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Travel Photos...Malaga and Orgiva
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I must admit that I wasn't expecting a great deal from Malaga. Much of what I had read online suggested that it was a rather soulless place. The reason I went there was to use its airport to fly out of Spain, on my way home to Oz.

Instead, I found it to be a relaxing place with a charm of its own. There is a new promenade along the shore of the harbour, and it is pleasant to just stroll in the city itself. I also took a day trip by bus from Malaga to Ronda, which was definitely worthwhile. (Check out the Ronda page on the website.)
There are literally miles of beaches on either side of the Port of Malaga.
This is a colourful market in Malaga. Many of the stalls carried seafood of all kinds.
The Spaniards love their Jamon!
They served great Tapas with a lovely Spanish white wine to wash it all down.
That is the Cathedral tower behind the buildings. By the time I had reached Malaga, at the end of my trip, I had been Cathedralledout. I peeped in but wasn't tempted to pay the entry fee. In Spain today, there is no such thing as a free Cathedral! I don't mind paying for my lunch...
This is a view of the Gibralfaro fortress of Malaga. The last Arab ruler had ordered the construction of a fortified link between this fortress, at the top of the hill, and the Alcazaba, which is at sea level. This caused considerable problems for the Christian armies laying seige to Malaga and it took three months to defeat the Moors here.

Apparently, this ancient conflict was the very first occasion that gunpowder was used by both sides in a war in Europe.
A view from the Gibralfaro Fortress.
When I was staying in Granada, I did a day trip to a village called Orgiva (the "g" is pronounced as an "h"). There isn't a great deal to see in Orgiva itself but I chatted up some locals who directed me onto a path up the mountains towards this tiny village of Bayacas. It was a pleasure walking up and down the mountain track.
Bayacas was too small to even have a cafe. Luckily, I had lunch in a restaurant in Orgiva, after my mountain hike. Great cardio! The lunch was healthy too... and delicious.
It had been a very late Spring in Spain... as in the rest of Europe in 2013. The locals told me I was lucky to have so much water gushing down this stream as it was normal for it to be bone dry by the end of May. The water came from the snows of the Sierra Nevada. On the bus driving to and from Orgiva, one could see the snow covered mountains close by.
I suppose you could call this "A Village Too Far". It was way in the distance and I had used my camera's excellent telescopic lens to snap it. I reckon by then I had had enough cardio for the day!
Perhaps some geologist can give us a good account of this harsh terrain.
There were wild flowers and cactus plants all over the mountain.
I met a couple of local ladies out gathering herbs for their dinner.

As ever, I found Spaniards to be very friendly and helpful. They did give me the names of the herbs they were gathering, and I should have written them down. Next time!
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