word "siesta" comes from the Romans who enjoyed the nap in the middle of the afternoon to avoid the harsh temperatures of the sun
• the tour finished at 13:20
• we provided 10 Euros each to Maria for the tour and she took a group photo that will be shared with everyone later via email

There are eight (8) different types of coffee orders in Málaga - the one on the farthest right is "cloudy" in Spanish because it comes with the most milk. 

The Málaga Cathedral has Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectural styles. Like other large buildings in the Andalucia area it took a long time to complete so different styles were incorporated. Yup, they do things slowly in southern Spain. 

Given Málaga is the centre of the universe then we must know where everyone else is?  ;-)

 The Málaga Cathedral straight on. The nickname is "the one arm lady" given they did not complete the second bell tower nor the top central structure. There is a bell tower on the left and as you can see no bell tower on the right. They ran out of money in the 17th Century. The Cathedral is the symbol of Málaga. 

Yup, the right bell tower is missing!

This is a very old brick wall on one side of the Cathedral. This is the original wall and it was built by the Muslims many centuries ago in Mudejar style. When the Christians used this wall to begin building their Cathedral they needed to orient it to the north as Muslims build to face the south (Mecca). 

This is a traditional hat worn by men during a specific period of the year which is celebrated by Málagans. The history of this colourful hat worn only by males goes back to Roman times. 

Randy insisted on taking this photo of what is water. It looks like you want to sit on it!

Alcazaba fortress which in Arabic means citadel. It stands at the tallest part of the old section of Málaga and was built of course by the Muslims. Below it is the Teatro Romano which is an ancient Roman amphitheatre that they still use. The Roman theatre was built in the first Century. 

Example of a Tronos. Maria took us into a museum and told us about these tronos which are basically what we would call 'parade floats' but have huge symbolic connotations. Started in the 15th Century this is a parade that occurs over many days and throughout the day around Easter. Each Tronos can weigh up to 4800 kilos! 220 persons will carry each float using some long sticks and bearing the weight on their shoulders. Only males are allowed to do this and they pay for this physical effort lasting up to 12 hours sometimes. Each Tronos can be made of wood, silver and gold. This is an Andalucian tradition passed through the generations. There are 42 'brotherhoods' and they have 2 Tronos each. They wear conical hats (capirote) that look like Klu Klax Klan hoods for this parade and the hats significance is "to touch God". 

One of the two Tronos in the museum. 

Another Tronos in silver.  

An image in the Tronos. 

Explanation of the Tronos "Throne of our Lady"

Capirote pic from the internet. I wonder if the Klan borrowed this idea?

 Viste Empanadas Argentinas was our lunch place this afternoon. Lana noticed it while we were walking after our tour and we decided to give it a try. Surprise as this very casual place was excellent and the guy behind the counter was friendly and interesting. We ordered three empanadas; Chorizo (criollo), Pollo (chicken) and Caprese (tomato and cheese). Very good flavours and fillings with tasty pastry. These are definitely handmade and delicious!! The total for this lunch inclusive of my Alhambra beer and Lana's water was only 8.50 Euro. 

Lana was looking to purchase her new favourite drink being an apple cider. I head straight for their huge wine section and fortunately the shelf stocker understood some English. I showed him pics of bottles of wine we had drank and he indicated which wine they had were 'similar'. The wine is super cheap in Spain and this small place was a great deal for us Canadians. I bought five (5) bottles of wine and the total was around 43 Euros so an average of 8 Euro per bottle. Such a deal. Two of our bottles are Rioja that the stocker confirmed were favourites of the locals. Lana finds her Ladron apple cider (Cider Manzanas) for 1.45 euro a can!! Randy has to say that carrying five bottles of wine in the backpack to our apartment and then up the stairs was pretty good exercise. 

Picture of hanging ham (jamón) in a local deli. 

We returned to our apartment as we needed to figure out our hiking destination for tomorrow and Lana could confirm her spa treatment time for tomorrow. Antonio had recommended Hamman Al Andalus Baños Arabes Málaga for a spa experience that would be considered very Andalusian. We had dropped in earlier and they had no openings for today, but had some openings for tomorrow afternoon. Lana contacts the spa and books a treatment for 18:00 tomorrow. While I was loading the photos for today Lana fell asleep for an afternoon siesta.

My number one goal was to find a good hike that is close to the city. This is not easy. Plus, a hike that has english so directions can be followed. It took quite some time, but I did find a hike for tomorrow that is just east of Málaga and on the coast.

It is still a beautiful sunny day so we want to head for the beach area. It is around 16:00 but still very warm.

