MALAGA, SPAIN

May 29, 2004

After leaving Madeira we had another day and ½ of voyaging before arriving in Malaga, Spain.  We passed through the Straits of Gibraltar early in the morning before we arrived.  I looked out the window, but it was still dark and I could only see some lights on the Moroccan shore as we pushed along.  But, it was still exciting to imagine exotic women in veils and mysterious men in robes and strange headgear watching as our ship passed by.

When we arrived in Malaga it was time for Don and I to say our goodbyes to Pauline and Jerry, our tablemates, friends, and crew.  Then we settled our bill and left our sea-going home for dry land.  I think we were both experiencing some departure anxiety as we left the security of the Lirica and set off to find the Avis car rental office and pick up our car.

After finding Avis and getting the car arranged we decided to stroll around the city.  Right away we spotted the excavated Roman Theater and went in to explore the extensive excavations of an old walled city.  While we were there we saw several children all dressed up in fancy clothing.  The boy had on a white suit with a sash, like a little prince, and the girls had on full-length ruffled white dresses, gloves and fancy little purses.  These children were being followed around and posed by videographers while their families, who were also in dressy outfits, followed behind.  After some discussion, Don and I decided that these kids had just had their confirmation in the church and the day was being recorded for posterity. 

While in Malaga we also visited the Picasso museum, which displayed 262 original sketches and finished pieces by the artist.  It was interesting to see that Picasso’s earliest works were done in the conventional style.  As he matured we could see his famous abstract style begin to emerge, at first just a bit, and as time went by, becoming more and more strange and out of kilter.  It was very interesting to see the progression.  Also there were several sets of preliminary sketches along with each final painting and it was interesting to see how his ideas evolved.  Don and I agreed that by the end of his career he was just playing with us all and pushing the envelope to see how weird he could get before the public just said, “This is garbage!”  We think he had quite a sense of humor and must have gotten a big laugh out of the accolades he received for his works.

After the museum we strolled around a bit more and found the Salvador Dali exhibit, but of course it was siesta time and the museum wouldn’t be open again until 6pm.  We didn’t want to wait around that long, so we got in our car and headed east along the coast.  The Avis guy recommended a town called Nerja,so we stopped there and arranged a room for the night.  We were right on the Mediterranean Sea and watched for the Lirica to pass by, but didn’t see her.  Don took a swim in the beautiful, huge pool and fell asleep on the lawn chair.  I read my book and waited for him to come upstairs, not knowing he was asleep.  I finally fell asleep myself, reading, and slept like a log.  At some point Don came up and went to bed too.