In Transit

Malaga (Spain) to Abu Dhabi (UAE)

K had read about the difficulties travellers had been experiencing at Málaga airport since Brexit. The British can no longer just waltz through immigration as EU citizens, so Málaga airport has been struggling with immigration lines taking up to three hours. This results in people missing their flights, and the issue is compounded by the increase in summer flights and the volume of tourists arriving into the Costa del Sol.

Our flight to Abu Dhabi wasn't due to leave until 10.15am and we were running a little behind as our Uber had to come from the city to pick us up. When we arrived at the airport we could see the queues for all the British flights but fortunately our line was short. K had read immigration only had two officers on duty so we were lucky we were ahead of the rush. 

Málaga airport is old and bursting at the seams, and we all gathered at a small gate with limited seating. We waited, waited and waited some more, with no information provided or announcements made regarding the delay, and concerningly no sight of an aircraft either. 

We were finally ushered down ramps to wait for buses about an hour past boarding time, only to have to wait standing in a giant queue on the ramp for another forty or so minutes, where of course there was no air-conditioning or seats. Once we finally boarded we had to wait even longer on the tarmac until the plane could receive a tow. We left two hours late and discovered that this flight had a history of leaving late, for at least the last three departures.

Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi is a huge and busy futuristic complex and an important stopover location. Many people on our flight missed their connections, but we were fine as we had booked a hotel on airside/transit which meant we didn't have to deal with immigration or luggage and only had our hand luggage. We would have liked to have spent a couple of days in the city but with daily temperatures over 40 degrees we decided this time to give it a skip. The hotel sells the rooms in 6 and 12 hour sessions, perfect for a sleep and a shower. It did feel strange wandering around the airport without any bags as we found somewhere for dinner, it felt more like we were in a shopping centre than an airport!

La última semana

Pedregalejo (Week 2)

Our time staying at Pedregalejo continued into its second (and final week), the routine not changing too much.

Monday and Tuesday were slow days by the beach. With the weekend gone we thought that the crowds on the beach would drop, but school holidays had just started so now we could still hear the squeals of children from the beach, even though the weather wasn't as warm as it had been.

One day K tried "espetos" - sardines on a skewer, grilled in the traditional way over the fire. They are incredibly popular with the locals, K thought they were OK, but not something she would have again. 

Wednesday was another day when we didn't travel too far. We took a risk and tried Indian/Mexican for dinner. It seems quite common in Spain for Indian and Mexican restaurants to be combined, of course this means that neither of the cuisines is done particularly well, even though the staff at these places are always Indian. M tried a "vindaloo" which was quite spicy, which he was warned of by the waiter who watched closely while M ate to see if he would be able to finish it (which he did of course)! It wasn't that authentic though, think Keens curry powder with too much added chilli and you might have some idea of how it tasted. 

On Thursday K had a hair appointment in the morning while M decided to walk four hours to Benalmádena, then catch the train and bus back to Pedregalejo. Only M understands why he would do something so nonsensical, but M also understands that there is a sense of accomplishment to be gained from performing feats of endurance that mere mortals would never consider! K calls it "aimless walking", M calls it "targeted exertion".

That evening K had Carmen, her sister and her niece arrive at 6pm for a final session of Spanish English exchange on our rooftop terrace.

The routine continued until Saturday, our last full day in Spain. We had one last meal at the marina near town, where there were even more super yachts moored, and the increase in tourists from our first visit around a month earlier was noticeable - it seemed we had picked the right time to leave Málaga! 

Beachside living continued

Pedregalejo

As the weekend approached we fell into the beachy routine of wake up, go out for coffee, read, sleep (K) / walk-run (M), drink, eat repeat, though we did also spend a lot of time finalising and booking travel and accommodation for our planned trip home in July.

On Friday K had a visit from Carmen and her sister, where they sat on our rooftop admiring the view and practicing their English. 

