21/2/12 Malaga

TUES 21/2

relatively peaceful night at Burriana apart from the 50-60 diesel delivery trucks that sauntered past us in the night.  Hardly any dog noise thank god, Salobrena was a nightmare of doggy play - seemingly 100’s of strays with collars - apparently the Brits come for holidays, buy a puppy, realise the cost/inconvenience of taking it home and then just cut them loose en route to the airport.  

Picasso Museum

The much anticipated early am play on the beach, swim and coast-side Eddie breakfast thwarted by waking late & being the only over-sized, quite obstructive & conspicuous, shiny white motorhome in TinyTown, so headed off up the steep hill and along to Malaga (the ex-Moor port town to Granada and birthplace of Picasso, aspiring cultural centre of Europe 2016 & beginning of the gaudy Costa del Sol & costa de golf stretch).  Intention to find the Museo Picasso, then a park, see the work of the great man, then break on through to the southwest and wherever towards Gibraltar.  All went well, getting better and navigating this big rig through small Euro streets - just smile and toot back and roll on round the corner.

Used Tom (Tom) to find our way on foot from Eddie-park to the Museo but the poor fellow was constantly distressed that we were moving down the footpath, repeatedly telling us to bear left or right or just turn around and go back the other way (thinking we going the wrong way down a 1 way street). 

Malaga Roman Ruins

Found great Roman ruins of an amphitheatre below the obligatory hilltop old Moorish Castle enroute through the cobbled lanes to the Museo de Malaga Picasso - a beautifully presented/restored old building that really only contains a tidbit of the master’s works, which we unanimously agreed as a family we wouldn’t put on our walls even if we could afford it.  In the basement of the building we found a wonderfully exposed/preserved/presented archeological dig of the original part of the building built by the Phoenicians, added to by the Romans, then the Moors.  Wow the layers of history all there - we only have 2 layers of human history in Oz.  

Med Sunset

Overnight stop Med beach 

Mama’s blackbag snacks (dried apricots, nuts and dried maize) before coffees/hot chocs at a cafe in the sun, then up to Eddie and allowed Tom to guide us back onto the motorway heading SW.  No TomTom conniptions this time, we were happy to stick to the road!  Trundled along on the great superhighway past condo after condo of apartment blocks, most of which looked vacant and then turned off to find a spot to kip for the night, down a lane, past the cops and onto a pebbly beach less than a kiddy stones throw from the Mediterrenean, great sunset to boot!  A few fisherman, always smoking, everyone smoking, huge closed up mansions next to us, awesome sunset, the sound of tiny waves lapping the pebbly shore, soup & fresh bread - is this legal?? So far, our quietest night. We’ll take our chances.