General information on Malaga
What’s Spanish for brass monkeys?’ I called out along the bus, out of the twenty people or so that are on the top deck, one or two shook their heads by way of a reply, the others sat stiffly as if they have been frozen to their seats, maybe they have expired from a chill wind that’s wormed it’s way down from somewhere in north eastern Europe.
My wife and I snuggled together like young lovers, not for any reason other than to stop our teeth chattering, why had we chosen today, of all days to take an open top bus ride around Malaga, God only knows.
Since last week when the clocks were turned back an hour, the shade has become at least 15 degrees lower than the sunny side of the street, we were now beginning to regret our decision to become tourists, in this the first week of November, Malaga is surrounded on three Sides by relatively high mountains, because of this it normally enjoys the mildest of climates until today’s icy blast.
We had shamed ourselves into doing this excursion when we had realised that after 23 years of being just half an hour from Malaga, all we have ever done is ‘gone in’ to shop, or to get a mainline train going to Seville.
When we had left Benalmadena it appeared to be a warm sunny day, hence me, dressed in a short sleeve shirt and sandals without socks, with my wife looking as if she was off to the July races at Ascot. When we got off the train in the centre of Malaga we quickly realised that the architecture of Spanish cities is devised to protect it’s citizens from long hot summer days, at this time of the year, when the sun begins to turns down it’s thermostat, you soon realise that the normally lovely shady avenues become a haven for Jack Frosts nearest relatives.
A few minutes walk from the train station is the pay booth and bus stop of the Malaga Tour, an open top red bus that for 13 euros you can hop off and on at any of the 14 bus stops dotted around the city.
Bus stop number ONE is at the bus station close to the Larios Centre and the Lanzadera Jardin Botanico, however our journey started from bus stop TWO, just a few minutes walk from the train station by the main Correos and close to the Museo Arte Contemporáneo, as we alighted the driver gave us some very fetching red earphones that colour coded with the bus, at least the earpieces stopped the chill wind from freezing the innards of our skulls.
The voice that came through the cheap plastic, probably Chinese made headphones sounded as if the women had failed her audition of the TV series Desperate Housewives, as the driver released the hand brake a women wearing a coat walked by pushing an empty pushchair, she looked up smiled, ‘Frio’ she called up in glee at my discomfort, I was on the verge of turning blue with the cold, as the first rush of air as the bus moved off towards the next stop.
My wife started a battle with the map she had opened up, to follow the tinny voice on her headphones, the icy wind had turned her fingers into ice lollies, the map started to shred at the folds and almost whipped out of her hands, the woman’s voice on my head phones was beginning to grate with me, had she talk the commentary into an empty can of baked beans while sitting on a beach in August or in front of a roaring log fire, where I now wished I was. Bus stop THREE is by the Port, at Plaza de la Marina, the Port is huge and appears to be growing day by day, all of the top cruise liners dock during their Mediterranean voyages this brings a huge revenue in for the local government.
The architecture is eye catching, wonderful facades that conjure up castanets, swirling skirts and stomping Cuban heeled boots, Bus stop FOUR is in the Paseo del Parque at about 600 metres long with a mini forest of trees collected from the five continents, said to contain 1,000 different types of Flora, which included a magnificent Jacaranda from Argentina, Bamboos of Asia, a Ficus from Australia and the giant bird of paradise from South Africa, in the centre is the Museo Antropológico, with enchanting fountains and statues if you are one of the one million visitors that come to Malaga during the summer here is the place to stroll in the shade nodding and smiling at the locals, who like you seek out a cool refuge from the sun.
Bus stop FIVE is at the Paseo Maritimo Ciudad de Melilla, Playa Malagueta a sandy beach that as you can imagine during the summer months would be occupied like an anthill, however today the only thing that would have felt at home frolicking in the surf would have been Polar bears.
Next stop is number SIX of the 14 stops that dot the route here stands the Plaza de Toros de la Malagueta, with Moorish styles and is circular of course in it’s architecture, have you ever seen a square bullring? Not a favourite place for me as I don’t appreciate bullfighting.