Saturday was a busy day on the beach as locals came out in their numbers to take advantage of the warm weather.

Sunday night was the summer solstice and a big celebration for San Juan, which involves BBQs and bonfires on the beaches in Málaga and surrounds. We decided to head inland a hundred metres or so for dinner to escape the crowds, with a tasty moroccan style paella at a renowned local restaurant.

From our rooftop at midnight we watched everyone bathing in the sea for good luck as they made three wishes while jumping over three waves.

Speeding and pottery do mix

Pedregalejo / Salobreña / Granada 

On Thursday we hired a car for a day trip to Granada. We chose this day as the weather forecast was for only 24 which is unusual as Granada consistently hits the high 30s and above at this time of year. Another factor was that the cruise ship app indicated that there wouldn't be any ships in port, Málaga is a popular port as the passengers can then take a day trip to Granada.

We had booked the car pick up for 10am but the company was so slow dealing with customers and paperwork that it was 10.45 before we got on the road. K had hoped to reach a potter's workshop in the coastal town of Salobreña by 12pm, which meant we were cutting it really fine.

We made it to the workshop of the raku and crystalline ceramicist with about 10 minutes to spare. K of course bought some pots so the potter was happy to stay open late, however as he only accepted cash we had to deal with the narrow roads of the hillside village to head into town to find an ATM.

We arrived into Granada in time for a 2pm lunch to discover it was just as beautiful as when we visited in 2015, and this time fortunately not as hot or as crowded.

After the Granada visit we drove back to Malaga where K was dropped off at La Termica not far from Misericordia beach to attend a raku demonstration by a Japanese potter, while M returned the car to the main railway station. 

M walked back along the long promenade to the point on the beach closest to La Termica, and met back up with K for dinner at yet another Italian restaurant (can you notice a theme here?). 

Settling in to beachside life

Pedregalejo

We've settled in to beachside living, trying to get used to the main restaurants not opening until 9pm, though there are still quite a few places that provide food all day and some nice cocktail bars we've become "regulars" at. 

M went exploring along the promenade to the neighbouring beaches of El Palo and El Dedo. Each of the beaches is separated by a small bridge, and the change in character is quite noticeable. El Palo is known as more of a "locals" area, the restaurants are mostly smaller and more informal, with cheap tables set up along a tree lined promenade. El Dedo is the shortest of the three beaches and similar in some ways to Pedregalejo, with a few larger and more upmarket looking restaurants, before ending at a hill that separates it from the yacht club marina. 

We did venture back into town one day to do some shopping, taking the local bus in which was very easy to do, as you can just pay for your ticket by waving your phone over the terminal as you get on - what a great system, why can't they do that back home I wonder? We ended up having dinner in a part of the old centre that we hadn't visited while we were there a week or two back, at a very nice and very busy Italian place. 

We had been a little concerned that we would find Pedregalejo too quiet after staying in the old town, however this isn't the case, in fact as our apartment is so close to the beach and bars we would actually like a little more quiet. It is quite unusual to hear a language other than Spanish around here so at least we're getting to practise our Spanish speaking skills daily.

Sunday sun

Pedregalejo 

A slow start today especially as there isn't much open on a Sunday. Sunseekers were slow to come down to the beach, not surprising after such a late night. By early afternoon the beaches were packed again and the chiringuitos had long queues.

Keep it down guys

Cádiz to Malaga/Pedregalejo

We drove back to Málaga vía the picturesque village Setentil de las Bodegas, a famous town where the white washed buildings are set into the shadows of the overhanging rock. The town is often named on lists of the most beautiful streets in the world.

After dropping off our rental car near the airport we took an Uber to our apartment by the sea for the next two weeks.

We knew our apartment was right on the beach but weren't prepared for how we would be right on top of a busy area. It was the first day of really hot weather at the end of Spring as well as a Saturday, with the temperature reaching 31, so lots of Malagueñas had come to the beach.

