Fun Day in Malaga... /Banalmadena
Starting with coffee and a bite to eat, we chose a location Barry and I frequent. Dbandera Gastro Taberna, as you can tell from the name… is part owned by Antonio Banderas. Born in the town of Malaga, Antonio established this town as his permanent residence. He has invested in several restaurants around town and down by the beach, as well as culturally sponsoring plays, movies and concerts. Last time we were in town, Banderas hosted a huge Film Festival. Anyway, for breakfast, Corey had jamon (and maybe tomato with olive oil) on toast. My bowl was yogurt filled with fresh fruit. It was pretty darned good!
Friends of Corey’s moved to the Malaga area five years ago. Not intending to stay in Spain that long, Covid took over their plans to return to the US… now they are just comfortable in their now home. With plans to meet them, we walked down the promenade that ran the length of a park area. Such a clean city…
On our way to the meeting spot, we passed some incredible structures. The flags caught my attention, so I took a picture allowing me to research what each of these represents. Starting on the far left, the green and purple is for Malaga City. Green represents the Islam influence from the 1500’s and purple I found two explanations… one was that purple was the color of tunics worn by Hannibal’s army and another idea is that purple represents “power” in some religions. In the center is Malaga’s coat of arms. Next is the orange and red colors of the Spanish national flag. The colors represent tradition rather than a symbolic meaning. The design is Shields of the old Spanish Kingdom and Hercules Pillars. The crown represents the monarchy, whose role in Spain is a debatable topic. Third, we have the Andalusian flag. The green, white, green stripes of this flag represent peace and hope. The green hues stand for fertile lands and the white stands for purity and the desire for unity. Finally, the blue flag with a circle of yellow stars is the Flag of Europe. Twelve stars represent the original European countries desire to show unity, solidarity and harmony throughout Europe. Despite England leaving the European Union, the desire for these things still prevails so the flag will remain as it has since 1955… with twelve stars.
Always colorful… flowers bloom all around this charming town. With a focus on preserving a rich history, the Old Historical area of Malaga is well manicured, clean and maintained. The residents take pride in their home.
Safely picked up by Corey’s friends (from Tahoe), our first stop is a bird’s eye view from their town of Banalmadena. It appears, Spain makes good use of their coastal land! Our travel guides live with this view. Before heading to their home, we stopped at a couple of fun spots.
Still standing at the viewpoint, we turned left and saw the largest stupa in all of Europe. This Buddhist temple is open to the public, which is rare. However, we happened to arrive on the only day it is closed. Oh well… Standing at 104 feet high and 85 feet wide, it can be seen from neighboring towns. We didn’t do it, but according to the tradition, wishes will be answered if you walk around the stupa in a clockwise direction. What were we thinking??? We had our chance!
After a short walk, we arrived at a Catholic worship spot. Tucked into a rocky hillside, it was very special. Off to the side, a small group of ladies prayed for each other. With openings between rocks, it was a breezy and therefore cool place to be.
Continuing up another small set of rock steps, past the shrine in the photograph above… this view! Wow! A small opening between boulders offered up a stunning view of the towns below.
Quite different from the streets and alleyways of Barcelona and Malaga… the stark white reminded me more of a Greek theme. Still the roads and walkways are beautifully tiled…
From on top of the hill (which is downhill from Corey’s friend’s house), we saw a pretty fancy architectural structure. It was interesting to learn that the original intention of this building.. a tribute to Christopher Columbus. Inside the castle is the world’s smallest church! Now referred to as Colomares Castle, it is a relatively “new” addition to the pueblo of Banalmadena. Apparently, at one time, when funding was a challenge… this became a dinosaur museum. Let’s just say, it’s been through some transitions!
We really did a good amount of walking before ending up at this favorite of locals. Mainly pizza, they did not have a g/f crust so I opted for calamari. I' surprised myself when I got home and realized, I never took a photo of the dinner! The appetizers were good (or so I’m told), everyone loved their large, but individualized pizzas. My calamari… off the hook! It was fresh… a gigantic portion… and cooked to perfection. What a treat!
A table full of photo haters graciously allowed me one shot… so here we are! Just as a side note… appetizers, four personal (but large) pizzas, my awesome calamari, four beers, a bottle of wine… and the grand total for all five of us? $90! That’s pretty darn good. I can easily spend that on the bottle of wine alone!
With full bellies, we walked through the areas we had visited during the day. Nightfall and the lighting really changes the vibe of the town. The fountain seems to be a source of political contention. Depending how you refer to it… with the old, traditional name or an updated name, basically determines your political party and whether you are a “fascist” or not. I felt like that was a bit of a broad brush sweeping over a large group of people. From my uneducated perspective, it seemed to be more of a generational issue than a political…but who am I to know?
Interesting how lighting softens things. During the day, it looked like an extremely overcrowded area. At night, lit up… it looks like a beautiful city. Gone is the crowded feel…
Yay! We got to walk by the Senior Citizen Center. This is where you’ll find me when I am retired and not quite living on a cruise ship. Lit up with my favorite purple, it would be an honor to play games and laugh with the other senior citizens!
We spent a little more time drinking wine and looking at the lights of their pool and lights of the city. Their pueblo is charming… lots of hills, but they are manageable! We were dropped off near our flat at almost 2:30am! It was quiet in the “neighborhood”. Stopping in a mercado for bottled water and off to bed. We will definitely not get an early start in the morning!
