Welcome to the Mediterranean beachfront! Today Rosie and The Operator are exploring the white sandy beach of the Playa Malagueta here in Malaga Spain. It was 0930 and 19c. Sunbathers were already in their bikinis and claiming spots on the empty sandy beach, the high today was an estimated breezeless 24c and the beach was being prepared for it.
The sun loungers were being put out under hundreds of tiki umbrellas, pay €10 euros for two loungers and an umbrella and that space is yours for the whole day. The sand was warm beneath our toes and the sun warm on Rosie’s back, it was still early and so quiet and serene.
The high rises overlooking this area were not as thick as Rosie imagined they would be. They were really only one building deep, lining the palm tree fringed road that wound around the bay.
The changing sheds on the beach were brightly painted and Rosie and The Operator wandered up the gentle lapping tide line and found the most bountiful haul of coloured beach glass ever! Bonus!
The water was a little murky from the sand and you could see that it quickly deepened only steps away from the shore line. This beach was so silent….no crashing surf…no waves at all to be exact. The sea looked like a giant still, silent pond.
The walkway around the bay was wide and stretched for as far as the eye could see. It would be nice to take advantage of the cool bright morning and explore the distant bays. It would be way to far to walk though said Rosie….as she eyed up an abandoned Lime Scooter….you have got to be joking said The Operator!
Next minute we have the rental app downloaded and the scooter activated for Rosie to have a spin on and see if she could handle it…The Operator had doubts but off Rosie wobbled along the 5km walkway that wound around the beachfront to the suburb of Pedregalejo.
Those scooters were so much fun! We were the oldest on them….and after 10 mins getting used to them….Rosie and The Operator whizzed past our peers on bicycles.
Pedregalejo is an old fishing village where the beach is broken up into small coves which make for great swimming areas. The houses are all low rise and used to be the summer residences for the swanky folk of Malaga in the 18/19th Century. Restaurants and Cafes line the water front and some of the fishing fleet lie pulled up on the sandbars in front of them.
A specialty of this area is grilled sardines, or Esposito………….they had just started reappearing on the menus as the main sardine fishing season is between May and October.
An olive wood fire is lit and left to burn down so you can see the heat shimmering and the lumps of wood glowing. A skewer of sardines is the placed in the sand next to the heat for 4 mins each side, with a spray of olive oil before turning.
The beachside BBqs in front of the restaurants are quite awesome, they are old dinghies filled with sand and the wood fire burns on top! The boat can even be rotated for optimum fire burn to catch the light breeze whilst the chef sits in the shade under a hut.
Now you see them………now you don’t! The sardines were delicious and crispy skinned. Hold the tail in one hand and the head in the other and nom nom nom along the backbone…then turn over and do the same. That was the exact instructions from our waiter on how to eat them.
After a couple of lunchtime wines The Operator did a risk assessment and didn’t trust Rosie to be able to safely operate her scooter home we caught a taxi home instead, safety always first with The Operator.
The Soho suburb of Malaga is a rundown area between the city centre and the port. Some, say it has been refreshed, some of it has, some is still under way and some is still a little seedy for prime inner city real estate. Spanned by bridges and what seems to be a huge drainage/tidal canal for the city that leads out to sea full of weedy coverage and lined with dog crap down the middle.
After our big lunch and winesies Rosie loved wandering though this neighbourhood with The Operator and hunting for the street art this area is renowned for. The tagging and artwork along the sides of the canal and buildings is quite incredible in some places.
The streets back from the canals were a mix residential, commercial and quirky shops these were also canvases for this urban art. Giant murals encased the sides of buildings and it was fun walking the grid like streets searching for a painted wall.
This area also attracted a few homeless people, lying on the concrete on insulating cardboard in colorful bundles. We found a beautiful night sky in the daylight and a couple dreaming of better things under those stars….check out their sign and they even took their shoes off before hopping into bed.
What a great day we had out in the Malaga sunshine. Tomorrow, Rosie will tell you all about the amazing spectacle that is Easter here in Southern Spain. This is one of the holiest times of the year in the Catholic Church calendar and it is so emotional, moving and reverent. A time when the whole community comes together and there is no chocolate in sight!