Unfortunately the apartment's windows didn't block all of the noise although, at least the bedroom is set back from the edge of the plaza, making it quite bearable. It's quite strange how we were told that we aren't to make any noise after 11pm at the risk of a hefty fine, when the bars practically at our front door don't close until 2am and don't seem to have such a restriction.

As it was very hot we finally embraced Spain's time for dinner and headed out at 9pm. We chose a chiringuito (beach bar restaurant) close to home and ordered a large grilled lubina (sea bass) to share. The fish was placed on a stake and cooked the traditional way over hot coals in an old boat on the sand. Our meal was finally cooked and served to us at 10pm, and the place was only just getting going!.

I'm hungry

Lagos (Portugal) to Cádiz (Spain)

The border crossing between Portugal and Spain was marked by an obvious change (for the worse) in the state of the roads, as Portugal's roads are better maintained and smoother to travel on. 

Our hotel in Cádiz was near the beach and it was great to see white sand in Spain. M walked into the old city while K caught the bus and they met up easily (due to Google Maps location tracking of course). 

We checked out the town until an acceptable Spanish time to have dinner, the hour time difference between Portugal and Spain was not working in our favour either. The restaurant we chose was opposite a venue hosting students graduating university so there were many families where everyone was dressed up for the evening taking photos to remember the milestone.

Silly piri piri

Lagos

We walked to the historic centre in search of a flat white and instead found boomerangs painted in Australian designs - weird. 

We then drove to Ponta da Piedade, Portugal's equivalent to the 12 Apostles (sort of, if they allowed tourist boats and kayaks). There were many boardwalks to multiple viewing points but many visitors bypassed them and preferred cross country.

The Mediterranean was as beautiful as always as we drove on to Praia de Luz. It was lovely to see white soft sand after the disappointing grey sand of Costa de Sol, there were plenty of beachgoers as well as some quite interesting water vehicles for hire. 

For dinner we went in hunt of Portuguese's famous piri piri chicken, only to be disappointed with dry, tasteless tourist fare. It's our own fault, the warning signs were there so we really should have known better.

Are we lost again?

Viseu to Lagos

Another long day of driving as we headed south towards Lagos on the Western Algarve coast. We had been close to Lagos back in 2019 when we stayed at nearby Portimão. 

The Australians we had spoken to at breakfast the previous morning had recommended visiting  Castillo de Tomar, a castle that was once a base for the Knights Templar. It was a perfect stop on our trip south with beautiful architecture and well worth the short detour, though at times we though there was something wrong with Google Maps as it took us through some very narrow roads and small villages.

We arrived at our marina accommodation in sunny Lagos in perfect time to meet our Melbourne friends, Isabel and John for a catch up. It's always pretty amazing when your trip coincidentally lines up with someone from home. We walked with them to the edge of the Lagos historic centre before returning for a surprisingly good Thai dinner.

One of the lowest highest points we've ever been to (and definitely the smelliest)

Viseu / Torre (Sierra de Estrella)

After chatting for a while to some Aussies sitting next to us at breakfast and finding we had quite a bit in common with regards to how we travel, we drove an hour and a half to the highest point in Portugal, which interestingly can be driven all the way to (and around if you really wanted). 

We were surprised to see a little bit of snow on the ground as we approached Torre, Sierra de Estrella, 1993m above sea level (235m lower than Mt. Kosciusko). There were domes of an old radar station and grazing cows making music from the bells around their necks.

The shops were the strongest smelling we had ever visited with mountains of strong cheese and cured meats, which the shop staff insisted we taste, all while we insisted that we didn't want to. After a quick lunch in the restaurant we drove back to Viseu with some great views on our way back down.

Later that day M explored more of Viseu, before we revisited the bar we went to yesterday before dinner (which in Portugal is only slightly less late than it is in Spain).  

