Adios to Spain

Our third day in Spain, we woke up to clouds, and so when we headed to the hillside

white-washed village of Mijas, 1400 feet above sea level,

we had to search a little harder for color, since the azure blue we had been experiencing was no longer our canopy.

We found color in the shops-- pottery

and flamenco dresses of all colors and sizes.

The look out perch offered spectacular views,

and the old walls of this hermitage built in the 1520's had a story to tell. Legend has it that the Virgin de la Peña appeared to two young shepherds in June of 1586 who had been led there by a pigeon. Subsequently, an image of the virgin appeared in a recess in a tower where it had been hidden for 500 years. Today the village people keep the little chapel decorated with flowers.

We moved on down the coast to our final destination of Malaga, another beautiful and modern Spanish city with almost 600,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities in the world, first founded by the Phoenicians in 770 BC,

its bullring lies smack in the middle of high rises in the center of the city. 

Roman ruins of an amphitheater date from the first century and lie in the shadow of the Alcazaba, a fortress first built in the 11th century.

One of Malaga's claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, who gladly posed for pictures with us in front of  his birthplace with his sunglasses and baseball cap. We toured the Picasso museum, but as "interesting" as the paintings were, we were not allowed to photograph any of them for you, which is just as well, since I'm not sure I could have explained any of them to you anyway.

And just as impressive to me, is that Malaga is the birthplace of that cultural icon of Spain, and the voice of the most famous kitty we all love, Puss in Boots from Shrek---Antonio Banderas. Here's a little scoop--we'll be hearing him again in the spin-off from Shrek, "Puss in Boots-The Story of an Ogre Killer" to be released in November.

As the sun began to set on the day and on our stay in Spain, we took one last look at the Cathedral

and bid Adios to the beautiful Costa del Sol, with dreams of coming back again one day to retrace our steps.