Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, what a enchanting city.  I took many pictures, but not many seem to have captured the beauty. the sun was not fully risen until almost 9:00 am.  I am so confused by this.  And now they tell us that sunrise will be at 6:49 tomorrow am.  We are progressing due east.  Did I sleep through this part of science class?

The day began warm, with a soft breeze, then progressed to a lovely Meditteranean hot, with the same soft ocean breeze and no humidity.  We first visited the Alcazaba Palace, an 11th century residence of Arabian Kings built half way up a hill.  The preservation is impressive, the restoration is elegant and amazing.  the fort surrounding the palace winds it's way up a hill near the harbor.  there are castle walls to walk atop, and hidden gardens, and inner rooms so cool and refreshing.  The views of the City became grander as we climbed.

A steep slate path climbs it's way further to the hill top, the Gibralfaro Castle, an ancient Moorish fortress.  The views were vast, to distant mountains, the endless ocean, and olive-groved terraced hills.  We basked in the sun and beauty.

As we searched for the birthplace of Picasso, we took a wrong turn.  We ended up on a walk through a part of this city with no tourists. Our last Spanish port,la Coruna, has adopted the supermarket, Malaga still has local stores: the fish market, the bakery, the produce shop.  We are further enchanted.  it's a large, busy City, but very walkable with small serene parks in the many plazas and elegant hidden alleys.  There are many pedestrian-only streets, with a myriad of brasseries, and tapas cafes.  the Policia del Barrio patrol on large scooters.

We stopped in a little place called Lechuga for tapas and spanish red wine.  It was very busy with spaniards, and we sat at a table outside.  Again, more wonderful food: a pastry with roasted vegetables, cheese, nuts and honey, rollado - a thin spanish meat (like proscuitto) wrapped around an herbed cream cheese, and a crepe filled with gruyere, spices and serrano ham.  Maybe not traditional tapas, but so yummy.  And the spanish table wine, it is always good, like italian table wine and french table wine.  If only, in the states...

another day at sea tomorrow...We have sailed 2640 nautical miles since Copenhagen.  We may encounter our first bad weather

soon.  It is raining  heavily east of us in the Meditteranean, and Tunisia is experiencing flooding due to heavy rainfall.  I don't know which ways storms travel in this ocean, so we may be lucky yet again and bypass the monsoon.

I took no pictures as we sailed away from Malaga.  It was too beautiful.  The ocean was like glass, and the city faded to small villages dotting the shoreline and the hills below the mountains.

As we left the port, as the sunlight dappled and the sea sparkled, as the mountains disappeared into the mist, a small, quiet thought.  For this, and for this only, maybe I would give up my apartment in Paris.