Day 4-Day 8 – Malaga

Day 4 – Travel day today, Tarifa to Malaga by bus. Malaga is the capital of Andulusia and the birthplace of Pablo Piccaso located on the Costa Del Sol. Founded in about 800 BC by the Phoenicians, called Malaka.

It was later dominated by the Carthaginians before becoming a Roman colony, Flavia Malacita, after the Punic Wars. During the Roman era, the city prospered and was connected to other major Roman centre’s.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the city was occupied by Germanic tribes, including the Vandals. In the 8th century, it came under Islamic rule, which lasted for several centuries.

The city was conquered by the Catholic Monarchs in 1487. The 16th and 17th centuries were marked by challenges like epidemics and flooding an in the 19th century, Malaga experienced rapid industrialization, becoming the second most important province in Spain after Barcelona.

The 20th century saw periods of economic decline and social unrest, but also the development of new infrastructure like the hydroelectric operation and trams. More recently, Malaga has become a major center for tourism and technology.

Along the road to Malaga.

Not all buildings in Spain are old.

There is a lot of this type of development going on along the coast. Many are private golf clubs. That’s accommodation for 10s of thousands of people. I can see why some locals are upset.

Back to old buildings and fancy churches.

Located in the same place where the camp of the Catholic Kings was located during the conquest of Málaga in 1487, Santuario Santa Maria de la Victoria, is dedicated to the Virgin of the Victory, to whom was attributed the Christian victory. Therefore, she was named as saint patron of the city.

Due to deterioration it was decided to build a new church, whose work ended in 1700, being driven by the Count of Buenavista.

Bell tower and garden adjoining the church.

I preferred the church in Tarifa. It had a sense of peace and calm inside whereas this one felt cold and not particularly inviting.

Love the tiles you see on the walls and found this lovely wee house on the walk back to my room.

View from the rooftop terrace.

Day 5 – I spent a few hours wandering down to the beachfront, along the foreshore before finding my way the the bullfighting arena for a look round. Once there, you are get an audio guide so that you can walk through the place at your own pace. It was well done, informative and well worth the 14 Euros I thought.

After experiencing beaches in Australia for many years I must admit I find this beach a little disappointing. The sand is very coarse and not something you want in your undies or sandwiches. I guess we’re very spoilt for beaches in Australia and in New Zealand.

La Malagueta, inaugurated in 1876, is the heart of bullfighting in Málaga. Designed by Joaquín Rucoba in the Neo-Mudéjar style, it symbolizes the city’s economic prosperity. It has been a Cultural Heritage Site since 1981

La Malagueta, a First-Category bullring, has a capacity of 9,032 seats divided into 8 sections. From the Presidential Box, the president communicates decisions using handkerchiefs of different colours to signal key moments of the event.

The bulls arrive at the bullring 2 to 3 days before the event and are distributed in the pens through a system of gates, where they undergo veterinary inspections. A few hours before the show, the draw takes place.

The pens, the anteroom to the ring. house the bulls just before the fight. This narrow space has an air conditioning system designed to protect the bulls from the heat during the Malaga Fair in August.

Every year, the Plaza de Toros de La Malagueta hosts the Picassian Bullfight, a celebration that pays tribute to the Málaga-born artist Pablo Picasso, whose work and passion for the world of bull-fighting have left an indelible mark on art history.

La Malagueta’s infirmary has two operating rooms, a triage room, a hospitalisation area, and a medical office. From here, bullfighting medicine has saved many lives but has also witnessed tragedies, such as the death of the great bullfighter “El Litri” in 1926. There have been 8 deaths here.

I would love to see all of the pomp and ceremony prior to the actual bullfighting as I’m sure it would be a great spectacle. However, I have no desire to see a bullfight.

The University of Malaga.

There is a wonderful park that goes for a number of blocks. Great to stroll through on a hot day. A number of fountains and a variety of plants with a good number of seats to sit on. It was a great spot to sit and have a snack.

The little donkey statue is from the book, Platero and I by Juan Yamon Jimenez. It is a 1914 Spanish prose poem.

Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación de Málaga was very busy today, probably more so because it’s Sunday. I think I’ll come back through the week for a look through. You can either buy tickets online or at the gate and you get an audio guide to go with – 10 Euros.

Church of St. Augustine (Augustinian Fathers)Iglesia de San Agustín, just round the corner from the Basilica.

Yep, a couple more fountains.

Day 6 – a day trip to Setenil and Ronda. First stop Setenil (full name Setenil de las Bodegas) which is about an hour or so out of Malaga. I went on an organized day trip which had its pros and cons. Pros, someone else did the driving and a tour guide with info. Cons 50+ other people on the bus on top of the others 5 or 6 buses going from other companies. Even so, once the initial mass descended on the town, people did seem to spread out a bit so with a bit of patience, good timing and or luck you could get some good photos.

