Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Malaga, Gibralter and on



view of modern Malaga from the Alcazaba, or ancient fortified city.
I´ve had a good stay in Malaga, fairly quiet, except for the Carnival on Saturday and Sunday nights. Cotton in my ears corrected the problem and I´ve slept fine since. The location is excellent.

Yesterday I took the bus to Gibralter, or rather a block from the border crossing into this British holding. I walked across, much as we do at Algondones, Sonora, Mexico. The difference was that coming back was as easy as going over, unlike the long lines at US Customs when returning from dental appointments in Algodones.

I took the tram to the top of The Rock, wandered about, went to the caves, saw the monkeys, and got a glimpse of Africa, just 8 miles across the straights. Otherwise, it was a bit disappointing. The conditions of the ramparts and the caves don´t come close to the historic sites I have seen in Spain. Still, I have seen the place and it easy to see why it had such strategic importance.
I enjoyed the bus ride to and from. Since it was not a direct bus, I saw communities along the way, mostly part of the highly developed Costa Del Sol, with thousands of high rise condominium developments, a few RVs parked near beaches, and the beaches themselves.

I´ve walked a lot in Malaga. Today I took the 24 hour hop on, hop off tourist bus and discovered a couple neighborhoods missed so far. The day was beautiful, warmest to date. So, I actually took off my shoes and socks and stuck my feet in the Mediterranean. That is as much as I wanted to soak....believe me, no one was swimming, although some people actually took off their heavy coats today and enjoyed the sun in shirt sleeves.

Tomorrow I pack and head to the airport for Morocco. My next post will be from somewhere in that country. At this point, I will cease traveling solo, having signed up for an Intrepid Tour (firm from Australia, same one Jaimie and I traveled from Beijing, across Mongolia and Siberia, to St. Petersburg with a few years ago.) I look forward to this new adventure. And my cold seems finally to have subsided so I am feeling fit and ready.

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