Malaga, Spain

Malaga is on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. It is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. It has a beautiful old town area full of shops, churches and residences. Old town is surrounded by a specular park full of flowering bushes and shade trees. We stayed in a beach front apartment with a great view of the ocean.

The front of the apartment is the beach and the back is a tiny pedestrian street lined with old residential buildings.  In the evening families sit out on their ground floor patio eating and talking, kids play in the street, people stroll down the street visiting with friends and neighbors. It was a glimpse into a Spanish residential community.

 

You really don't know a country until you have navigated its health care system.  We had that opportunity while in Malaga and were pleasantly surprised with the quality of care and facilities.

Rick had developed an infected cyst on his thigh.  It concerned us and was very painful, so we went to the emergency room at the local hospital.  

We did not spend more than an hour in the emergency room. In that time, Rick was admitted into triage, met with the doctor, had an examination, and left with a prescription for antibiotics. Upfront, they charge $600 and after care they refund the portion not needed.  In total it cost us $300. A bargain for the care received.

A Columbian doctor treated Rick. It was just like being in 

Bonaire as we often have Columbian medical professionals treating us and we can access hospitals and specialty care in Columbia. The doctor spoke some English and we speak some Spanish but it was Google Translate that got us through.

Rick saw results in 2 days of antibiotics and will take them for seven.  He is on the mend, but not happy about the "No Alcohol" rule.

We styled our time in Spain to follow their culture:  Breakfast from 8-11, Lunch (the main meal of the day) at 2-4 pm, drinks and tapas at 7 and dinner time starts at 8 -9 pm.  When it got hot outside we would siesta from about 3-6 pm. Most retail stores close at 2 pm and open again from 5-8 pm. Everyone takes a siesta.

 

One of our favorite dishes was the fried aubergine (eggplant) with honey. We ate it everywhere for an appetizer or a tapas plate with drinks (I drank because Rick could not).

 

We typically went out for lunch and had dinner at home.  Our dinners consisted of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit, cheese, bread, olives and a cured meats. Most of the time with wine. The sun sets around 8:45 so that gave us dinner and a show.

Paella was served everywhere and we ate our fair share.
 

Shopping in Malaga was a real experience.  It seems you can buy everything at a hardware store.  It's like our Chinese markets at home...they carry everything and I mean everything.  They are stuffed from floor to ceiling.  

We were in search of two items: a fan and some cheap flip flops for Rick. We found both at the hardware store. We have also figured out European sizes which are different than in the US.  Again, thanks to Google for translating the sizes.

We carried everything home on the bus.  We took the bus everywhere and it was cheap and easy.  You could use a credit card for the bus fare.  The US could learn a thing or two about public transportation from European countries. The trains and busses are easy, cheap and nice.

We are not usually museum people but we had a foggy day and thought we would visit the Picasso museum in Malaga (remember he was born in Malaga and lived here until he was 13). They had a big collection of his work and a history of his life.  We are not fans and didn't really appreciate his crazy stuff.  To prove that we actually went to a museum.....we took a selfie with one of Picasso's pieces.

Next stop is Italy.