Last night the MS Nieuw Amsterdam passed through the Straits of Gibralter to enter the Mediterranean. As we pass through this narrow channel you could see the lights on both sides of the ship. To the south the coast of Morroco and the north Spain, before passing by Gibraltar where we could see the Rock of Gibraltar lit up.
Malaga
Early this morning the ship arrived in the second Spanish Port and the first port inside the Mediterranean. Malaga is the fifth largest city in Spain with a population around 570,000. The city is surrounded by some beautiful countryside. Some is very close to the city and some along the coast as you leave the area.
The arrival into Malaga on this morning in the predawn twilight was quite special. I am glad that I just happened to wake up a little early and had the chance to capture some pictures as the ship was docking.
Malaga Sights Tour
Today I organised a tour to see the sights of Malaga, which was one of the shore excursions offered by the ship. The tour started out travelling by bus to Gibralfaro Castle before a walking tour around the city of Malaga.
Gibralfaro Castle
The tour started with a visit to Gibralfaro Castle, which is located on a hill that overlooks the city of Malaga. There are views here that look both inland and out to the sea, that are just spectacular.
The view, of course, is just the first thing that catches you attention. There is also a small museum displaying artefacts from the castle, as well as some examples of the period clothing. However, there are plenty of other bits and pieces of information that are very interesting.
One aspect is a number of native trees around the castle with information about their origins. Additionally, there are still some interesting aspects of the structure that still remain. One of them is the guard house pictured below.
Walking Malaga
When you are walking around Malaga there are a couple of considerations to take into account. The primary one is especially important in wet weather, and that is the marble footpaths. A result of large amounts of marble found in the surroundings hills. The problem is the marble is quite smooth and when it is wet becomes quite slippery.
The large and close supply of marble also means that it is used in features in many of the buildings around town as well. Such as the one pictured below with the marble columns and archway of the entrance.
Port Of Malaga
The tour went for around half the day and after getting something to eat back on board the ship I went for a walk. I did not have to go far to find some interesting sights around the Port of Malaga area. It is quite a good area with shops and cafes, many of which seem to be rather new. But they still seem to be popular with the locals already.
One feature along the port area that caught my attention was the lighthouse. It is slightly different to some lighthouses I have seen with a square base and topped with the traditional round type of lighthouse building.
The new development also includes a rather internet look walking. Albeit a rather impractical covering to the walkway that does not provide shade or protection from rain. So I guess it could more so be called a piece of art, that does in a way form the shape of a wave.
Malaga City Views
The final stop I made on the way back to the ship was to get a photo looking back at the city of Malaga. It is in this general direction that the sun would set this afternoon. A very similar view to this that I would miss capturing after not taking my camera to dinner. Sometimes it does leave me to wonder that how many great photo’s are left untaken.
Malaga is like many other ports I have visited recently, a city I would love to return one day. The city is quite beautiful and with more time would be fantastic to explore a little more in depth.