World Cruise Day 71/152 - Granada (Málaga), Spain - Fort, fort, wine

Cruise day: 71/152

Ports days: 23
Sea days: 48
Countries: 10
Continents: 4
Ports: 16

We made the short trip overnight from Gibraltar to Granda (Málaga), Spain.  We docked in Málaga, a southern city on Spain's sun coast.  The city is dominated by its two fortresses, Alcazaba and Gibralfaro.

Today's weather initially sounded promising with no rain and temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s and sun to partly cloudy.  Sounds great, right?  The winds had different ideas.  Winds today were hovering around 23-28MPH and gusting to 45+MPH.  That made walking around on fortress walls pretty entertaining.

We had two tours booked today.  The morning tour, A fortress, a palace & breathtaking vistas, was a four-hour tour with some bus touring, but mostly walking.  the tour visited both fortresses as well as brief walking in Málaga along with a visit to have tapas and wine and listen to what I can best describe as mariachi music.

 

We boarded our bus.  As we waited to depart, a rainbow appeared.  It was faint and the bus windows didn't do anything to help it, but you can make it out right in the center of the photo.  A rainbow in the morning always makes for a great day.

As we drove through the city, our guide recounted some of its history, from the Phoenicians founding it around 770BC to the Moors taking it over and then the Spanish taking control.

You can see the Alcazaba fort in the background

We arrived at the upper fortress, Gibralfaro.  We toured the remains of the fort and took in the views from high atop the hill.

Flags of Spain, Andalucía & Málaga

A scale model shows the upper fort, the lower fort, and the walled channel connecting the two - that is now in ruins but there are plans to restore it

Málaga's bull ring, now only used once each year

The tower of Málaga Cathedral

Our next stop was the Alcazaba Fortress.  On the way, we saw the remains of a large outdoor Roman Theater just outside the fortress.

Our guide also pointed out a glass enclosure on the street.  It shielded the remains of a Roman basic that was used to process fish.

A statue representing winter

And its counterpart represents summer

Then, it was on to visit the Alcazaba fortress.

There were a mix of architectures in the building and finishes, like this Roman column and a Christian ornate cross on top

Decorative archways marked entrances - there were hidden access points where archers could shoot intruders

Inside the center of the fort was a palace area marked with more opulent furnishings and finishes, like this elaborately carved ceiling

How about a solid marble bathtub?

After touring the fort, we headed out on foot through the city.  We passed the iconic cathedral that is visible from just about anywhere in the city. Our guide said that construction lasted over 250 years.

After passing the Picasso museum, we visited a local restaurant where we enjoyed tapas, wine, and mariachi music.

We had to fried potato things with garlic - they were yummy - and crusty bread with a tomato puree and a slice of ibérico pork - also tasty

After that, our bus returned us to the ship.  We had a second walking excursion of the city in the afternoon, but after comparing itineraries, there was enough overlap that we decided to skip it.  The chilly temperatures and biting wind certainly had nothing to do with our decision.  :-)

We decided to take advantage of other passengers being off the ship and did a load of laundry while we grabbed a quick bite in the World Cafe.

In the World Cafe tonight, Chef Thomas paid homage to Spain by providing a wide selection of tapas.  We enjoyed several selections and were finishing up when friends arrived. We opted to stay as they ate and enjoy conversation.  As they finished, other friends arrived, so we all stayed as they ate.  It turned out to be a 2.5 hour time in the World Cafe and it was awesome.  Great food, great conversation, great times.

Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way to Palma de Mallorca on Sunday.