With
a population of 600,000, it is the second-most populous city of Andalusia and
the sixth-largest in Spain. The southernmost large city in Europe, it lies
on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) of the Mediterranean,
about 100 kilometers (62.14 miles) east of the Strait of Gibraltar and
about 130 km (80.78 mi) north of Africa.
Málaga's
history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the
world. It was founded by the Phoenicians as Malaka about
770 BC, and from the 6th century BC was under the hegemony of Ancient
Carthage. Then, from 218 BC, it was ruled by the Roman Republic and
later the Roman Empire as Malaca (Latin). After the
fall of the empire and the end of Visigoth rule, it was under Islamic rule
as Mālaqah for 800 years, but in 1487, the Crown of Castile gained
control after the Reconquista. The archaeological remains and monuments
from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian eras make the historic center
of the city an "open museum", displaying its history of nearly 3,000
years.
This important
cultural infrastructure and the artistic heritage have culminated in the
nomination of Málaga as a candidate for the 2016 European Capital of
Culture.
The
internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, Hebrew poet
and Jewish philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol and the actor Antonio
Banderas were born in Málaga.
We are docked in Malaga, but we went to the small town of
Nerj to see a cave. Spain is a very clean and interesting country.
We headed deep underground and high above the Mediterranean
to the magnificent caves and historic village of Nerja. We went to the Nerja
Caves, a stunning world of natural and archaeological significance. Artifacts
uncovered here point to human and animal habitation as far back as 25,000 BC. Here
there were massive stalagmites and stalactites, the world widest column found
in a cave, and a vast natural amphitheater used as a concert venue.
This cave was discovered by five young boys on January 12,
1959. They went down this very small hole trying to figure where the bats were
coming and going to.
They could not very far down as a stalagmite was blocking
their way. The next day they came back with a hammer and broke the stalagmite
and got into this large room. In there they found bones and lots of bat dong.
They thought the bones were from those fighting in the Spanish Civil War
earlier in the century. They went back and told their parents, who told the
police. When the bones were examined it was determined that they were prehistoric.
Here is the statue dedicated to them.
The boys were given monetary compensation and hired on as porters.
Those the people that keep the cave up, and today their ancestors are working
there as porters. What we see today in the cave is only 1/3 of what is there.
The other 2/3 has even bigger rooms than the ones we saw. But, to access that
you have to have special permission and they use ropes and wear helmets. The
portion of the cave was also founded by one of the boys when he was working in
the cave and exploring.
We took so many pictures as it was so beautiful and amazing.
I will break it into the four halls that we visited. The first was the Hall of
the Nativity. It is called that because they used to set a nativity scene up in
here at one time.
Next was the Hall of the Waterfall, which is the concert
hall. They do concerts in this part of the cave. This is also where the boys
initially came into and where they found all the bones. They think this was
where they buried their dead.
We then went to the Hall of the Ghosts. It is names this
because some of the stalagmites and stalactites look like ghosts.
The last hall we went to was the Hall of the Cataclysmal. This
is where the 33-meter stalactite is. It is in the Guinness Book of World
Records as the tallest ever.
From the caves, we went down to the small town of Nerja. The
population of this town is about 20,000, but when they have visitors, it gets
much bigger. We were there on Sunday and they were having a long weekend
through Tuesday, so it was very crowded. It is a beautiful white washed town
sitting right on the Mediterranean.
There was also a small statue in the town honoring the boys
who found the cave.
We then went back to the ship for lunch. We still had about
three hours till we sailed, so we went into the town of Malaga for a few hours.
We missed the shuttle bus and did not feel like waiting for 30 minutes so we
walked in, it was only about a 15-minute walk. It is a very pretty town, again
right on the Mediterranean.
This is the fifth time we have sailed into a port in Spain,
but I have never seen a bull ring. There is one here in Malaga, so we left the
beach to find it and we did.
This is the fifth time we have sailed into a port in Spain,
but I have never seen a bull ring. There is one here in Malaga, so we left the
beach to find it and we did.
And this is some of the artwork on the wall in the plaza
around the arena.
That evening we sailed by the Rock of Gibraltar around 10
PM.
Now, finally a sea day after a lot of ports in a row. Two
ports left, Porto, Portugal and Greenwich (London), England.
