Cordoba

We're winding down our time in Spain and opted to take the train from Malaga to Cordoba. Honestly, it wasn't a mistake, but Cordoba isn't really the place we'd hoped it would be. It's certainly warm, and the jasmine is in bloom here too. Tho after a little botanical confusion I will admit we are enjoying both jasmine AND orange blossoms. Chemically, their scents are very similar. But Cordoba is a place that just feels like it missed the mark.

It has a pedestrian zone, but allows in a large number of vehicles. So even then you think you are on a car-free street, a car or scooter will roar past you. There are large dead zones. Whether this is due to zoning, or loss of businesses from Covid, or something else entirely, it feels odd to have a busy area and then blocks of just nothing. Shutters down, nothing open, deadness. Feels a bit creepy. The tourist shops are unbelievably kitschy. There are hideous flamenco dresses for sale everywhere, made of very flammable materials. Bad music is abundant. It is also the run-up to the Easter holiday so group and student tours clogged up the streets. There's something terrifyingly zombie-ish about 50 people with earpieces shuffling past.

And even the crown jewel of Cordoba - the Mezquita-Catedral (Mosque-Cathedral) - left us depressed. It's an architectural abomination. The original and expanded mosque had glorious, mathematical aesthetics. Then a Renaissance cathedral was chopped into the space, destroying sight lines, arches, and leaving a trail of overwrought and overdecorated ugliness. It's bizarre, and sad. If you've ever watched the Yellow Submarine movie, you might recall the leader of the Blue Meanies saying, "A thing of beauty: destroy it forever!" This was an embodiment of that.

So, we adapted. Lots of walks. A visit to the (blessedly empty) cemetery. Several ramblas over the Roman-Era bridge and along the river. Adherence to the siesta rest periods, as it hit the 80s. And enjoyment of the very. very strong sangria.

At the Eastern Side of the Roman Bridge, Moorish Additions

All Roman Temple Ruins Should Come with a Cat

The Princess's Path

Up in the Former Minaret, Now Bell Tower

The Mosque-Cathedral Gardens

Arches Destroyed

Glorious Wisteria

In the Alcazar Gardens

Excellent Topiary

Blooms and a Butterfly

Alcazar Gardens from the Tower (we did a lot of stairs)

From the Alcazar Tower to the Cathedral Tower

Malaga

We've been pleasantly surprised by how warm and welcoming Malaga has been. It's a port city, has some industry, and (just this week) has had two cruise ships docked. But the pluses are significant. The old town area is car-free, and it's amazing how differently you move through a space when you are not dealing with the hazards of sharing it with cars. It's quieter, the air is cleaner, you aren't at risk of being splashed or muddied by a passing vehicle. Sitting outside and dining is great. People are friendlier, possibly because they aren't at risk of being squished, and can move at a human pace. 

The weather has been perfect - sunny and high sixties, low seventies (F) with a breeze. We've explored a bit to the east and west of the port, along the beaches, and into a few neighborhoods. The area is generally flat and after Competa, very easy walking. Our big elevation gain was taking the tour of the cathedral roof. 

Our first day here walking around I identified a specific scent - jasmine. It's everywhere and it's in bloom! Come to discover jasmine is the city flower, and jasmine trees grow on virtually all streets and in the parks (interspersed with the requisite orange trees). Brian called one park we walked through The Jasmine Factory, because that's all we saw for acres. 

And then there's the food. So much of it, and so delicious. We're back to hotel living, so no kitchen for us. Which means we're exploring more dining options. We've not been let down. The seafood here is just amazing. One of the funnier local sights are old metal boats pulled up and turned into barbecues of a sort, with skewers of sardines cooking away. We've also enjoyed anchovies, scallops, sea bass, tuna, cod, and cuttlefish.  

In an odd twist, we accidentally arrived in Malaga during their annual film festival. We saw some very fancily dressed folks with crowds lined up to watch them. We didn't recognize anyone, but we're not very hip. But the awards are the equivalent of "Golden Jasmine" so that felt right.

Cool Architecture Next to the Mercado (Food Market)

Yummy Food

So Happy

How the Beach Restaurants do their Sardines and Anchovies

Up on Top of the Cathedral

The Jasmine Factory

Keyhole from the Alcazaba

Walking the Rim of the Castillo

Plaza de Toros

Still Walking on the Edge.

Looking Over the Courtyard

I skipped this torre, tour groups suck.

Skinny streets, skinny views.

