Written by Kim
We enjoyed our 9 days at sea aboard Wonder but we’re anxious to put our feet on land in Europe. Our first point is Malaga, the gateway to Costa Del Sol. What a gorgeous stop. They enjoy a microclimate similar to tropical weather with very little rain only about 60 days a year. That of course creates other challenges which have resulted in desalination of sea water for irrigation and drinking water. We had a truly gorgeous day which was cool in the am – high sixties but low to mid 70s and sunny most of the day.
We joined our tour at the terminal. It was a shared tour with a big bus but only 16 people on the tour. Our tour will take us in a big triangle around the Andulsia region – Malaga – Ronda – Mijas.
We drove a little over an hour outside Malaga to the west to our first city, Ronda. Ronda means surrounded by mountains and was a beautiful city with a high gorge about 100 meters deep.
Michael our tour guide explained that tourism is one of the drivers of the economy but also there are lots of citrus and olive groves. 80% of the olives are made into olive oil. We also saw all their wind turbines. Spain is working to increase its renewable energy which is currently around 20%.
When we reached Ronda our tour guide walked us into the main square from where we parked the bus then we had 2 hours to walk around and explore. We met at the bullring. We learned that there are 6 bullfighters and 3 bulls in a normal bullfight. Bullfighting is a national pastime in Spain and the notoriety of the fight depends on where the bulls are bred. The most famous fights are the first weekend in September and many cities actually have a festival around the fight. Some cities have 3 fights a year. Others have up to 13 but it’s not a weekly even but quite inexpensive only about 6 € to get in. Bullrings are often used for concerts or political rallies when there isn’t a fight. Along the way, Alex and I stopped for a coffee and some tapas.
Ronda had a few famous people who frequently visited. Ernest Hemingway got inspiration from his visits. Orson Wells did too. Orson was actually buried in Ronda
We had another 90 minute drive through the mountains to Mijas. The drive reminded us a lot of driving through the mountain in California. Windy roads along the mountain side with fantastic views, fabulous homes and golf courses.
Mijas was a much smaller city than Ronda. It was very quaint with lots of shops and restaurants. It’s quite hilly so donkey taxis are the at to get around if you don’t want to walk. We walked around a bit and grabbed a quick pizza and some beers with Patty & Tony.
We did lots of walking today – over 12,000 steps so took it easy when we got back to the ship
Next port Cartegena tomorrow..,,
