Malaga

Message on the Malaga Tourist Hostel

A short trip from historic Granada is the city of Malaga. I included this in my Spain itinerary after much debate. Initially, I had chosen Cordoba, a historical sight in central Spain. But I realized it was going to be a historical overkill with Granada, Seville and Cordoba. Instead, I decided on Malaga. It is a peppy beach town stringing almost the edge of the Mediterranean, not very far off from Gibraltar. The coast of Africa is a short ferry ride across the blue waters. Warm winds blow from the Sahara and give Malaga a climate which it is justifiably proud of. One of the ancient cities it prides itself on being one of the oldest in Europe. It has seen almost continuous habitation from the prehistoric times. Remains of a Roman amphitheatre, now mostly underground, is mute evidence of its glorious history. But that is not all. It is a prosperous city with a busy port and is one of the largest cities in Spain. This is reflected in its boulevards and the business district. Some highrises and boxy buildings make up the skyline. We stay in a hostel-like accommodation, which is spacious and pleasant but little else. No lifts. So we lug our hefty baggage three floors up. By mid-afternoon, we are settled and trudge to the nearest beach. But first, we head to the Museu Picasso. Malaga is also the birthplace of the venerable Picasso. While most of his work was accomplished elsewhere, this small Museum set up by his daughter, displays the early and minor works of art by the master. No photography is allowed. The crowd is thin and it is an easy saunter inside the museum. The audio guide helps decipher the otherwise enigmatic works of art. The museum has a collection of sculpture made by Picasso as well. After finishing with the museum we continue to the beach. The walk takes us past the university, a large park and the Centre Pompidou. It is not as big as its namesake in Paris but is a pleasant sight. The beach is clean and has several showers conveniently placed. Even in the afternoon, it is populated. We lie on the sand while our kids play in a small children’s area. They are joined by a much smaller lonely kid, Francis, who is seemingly roaming all by himself. He speaks a smattering of English and is soon friends with my kids. We contemplate the Mediterranean. Two Spanish warships are in sight, anchored. They look pretty harmless. I am reminded of the mighty Spanish Armada of yore. There could not be a starker contrast!


The Cathedral of Malaga
In the evening we get enticed by a Thai eating joint and have rice which somehow reminds me of home. There is a Flamenco show and it looks cheap. In fact much cheaper than what shows were in Barcelona or Madrid. We move into a large hall which has a makeshift stage. There is a crowd of about 50 people of varying nationalities. This is clearly a show tailormade for the tourists. As we sip on our complimentary drinks, the main performer goes into a long monologue in Spanish. This is interrupted occasionally by the guitarist. It takes me some time to realise, that the guitarist is actually translating the monologue into English! The dull atmosphere lights up once the performance begins. Flamenco, as depicted in movies and TV is actually very different. The dance is indeed very fast-paced and has incredible footwork. We are mesmerized for a while. Nevertheless, soon I find my kids dozing off. They are tired after the day’s hectic travel from Granada and playing on the beach. As the dance finishes, we cajole them into walking the roughly 750 metres back to the hostel. On looking back it is a bit too much for a day and I keep wondering if Cordoba would have been better.

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Comments

KP said…
Picasso from Malaga!!
Rohit from kochi, early work at AFMC!!
pallavi_13 said…
Hope to see you wondering n experimenting such places,
ALOK KUMAR said…
As usual nice write-up Rohit ji👌. For a person like me who has never been to Spain, it's difficult to remember all but the place linked to Picasso will remain in my memories. As we all know Europe is full of history as they keep documenting events and keep preserving memories with all the historic statistics much like cricket...
Your inputs will be much useful when I plan my trip to Spain...
Unknown said…
Dear Robot
Your narration is as always too good. Keep it up and keep posting.
Deepak
ED said…
Very nice
Thanks for sharing
Quite interesting and engrossing.
Keep blogging!
Sonalika kar said…
Excellent narration skills you have Rohit..👍👍👍
Your writing style is as charming as the places you describe.
Lucky you that you get chance to visit such beautiful place

And memarizing write up is added cherry on the cake

Over all a great post

A good travelogue
Srishti said…
Wow, beautiful pictures with excellent narrations. Totally mesmerized. 🧡
Malanga is so much more than just a peppy beach town. Your picturesque writing had .e engrossed in reading your entire post.
Rashi Roy said…
That's one beautiful place. Glad you shared the details with us. Very well written.
Sarah said…
Very well written post I must say this place is truly mesmerising and I would love to visit it sometime soon
Neha Jain said…
Thanks for sharing your experience it is such a nice place I would pin it for my travel diaries
written with lots of interesting and useful inputs
Pragnya said…
It was interesting to view the historic city with beaches via your eyes and narration.
Your post really transported me to the place and that’s the win of a writer
Geethica said…
A guitarist translating the monologue into English? That must be interesting and you must have enjoyed to the fullest.
What a lovely travelogue! I'm tempted to include Malaga in my itinerary for Spain next, mostly because how you described the Mediterranean sea.
Shashank said…
Quite interesting facts. would be of great help when i plan my visit to Spain
Manisha said…
Manisha - Such an amazing place. I would surely include this when I travel to Spain.
Rohan Kachalia said…
There are places which most of us don't know and you made me transport there with all the details and description.
Sush said…
Excellent... Like the intricacy
sorry never head about this place, but it looks quite interesting to explore:)