Malaga Moments

After speeding to Cornwall to visit family for the weekend, we took off from London under a grey sky to arrive in the sun-soaked Costa del Sol. The sun was still shining in Plymouth harbour on Sunday, but, despite the clear sky, it didn't seem to be working very well. In contrast, the sun in Malaga shines gloriously from dawn to dusk and we are already getting a tan. Our hotel is close to the centre of the city and our first stop was to visit the markets.
Malaga, the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, is a Meditteranean fishing port so it's not surprising that the fresh fish is abundant...

Many stalls in the markets also have amazing displays of some of the finest and freshest fruits and vegetables.
Andalucia is the warmest part of Spain with a sub-tropical climate and its farms and greenhouses keep Europe supplied with produce throughout the winter. Apart from all the locally grown produce in the markets we were delighted to find one of our favourite tropical fruits - red dragon fruit, (known here as fruta del dragon rojo)...

These succulent, fragrant fruits are simply heavenly in the tropics. However, we are very close to Morocco so we shouldn't be surprised to find products more common to Africa. A Saharan sandstorm blanketted this area recently and some of the the streets and plazas are still coated with red dust. Pedestrians rule in Malaga and vehicles are banished from many of the wide, tree-lined, streets where shoppers can idly dream of buying a lady's fan or a new sombrero...

Elegant buildings line the major shopping streets...

In the centre of the city we find one of Malaga's treasures - the Cathedral...

The Cathedral was begun in1528 but was never truly finished because of lack of funds. The present building was completed in 1782 by placing a tax on all ships entering the harbour - especially those bringing the riches that the Conquistadors were looting from the newly colonised territories of South America. However, it still only has one tower instead of the planned two because the funds ran out. This is the stub of the unfinished south tower...

They may get around to the second tower one day, but the Cathedral's many side chapels are especially well endowed with gold and precious objects...

The enormity of Cathedral is breathtaking. The vaulted ceilings soar a hundred and thirty seven feet above us...

Next time we will visit Malaga's greatest treasure - the 11th century Moorish fortress known as the Alcazaba, but today we will stroll under the palm trees in the warm afternoon air, listening to the flocks of mating parakeets and breathing the delicious scents of orange blossom and jasmine. This is heavenly...

But back to earth where preparations are well under way for Santa Semana, (Holy week - next week), when hundreds of thousands of people will crowd into the city to watch processions of elaborately decorated religious thrones bearing effigies of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Chaos will ensue as the thrones weighing upwards of 4,000 kilogrammes are carried through the streets for 8 hours by as many as 250 barefoot, hooded, men. We will miss the weeklong events in Malaga but similar sights await us in Cadiz and Granada.