Marijuana shop located almost across the street from where we are staying. Is it legal in Spain? It is and it isn't....

We lucked out as we left the central area of Málaga and ended up at the beach area. Firstly though it was a huge promenade with yachts docked, restaurants on both sides of the boardwalk in places and thousands of people wandering about or eating/drinking in the restaurants. This is the famous Costa del Sol that attracts the tourists from everywhere. There are cruise ships docked. We find a seat and just people watch and revel in the warmth of the sun and the sights around us. The Mediterranean is right here in front of us. We can't believe how busy it is here. Some people dressed up in the latest fashions and others very casual. 

One end of this super long and curving promenade/pier. 

One of the many restaurants along the boardwalk. Yup, lots of palm trees! The apartment buildings in hillside behind are right behind the old castle in Malaga. 

More of the boardwalk and as you can see many apartment towers along this strip taking advantage of the views of the ocean and closeness to its fresh air. 

This sign provides a description of the promenade area with listings of restaurants and retail stores and other amenities. 

We walk along the promenade and eventually come to the beach area which is many kilometres long and shaped into a crescent bay. We head down between the two palm trees for the sand and get close to the ocean. We have a seat and take in the salty aromas and people watch. 

The actual ocean with a boat in the distance. A group of young Polish people show up with about three young woman and eight young men. Eventually, two of the young women are tossed into the ocean in great fun and about three or four of the guys. Yup, the water must be chilly given their reactions. A weird sight was thousands of white birds just sitting out in the bay and then they all rose up and flew around in circles before dropping back in the sea but farther out. 

This pic gives you an idea of the crescent shaped bay and the numbers of people enjoying the afternoon. You rarely if ever saw anyone swimming. From what we could see the ocean here is super cold. Very relaxing time for both of us and we are in no rush to get anywhere. 

Oh yeah, we do need to get somewhere as Lana wants to get to the COS store she noticed earlier today. Lana loves COS and this is a must stop today. She is in luck as she finds a belt beg that she loves.

Back to our apartment and then figure out a restaurant destination for tonight and we are both hungry. We can't wait for the usual 20:00 openings and I find a place on Trip Advisor that looks perfect. We get mobile by 19:10 and when we arrive they are booked up with reservations. OK, now we wander the side streets looking for a decent place for Spanish food. This will mean stopping to look at their menus and making a more informed decision. We briefly check out Pampa Grill and an Irish guy comes out to chat us up. He quickly sizes us up as being "Canadians from Vancouver". Pretty good based on our Canadian accents and then we are a mixed couple which is more common on the west coast. Long chat and he comes up with some potential selections for our Spanish dinner. We might head to his place tomorrow. He recommends a place around the corner for high quality tapas: Bar Málaga Restaurante.

We stop in and discover their upstairs dining is not open until 20:00 so we grab the last seat in the counter area. The bartender/server is a friendly guy and speaks decent english. There is no tapas menu as you check out what is in glass refrigerated case and point to what you want. We order a glass of white wine (Verdejo) and a Tinto de Verano. Three tapa dishes are ordered: Octopus salad, Pork Loin in a mustard sauce and Snails. The counter is the only place you can sit and everyone in here is a female. Except for the bartender and myself we are in a huge minority. The tapas are excellent and very different. The total bill was 16 Euros. We are eager to have a churro for dessert and follow the recommendations of Antonio.

Downstairs of Bar Málaga Restaurante - this is where we were seated. No tapas photos today!

Antonio had talked about Casa Aranda located on Calle Herreria Del Rey 1. He indicated this is locally known as the Churro Street. Who can resist a churro street? We can't. Off we go and within a couple of minutes are on churro street. It is a short street and yes every restaurant is a churro place. We are in Churro Heaven and soon will be in a Churro coma!

Yes, you dip your churro into the thick chocolate and then stuff it into your mouth. You dip again into the thick chocolate and repeat until you run out of churros in my case! These are delicious. The best we have eaten anywhere. The churro itself is light and the chocolate amazing bu not too sweet. 

This is how your order comes. When you order you figure out how many churros and then what you want to dip it in? There are numerous dipping choices, but we love chocolate. These churros don't come dusted with cinnamon sugar as is common in North America. Whatever chocolate you haven't dipped then you can spoon it into your mouth. Yup, heaven is a churro. The cost for four churro and two cups of chocolate = 5.50 Euro. I think I might move here...

A beautiful night to walk and we are quickly back to our apartment. Another great day in Málaga with so many good memories. Time to load more photos and update the blog before Lana falls asleep.

STATS:    20,600 Steps and 15 kms and 15 floors.