6eme jour de vacances – 3eme jour de croisiere – 21 Aout

I woke up at 8 this morning. I don’t like not having a window in my room. I hate sleeping in complete darkness. Paolo and I got ready and went down to the gym where we found Patricia. She had tried to wake us up at 7:30 (the time we had decided upon) but didn’t succeed and gave up. She leaves after a few minutes and Paolo and I do a 30 minutes work out. We all go to breakfast after that. At 9 the ship enters the port of Almeria. We will not get out since only people going on an excursion are leaving the boat. The ship sails away ½ hour later towards Malaga, where we will spend the afternoon and meet with the excursionists.

We keep busy waiting for the ship to get to Malaga. We get a thrill playing bingo with mom and almost winning $100. We have lunch at the buffet then go to take a “siesta”.

Finally we’re here. What a treat. Today the weather is beautiful and maybe it adds to the experience but Malaga is just amazing. Like all European cities, there are 2 or 3 churches around you at all times. We first pass the Cathedral which is very imposing and exquisite with all its details. We then stroll in the old part of the city. Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born here, and the “Fundacion Pablo Picasso” has the whole place mapped out by Picasso’s life. The house where he was born; the church where he got baptized; the place where he first lived; the place where his dad did this and the one where he did that… Every other block has a house where some member of the Picasso family did something, therefore now it’s a museum. Our map in hands, we go from one interesting spot to the next. Everything we see is wonderful. The highlight though is the “Castillo de Gibralfaro” located on a hill overlooking the bay and the port.

We walk back to the ship and decide to go to the buffet instead of the formal dining room.

At 11pm they serve “crepes” and we enjoy a sweet touch before making it an early night (well it’s only midnight). We’re all tired anyway.