You must pay the toll in order to pass

Salamanca (Spain) to Viseu (Portugal)

We didn't get much of a chance to explore Salamanca but we did get to swing by the cathedrals (old and new) as we had to push on to be in Viseu by lunchtime to meet Jessica and family who had travelled there from Ponte de Lima to meet us.

Once again the roads were very quiet, where is everyone? Not long after crossing the border into Portugal we were faced with the dreaded tolls issue. This comes up time and time again when we hire cars and drive across borders i.e. how do we pay the tolls, do we even have to pay them, what happens if we don't? We pulled in to a service station just before the first tolling point to get on our phones and search to find out how to work out the system. We found that there are four places in Portugal where you can register your car for "Easy Toll", fortunately this was one of them! We tapped our credit card, received a registration receipt and drove on with fingers crossed that we had done it correctly.

We arrived at the centre of Viseu at 12.30pm on Portugal Day, their national day, and the first people we saw crossing the road were Jessica, Ricardo and children. We had last seen them five years ago in 2019 when they had no children, now we were introduced to Daniel and Sofia.

They had booked a traditional Portuguese restaurant for lunch which included blood sausage (morcilla) and roast goat (cabrito asado). The children were kept entertained with the kangaroo jack-in-the-box and koala toys that K had brought. 

After lunch we walked through the park and had ice-cream before it was time to say goodbye to our gracious hosts as they had a 2 hour drive to get home for work the next day.

We found a nice bar near in the old town centre for a couple of drinks before a meal at a nice Italian restaurant nearby.

Walking the wall

Ávila to Salamanca 

David and Nuria had kindly offered to be our Ávila tour guides this morning so we met them at 11am just outside the wall by one of the entrances. Nuria was a very knowledgeable guide as we walked along the top of the very impressive wall. 

We then drove on to Mirador de Los Cuatro Postes (Viewpoint of the Four Posts) to get an external view of the city wall, before a nice meal at a restaurant nearby. After saying our goodbyes we drove on to Salamanca for the night.

Salamanca is a university city and once again we admired Spain's amazing architecture and attention to detail. Our hotel was an old convent called San Esteban and the view from our room was of the garden and the original arched cloisters.

We headed for the Plaza Mayor, and sat at one of the tapas bars that lined the edge of the square to have a drink and some dinner before calling it a night.

Did someone not say KFC?

Málaga to Ávila 

A quick metro trip to the main Málaga railway station with all of our luggage to collect our hire car for the next week. Pickup was smooth so off we headed on the long drive to Ávila, 600+ kms and 6 hours of driving on a mostly quiet highway, the lack of traffic in either direction felt quite strange. 

We struggled to find a quick lunch stop as instead of the road side stops we're used to with multiple meal options, we had the choice of a sit down restaurant or snacks from the petrol station. We eventually found a bakery and a cafeteria where we could fashion a basic lunch before pushing on. We did miss a turn off to get back on to the highway and found ourselves driving through a deserted village where it seemed no-one lived.

We drove around the edge of Madrid as the rain started but fortunately it had cleared by the time we arrived in Ávila. We found our hotel right outside the old town wall by one of the entrances.

After checking in we walked to a plaza where we settled down with a drink and free tapas to people watch while waiting for friends David and Nuria to arrive. They did really well to humour us with the Aussie meeting time of 7.30pm while trying to stretch the evening out to their normal dinner time of 10pm.

The first place they took us to for tapas was the hotel they had their wedding reception at, then on to a lovely restaurant for a dinner of shared dishes and drinks, finishing off with walking us back to our hotel around the city wall, finally falling into bed around midnight.

I have no memory of this event

Málaga

Today we prepared to leave Málaga for a week of travelling. The good thing about leaving after two weeks is we get to go to clean accommodation. 

We visited the roof top of the AC hotel that has a superb view of Málaga and the port. We had been here before in 2015 but had no memory of it, even though we had the photo to prove it!

K left to meet up with Carmen for more language exchange, after which we had dinner at a tiny Italian restaurant just around the corner from our apartment.