Back to Spain - Competa

We left our beloved Fatima, skipped through Casablanca (caught colds, stayed pretty quiet and missed most of the tourist stuff), and hopped on an airplane to Malaga, Spain. There we rented a car - a Ford Fiesta 6-speed manual - and headed for the literal hills. We're in Competa for two weeks. It's one of the many Pueblos Blancos found in this region. The town itself is about 3,000 people, half of whom are expats. Of those, half are Brits. Despite the foreign influences, Competa seems to stick pretty closely to Spanish culture. The siesta business midday closures are followed. Tapas are available everywhere. The church bells ring the quarters of the hours (however, they do not ring from 10pm to 8am. During Lent they seem to ring at random times, a lot occasionally. In Granada we were not afforded that courtesy. Oddly, I previously encountered this in Portugal). But the selling point of Competa is that it backs onto the Parque Natural de Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama. Hiking trails connect the town to all of the other hill towns, and deep into the mountains. 

That said, our Dutch hosts who rented us our little townhouse told us to not bother booking here if we aren't fit. They were not saying that for the hiking trails. but for the town itself, which is extremely vertical. And not with regularly spaced steps, but with lots of random grades and pitches and textures to navigate. Not a good place to wear high heels, or have physical limitations. But perfectly fine for us so long as we take things slowly. They did NOT say it is a good place to be short, which would have been helpful. We've experienced some challenging doorways, most particularly in Fes. But here.....our house is 3 stories including the roof-top terrace. I count eight doorways and two stairways, of which only one can Brian go through without risk. None of the others measure a full 6 feet in height. One very risky passage is less than 5 feet high. He has cracked his head 2-3 times. I've nailed mine once. Ow.

The view from the rooftop terrace. We've been spending quality time here.

The grouchiest cat in Competa.

Peublos Blancos stylin'.

This hints at why these villages exist - they are defensible (pre-cannon at least).

Up in the Parque Natural.

Wearing flats. Brian was trying to show how vertical some of the areas are.

On the walking path between towns.

Up in the Mountains.

~Lucy

Bonus photo dump:

The view down valley on the hike between towns.

The trail map. We didn't pay attention on the way out, but different trail makers than we are used to.

On our drive to Nerja we saw Lucy's favorite, TOPIARY!

Windy in Nerja.

Lucy loved these water spouts.

All in a row...

A well earned Gelato.

Why yes, I do occasionally schlep tacos.

Competa's version of Alpenglow above our terrace.

This is the view from the football stadium above Competa. My trekking app said it's around 400 feet above the church in town.

Looking down on Nerja from the Puerto Collado

Another view of the Sierras de Tejeda

Windblown selfie in the shade.

The view from the top of our hike looking back towards Competa.

A random tree on our walk to the cemetery.

~ Brian

Alhambra Itself

We've skirted around and about the Alhambra. We explored the free areas pretty early in our visit, but waited until after the holidays to go through the ticketed areas. We are trying our best to avoid crowds, and the ticketed areas are the most indoors and congested. Unfortunately, the holidays here just seem to go on and on.... New Years is immediately followed by Reconquest Day, then Tres Migos, then Epiphany. 

When we finally entered the Nasrid Palaces and gardens, we also did the Generalife. But then we returned a second day to go to the Alcazaba, because it was socked in with fog our first day. We also circled back into the Alhambra Museum inside the Charles V Palace. I can see the tourist experience doing all this in one day as a necessity, but spreading it over three days was delightful. We got to sink in and really enjoy it. 

The gardens were quite a surprise. It's January and a bit barren, but roses and irises and snowdrops were blooming. The horror of ornamental kale is found here too. The orange trees lured us in and I peeled one of the fruits. Brian took a big bite and I'm lucky I was standing to the side, else he would have spit all over me. SO SOUR. I, wisely, only nibbled mine.

The artistry of the Alhambra is the major draw. The tiles and the woodwork and all the amazing architecture. Now that we have enjoyed this, we are all cued up to see Morocco and enjoy the same, without the Catholic overlay.

Alcazaba in the Fog

Brian in the Nasrid

Brian in the Generalife (post-orange)

Lucy in the Alcazaba (still foggy)

The towers of the Nasrid Palace

The Gardens of the Nasrid - they knew water

View from the Nasrid to the Generalife

Love among Topiary

Rosas

Bouganville and bright sun

The Charles V Palace

Back to the Alcazaba in the sunshine

The Alcazaba Belltower that rang all of 2 January. And yes, Brian lost his sunglasses in Philadelphia.

A few more observations: the Alhambra cats are delightful. The Wine Gate is a lie (no wine). And we had to show our passports to get to six different parts of the monument. We literally have only shown our passports at the airport before now. Bizarre.

~Lucy