Malaga & mountains

Took a very comfortable local bus to Malaga this week (great value at Euro 3.5). It has an extensive old quarter with some Roman ruins, a castle, & the Picasso museum (including some fabulous early works showing how talented a conventional artist he was at a very early age). In the basement of the museum were some remnants of Phoenician (6th Century BC) & Roman (2nd Century BC) buildings. At the museum the loos were so high tec Sue could not work out how to get wash or flush water - then it turned out to be all automatic anyway!. The Produce Market was 3 large halls of mouth-watering produce (meat, fish & fruit). Lunched on delicious salads in the Plaza de Merced under sunny skies.

Walks this week included a wonderfully scenic route with Gill,Andrew, Sue & Graham. Set off from a small car park area above Frigiliana village & did a circular walk of 13 miles climbing from 400m at the start to 900m at the highest point. Saw a family group of ibex & a half-metre snake crossed the path immediatley in front of us as we walked. Lunched at a remote hotel & got back to the cars just before dusk. Also walked up the rio Higueron to Frigiliana & back Sunday. People-watched in the sunny square whilst we ate a picnic lunch.

With a full moon & storms across the Med in N. Africa, waves have been crashing onto the Nerja shoreline for the lastfew days. This has not deterred the local shore-fishermen who have been out in force in front of our appartment block (& we actually saw a fish caught as well!)