Quote du Jour

 "I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list."

                                         - Susan Sontag

Málaga, Same Same, but Different

Judy. We almost decided not to come to Málaga this year. Our big plans were for Colombia. But something tugged in us to return for our fourth stay, so Ted did his usual investigating to make it happen.

On our first visit here, we found an apartment in Centro, mere steps from the Cathedral. It was small, but chic, and our Airbnb host lived right across the hall. True, it was tourist central when we stepped outside the door, but it did the trick for the time being. When we decided we'd return, we, as Ted put it, "walked till we couldn't hear English, then rented a place."

That apartment was gorgeous, with a killer view overlooking the Mediterranean. Again, our hostess lived above us, and was gracious, even giving us a deal on our next visit. So we returned for stay three.

BUT, the price was climbing, and so were we--up the equivalent of six floors from the main street to our front door, then another flight into the apartment. Good for our hearts, but lousy for my bum hip.

So we went further out for this, our fourth visit, to El Palo, a former fishing village turned suburb of Málaga. We'd been here for lunch, along the beach, and found it delightful. Ted found a sixth floor apartment (with elevator!) facing the street, only four blocks from the beach.

Our tiny living room

Bedroom

Beautiful? No. Chic? Not in the least. Our tiny home is Ikea at its best. The view is of apartments across the street and of the mountain houses behind it. No view of the sea. But its clean and comfy, and this little suburb feels REAL, much like our working class home in Oaxaca.

View from the bedroom

Ah, but from the roof!

The Mercadona (grocery store) and the mercado are a few short blocks away. On the corner is a cafe with churros y chocolate, and next door to that is the Wa Ha Ha, a small Asian-owned market, a tiny version of WalMart. If Wa Ha Ha (how can you help smiling at the name!) doesn't have it, you definitely don't need it. Several fruterias and verdurias have the most beautiful  fruits and vegetables for sale, at ridiculously low prices.

Málaga version of WalMart

Gambling by the bus stop

On another corner is one of the many Salones de Juegos (gambling machine salons), though I've yet to see anyone going in there. I found a nearby second hand store and a sweet, tiny yoga sangha with only spots for ten women--my age. The cost? 50 euros a month. Furthermore, Ted has found a pickleball group a mere bus ride further out.

Patio of Fishermen's cottages

Entrance to cottage

Walkway between cottages

To get to the beach, we walk past delightful "fishermen's cottages", now mostly homes and rentals. They're lovely, but the 4-floor plan, with the bathroom one to two levels below the bedroom is a bit much for these septugenarians. But then we arrive at the beach! There's a wide bike- or walking path between the chiringuitos (fish restaurants) and the brown-sand beaches. The Mediterranean twinkles in the sunlight, and the skies are dark at night.

We can walk the path the three miles into the city, or turn and walk further out to hamlets with funny names like El Dedo (the finger), and beautiful views of the sea.

Pointy finger at El Dedo

Views up the beach

Chiringuitas on the beach are packed on sunny days 

A fifteen-minute bus ride (about .50 each) takes us to the city, where we can access our favorite tapas bar. In another twenty minutes, we're at the train station or a new favorite restaurant.

Met up with Martha, whom we first met in Oaxaca, at our favorite tapas bar

Just past the train station is a fantastic new restaurant to us

Our little church, St. George's Anglican, is on the same bus line. And what a welcome we received there! 

Ted at St George's

It's good to be back, and in some ways very different, but we know our way around, and are ridiculously happy to be here. yep, as our Indonesian friends would say, it's "Same same, but different!"

Travel gear

Ted. After eight years of non-stop travel, we have come up with the following list of the essential little stuff that we carry. Everything here has been used at least one time and some items get used on every trip.

Must haves, regardless of the length of the trip: 

Silicone putty earplugs - for the most restful sleep wherever you end up. Even after eight hours, we can't feel them at all!

Mini first aid kit - zip lock bag containing bandaids, gauze pads, first aid creme, alcohol wipes, small scissors, adhesive tape, sun screen, ibuprofen, cough drops, etc

Emergency pack of prescription antibiotics (ask your doctor)

Pocket sized shopping bag

 

Zip lock bags (qt & gal)

Air Tags in luggage

Additional items for longer trips, especially international:

Money belt

Universal power adaptor plug

Shampoo bar (can’t leak)

Laundry detergent strips (also can't leak)

Mini clothes line & clothes pins - for drying laundry & swimsuits, pinning closed curtains and lots of other things (check dollar stores)

Blue tooth speaker

HTMI - HTMI cord (connects laptop to TV's anywhere for streaming Netflix, etc)

Portable luggage scale (airlines are now real sticklers about that 50 lb max)

Zip ties (to seal up luggage - but keep nail clippers in carryon to remove)

Phone Apps

Airlines (They can be deleted after the trip)

Public transportation such as trains, buses, etc (also deleted later)

Yep - Málaga...again!

Ted. Last winter, while we were enjoying Oaxaca, Mexico, Judy and I had several discussions about where we should go for Winter, ’25. We pondered a return to Mexico and gave serious consideration to Colombia, where we have never been. 

In the end, we felt drawn back to Málaga, Spain. We love the area, have family nearby and have gotten to know several of the locals. 

Spooked by the rising prices for accommodations, I almost ruled it out until I stumbled upon a simple and affordable apartment well outside the city center in the former fishing village of El Palo. We had met friends for lunch there before and always found it to be much more peaceful than central Málaga - with no English to be heard. The neighborhood had everything we needed, was right on the beach, and had good bus service so transportation would be a breeze. Judy concluded our cogitations with two words - “Book it!” 

On Jan 30 we hugged friends and family and boarded a flight to London. After spending a night a Heathrow hotel, we flew to Málaga on Saturday, Feb 1 and made our way to our new home in El Palo. 

The next morning, there were lots of welcome back hugs at our little church of St George’s. Afterwards, while munching on paella at a seaside cafe we concluded that this is where we are meant to be right now. 

By the way - for everyone who remembers Judy’s back issues last summer, she is doing just fine! 

We will be here for two months and have planned a couple of rendezvous and side trips to keep things fun. 

More posts will follow, as always…