An earlyish morning start.

Named after its once flourishing wineries – bodegas – Setenil is probably unique among white villages, of Andalucia. Where most were built on protective bluffs and pinnacles, this town grew out of a network of caves in the cliffs above the rio Trejo north-west of Ronda. Its white houses seem to emerge from the rocks, and some have rock roofs and even olive groves on their roofs.

There has been a human settlement here since at least the Arabic period in the twelfth century. Given the evidence of other nearby cave-dwelling societies, such as those at the Cueva de la Pileta west of Ronda, where habitation has been tracked back more than 25,000 years, it is possible that Setenil was occupied much much earlier. It was certainly occupied during the Roman invasion of the region in the first century AD.

Modern Setenil begins in 1484, relatively late in the Christian Reconquest, when the Christian armies expelled its Moorish rulers.

The full name Setenil de las Bodegas dates from the 15th century, when its new, Christian, rulers developed an agricultural base of olives, almonds and vineyards. The first two still flourish on the hills and rooftops of Setenil, but its wine trade was wiped out by the phylloxera insect infestation of the 1860s, which effectively destroyed most European vine stocks.

Buses are not able to drive into town so we parked up about a 10 minute walk out of town.

After 1 1/2 hours it was back on the bus on the road to Ronda about a 35 minute drive. Once again we had about a 10 minute walk from where the bus dropped us off to the “must see” spots of town were.

Ronda is divided on both sides of the Tajo del Ronda, a gorge more than 100 metres deep. Its historic quarter has been declared a Property of Cultural Interest. Celts, Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs inhabited these lands, which were reconquered by the Catholic Monarchs.

The old quarter, with its reminiscences of Arab architecture and medieval layout, is spread over the south of the Guadalevín, while the more modern Ronda, which arose from the 16th century onwards, extends to the north of this riverbed.

Three bridges span the gorge more than 100 metres deep and lead to the other end of the city. The Arab Bridge was built in the 14th century and served as the entrance to the old quarter. The so-called Old Bridge consists of a single arch about 10 metres in diameter. However, the most emblematic of them all is the New Bridge, a colossal work of engineering that links the neighbourhoods of the market and the city. It dates back to the 18th century (Started in 1759 and completed in 1793.) Its foundations sit at the base of the ravine, reaching 98 metres in height and 70 metres in length at some points.

The views from both sides of the New Bridge.

The statue on the left is of Antonio Ordonez, it was his family house I found in Tarifa. The statue I’m in front of is another of the Ordonez family (Cayetano). The whole family featured at the bull ring in Malaga as well.

Day 7 – A day trip to the Caminito del Rey. Saw some amazing scenery today.

The original walkway was built as a means to build and maintain the new hydro electric plant back in 1901-1905.

Over the years itfell into disrepair until it was officially closed in 1989. However. People came to walk the path but after a number of accidents and deaths, 30m of the path was removed in 2000 to stop people using it. However, local mountaineers determined to still use the path, set up a guide wire (still there today) and acted as unofficual guides taking visitors along the path.

In 2013 a contractor was employed to build a new pathway. This was completed in late 2014 with the official opening in spring 2015.

Saw this as I was waiting for the bus. I decided to call it a “Picasso” car. Google AI tells me it is a prototype of the upcoming Audi RS5, which is currently undergoing testing. The car is covered in a black and white camouflage wrap, which is common for test vehicles to obscure their design details. Take your pick.

Along the way we stopped at the wee town of Adares for lunch. This is the town we drove past yesterday with the hilltop fort.

This was a little unexpected in such a small town.

It was a 2 minute walk to this 230m long tunnel before emerging to stunning scenery.

Organised chaos and another hard hat day.

One of the hordes today.

On the right, this shows one of the water aquaducts that needed maintaining.

All steel including the netting is now stainless steel.

Our group caught up with the one in front and the next group was right behind us.

Not all of the pathway was clinging to the side of a cliff. Got to see one of the wild goats just off to one side of the track.

Some work being done on the wall beneath the walkway.

Day 8 – Off to the Picasso museum. Picasso was born 25th October 1881 in Malaga Spain. He didn’t spend much time here as his family moved to Barcelona and France for better opportunity. He did return frequently to Malaga for holidays.

During his life he created sculptures, ceramic works, theatre scenes and attire for characters and also had time for a small number of literary works.

The museum is in the Palace of Buenavista and comprises more than 200 paintings, graphic works and ceramics.

Something I wasn’t expecting was the ruins in the basement of the building dating from the Phoenicians – 6th Century BC and the Romans – 16th Century.

Outside the museum and around the corner, a Roman amphitheatre. It was discovered in 1951 during works to construct another building.

Tomorrow it’s down to thebus station to catch a bus to Cotdoba…..