We both have colds! Not bad colds, but colds none the less. At least its not Covid. Its been passing through the bus for the last couple of days, and it looks like its our turn now. Fortunately, I have the pharmacy of Jody to keep us feeling better soon.
Meanwhile, were also at the beach! Last night we arrived at the Melia Resort, while technically in Torremolinos, its just outside Malaga on the Costa Del Sol. Our room is across the street from the bridge and we can see the Mediterranean from our balcony. This morning was a relaxed start which means we were able to sleep in a little, as our tour did not begin until 9:00. So we got to bed early last night and were able to sleep in today, so we are determined that our colds are not going to slow us down.
At 9:00 Dominic turned us over to our local guide Luis who took us into downtown Malaga, to see what it was all about. Malaga is one of the oldest cities on the Iberian Peninsula, dating back to about 800 BC as a trading port for the Phoenicians. It was populated
by Moors until about the 15th century when the Moors were conquered and the Christians took over. Most of the old city is long gone, except for the remains of the 12th century Moorish Fort at the top of the hill. The fort has been destroyed and rebuild so many times over the centuries, it is difficult to figure out what is original and what is a restoration. But the bets part of the fort are the views of Malaga from atop its walls. Luis took us up to through most of the fort so we could take pictures of the city from all angles.
There is also a 15th century cathedral, cleverly called the Cathedral of Malaga that still stands in the center of town. Most notably, there are 2 bell towers on the cathedral, but only one The story of the second bell tower is that late 18th century, the Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory in the USA was sending money back to Malaga to pay for of the cathedral. But the money for the second bell tower was diverted by the Spanish Governor to George Washington to help fund the US
war of independence from the British - a very appropriate story for today as it is July 4. The money was never replaced, and the tower was never finished.
More recently, Malagas claim to fame was its sweet wine that grew on vines along the mountainside. But evidently, a merchant ship from the USA brought some sort of aphid called the Phylloxera in the late 19th century wiped out all the vines and along with it, the economy of Malaga. Malaga does not seem to have a good track record with the USA. In the 1920s Malaga reinvented itself as an Iron and steel produced, but this soon gave way to tourism.
Currently , construction is still booming, and the Costa Del Sol has one of the most popular destinations for either vacation, summer homes, or retirement. Its expensive, but beautiful! But downtown Malaga is suffering from the same problem we heard about from the locals in Cinque Terre and Venice on our Italy trip – Airbnb. All of the apartments in town are being bought up by invertors and rented out on Airbnb. There are no apartments available for the locals to rent, and
Most of the city has been built in the 19th and 20th centuries, as the vineyards became apartment buildings. Their main downtown street was built in the 1920s with the intention to exactly duplicate the downtown area of Chicago, USA. Im not sure why, but it did look a little strange. This is mostly a modern city, with shops that a little more upscale. Back in the 1950s, Malaga also annexed the little fishing village of Torremolinos, which is right next door. They demolished the fishing village, and built a series of high rise apartments and hotels along the boardwalk with restaurants and shops in between. The result is a really nice beach resort, similar to Miami Beach and all the other US beach towns. The sand is a little darker, but the waves are relatively calm with the water a little cold for us at 70 F.