Bus stop SEVEN is the Castillo Gibralfaro, translated as the Mountain of the lighthouse, one of the highlights of the many that grace this city, built by Abd ar-Rahman 1 an 8th century Cordoban emir, it was damaged in several skirmishes and was rebuilt during the 14th and 15th centuries, nothing much remains of the interior.
The views of Malaga originally named Malaca by the Phoenicians are magnificent, on a good sunny summer’s day it is the best view point for photographs of the city.
Bus stop EIGHT is the Santuario de la Victoria, ornate and as the name suggests looks every bit of a sanctuary that is was designed to be, but it does have a gruesome sight hidden away are hundreds of skeletons so beware if you are of a nervous disposition.
Bus Stop NINE is the Plaza Merced, and the place of homage to Malaga’s favourite son Pablo Picasso, originally called Plaza de Riego (watering square) Plaza Merced wrote its own history when on Tuesday October 25th 1881 Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born at number 36, I suppose if anyone was asked to list the top six painters Picasso would come somewhere on that list, however I must confess he is one of my least favourite artist, on one piece of the many the tourist information board gave me was a pamphlet with a painting of a mother and child that Picasso had painted 1921-1922, I think is terribly unflattering to both mother and child, the woman’s hands are huge her fingers resembling a bunch of bananas, no I’m a traditionalist, I like my paintings believable not with people that have one eye or their nose growing out from the back of their head.
But a visit to the house is a must, built in 1861 by Diego Clavero on a plot that was once the Santa Maria de la Paz convent it will capture your imagination of a man and a period of Malaga’s history.
Bus stop TEN is the Alcazaba and Theatro Romano, this is at the lower Western end of the Gibralfaro, this was once the Palace and fortress of the Muslim governors, the building began in 1057 by a man described as the fearsome Granada Taifa ruler Badis, the Alcazaba has a ring of two walls and a large number of defensive towers, with ingenious devised entrance passages to impede attackers, largely rebuilt since the 1930’s one of the three patios still contains an original arch, work continues on the refurbishment, as with the excavation of the remains of a Roman theatre the area is a joy of gardens, Jacarandas flowerbeds and cobbled ramps.
The archaeological museum in the Alcazaba contains many exhibits of Prehistoric, Roman, Visigothic and Moorish times.
Bus stop Eleven is the Cathedral, known locally as the La Manquita, (the one armed) because the southern tower was never completed, building began in the 16th century on the site of a former main mosque, and continued for two centuries, with an 18th century baroque façade, inside it is mainly Gothic and Renaissance, spend a little time taking a closer look at the finely carved wooden choir stalls by a 17th century master of mallet and chisel Pedro de Mena, at the northern side is the Iglesia del Sagrario that has a wonderful late Gothic portal and gilded Renaissance retable. Opposite the Cathedral in the Plaza del Obispo is Palacio del Obispo an 18th century palace that belonged to the Bishop.
A few minutes away is the Museo Picasso and Museo de Malaga in what was called the Malaga’s Juderia (Jewish quarter) in Muslim times, now after Picasso had donated almost two hundred of his works it has many fine examples of the Maestro’s work.
At Bus stop TWELVE is the Alameda just past the Mercado de las Flores, here as if planned by the owners of El Corte Inglés is the large store where you can buy almost everything, we nearly always end up on the top floor restaurant that serves probably the best Tapas, and if this shopping feast does not quench your desires at the end of the bus line just around the corner of the bus station is the Larios centre , with many more shops and outlets to spend your remaining euros.
So what about the day, well we certainly enjoyed our new found discovery of Malaga, not only the did hopping on and off the bus keep us reasonably warm, it also made us feel fit, the one down side was that I wish we had brought a blanket and flask of Coffee, or chosen a slightly warmer day, yes we could have sat down stairs but the sightseeing would not have been the same. One thing in particular brought a smile to my face was the way our big red bus attracted but repelled the suicidal lunatic drivers, who with squealing tires and honking horns speed their way around the city, our bus was like a red rag to a bull, Olé
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