How to avoid cruise ship passenger overload

Málaga

K met Vega in the morning for coffee and breakfast very close to our apartment as they continued to learn about each other's country and cultures. Unfortunately Australia's wildlife reputation is always a topic, with people frightened off by the danger stories, where do they get these ideas from? While this was happening M went for a walk to the end of the cruise ship port and then along La Malagueta, the beach just on the other side of the marina. 

More tapas for lunch followed by a walk down down to the marina that we timed to finish just as a large cruise ship was leaving the port. K has been using an app to check whether there is a cruise ship in town, how many passengers it has and how long it will be there for, which makes it easy to plan our days so we can avoid the massive crowds.

Uber English Leather Lexus Extravaganza

Málaga / Benalmádena

Continuing our exploration of the Costa del Sol to the west of Málaga we took an Uber to La Playa de la Misericordia, just a few kilometres from the city centre. Misericordia doesn't translate to misery as you'd expect but rather it means compassion. However the beach was definitely miserable and needs some compassion, today it looked quite bare and uninviting. After a few minutes taking in the misery we ordered another Uber to take us to Benalmádena just a little further down the coast. We were surprised with the exceptional quality of the brand new Lexus car we were driven in, and when we queried the driver we were told that many Ubers in Spain operate via a very expensive licensing setup, and the drivers are employed by a company, which is a bit different to the setup at home where it's often just a local using his own car.

Benalmádena was obviously geared towards families, with lots of attractions around a busy marina where all signage was in English, many bars and restaurants and a crowded beach. 

After some cheap tapas for lunch we walked along the nicely kept promenade for a while to the western end of Torremolinos, but as the train station was still at least a 30 minute walk from where we stopped we caught one more leathery Lexus Uber back to the historical centre. We think we've seen enough of the west side of Malaga and the Costa del Sol for this trip! 

K had another meetup with Carmen for language practice, which we followed with an extremely nice steak at an Argentinian restaurant close by.

The steep and winding road

Malaga / Torremolinos

We thought we'd try another western beach today so we caught the train to Torremolinos. The walk from the town square to the beach wasn't too bad, down a winding path and stairs, lined with souvenir shops. 

The beach had similar sand to Fuengirola but the restaurants and sun lounges seemed a little more upmarket than what we'd seen at Fuengirola. We chose a lovely restaurant on the beach for lunch and afterwards walked along the promenade to the next beach, and from there we found a shorter (and steeper) set of stairs to get us back to the train station.

In the evening K met up with a new language exchange partner, Vega for a couple of hours of Spanish/English practice before we finished off with tapas at the closest restaurant to our apartment, it was becoming quite a convenient haunt of ours.

Bali for the English?

Málaga / Fuengirola

After spending the week getting to know the centre of Málaga we decided it was time to visit the beaches west of Málaga, known for being the holiday destination of the dreaded Englishman! We had driven the coast some years ago and remember not being particularly impressed by the grey sand and ugly high rise buildings close to the beach.

We caught the train to Fuengirola and walked down to the beach. Some of it was as we remembered, though the water was a beautiful Mediterranean blue and the sand was a little lighter than we thought it would be, though still quite coarse. 

We wandered along the promenade, with its tacky shops and restaurants that advertised "full English breakfast" and the schedule for English soccer games. The restaurant we stopped at for lunch didn't even serve Spanish beer. Essentially our take on this area is that it's Bali for English people, but with even less local cultural influence.

Free entry, woo hoo, $6 saved!

Málaga

A pretty easy day as we get used to the Spanish week where almost everything is closed on Sundays. M walked to the Alcazaba and then up to the Castillo de Gibralfalo which had great views over the city, and also (as luck would have it) free entry on Sunday afternoons. 

That evening we went to the Plaza de la Constitución where we caught the final stage of previous days procession, complete with police on Andalusian horses.