Malaga, Spain

Malaga, Spain     Saturday, March 28, 2015 

What a gorgeous day! Nice temperatures…84 degrees. Larry and I boarded a shuttle to the port entrance. The last two times we were here, extensive work was being done to improve the area.

      

  

 

 

Larry and I jumped on a “Hop On Hop Off” Bus tour getting off at the Gibralfaro Castle stop on the tip top of the hillside overlooking Malaga. Gibralfaro means mountain lighthouse….a clear indication of its use as a coastal vantage point during Phoenician-Punic times.  

 

 

We could have spent the whole day just visiting the Castle and looking at the views

 

Grand view of the Malaga Bull Ring...seats 14,000....OLE!

A selfie from the Castle

Malaga Cathedral

We stopped by the Roman Theater....Such old history..... so amazing

 

Back on the bus we rode to the stop 13 getting off to walk past the tremendous Malaga Cathedral to find the ruins of a Roman Theater built in the 1^st century BC and was used until the 3^rd century AD. After a quick bite for lunch we entered the Alcazaba Palace built between the 11^th and 14^th centuries.

This palace fortress was built for Moslem governors on the remains of an old Phoenician fortress in a very privileged position above the city. Because it is made of limestone which crumbles easily, frequent rebuilding throughout its existence has been required with the last restoration occurring in 1930. 

 

The intricate carved arches and stone inlaid walkways are pleasing to the eye. 

Alcazaba has flowering gardens, courtyards, fountains, a swimming pool, baths, and running waters in the floors throughout the home with tremendous sweeping views of the ocean. The sound alone of the waters trickling throughout the home creates a relaxing paradise. OH MY! I could live here!

 

 

We jumped back onto the Hop On Hop Off bus to take the remaining ride through the city. There was so much to see and do here. We were just plain happy to have seen so much in one day!

We returned to our ship just in time to enjoy the sail away from Malaga. A glowing sunset ended another wonderful day in Spain.

 

 

 

Cadiz and Santa Maria, Spain

Friday, March 27, 2015      Cadiz, Spain

 

The Zuiderdam docked in Cadiz, Spain at 8:00am. Cadiz is the oldest city in Spain and one of the oldest cities in  Europe. Christopher Columbus stopped here before attempting to cross the Atlantic on his first voyage. Larry and I  have walked the one mile by one mile peninsula city  during the a couple of previous visits passing  over the old fortified sea walls and seeing the huge old Cathedral,

 

                                                                    the Tower of Travier,

 

and  the Botanical Gardens. It is a beautiful city with lots of solid white structures and narrow European streets with sidewalk cafes.

 Today the weather was absolutely awesome. The birds were chirping, the bees were buzzing, the red buds were blooming, and orange trees were full of ripe looking fruits as well as new blossoms. Spring has sprung in Cadiz.

                 Larry always enjoys the motorcycles and scooters parked along the roads.

We decided to take the Catamaran Ferry to the Port of Santa Maria …..a local waterfront town that was half an hour across the harbor from Cadiz.

 

We explored a beautiful old church and took several awesome shots of the local architecture while waiting for the ferry to arrive.

Gold and silver from the local mines filled the Cathedral. 

Once under way we spotted the beaches that lined the coast all along the peninsula. After crossing the channel we passed by a marina with sailboats and lots of large fishing boats docked alongside the seawalls going into Santa Maria.

Men with very long poles fished off the jetty. We enjoyed talking with some students from Madrid who were visiting with their grandparents during Easter break. They enjoyed practicing their English on us and we enjoyed practicing our Spanish with them.

Once landing in Santa Maria we walked down many narrow streets passing local merchants and many businesses.

 

Homes were above the first floors with balconies of gorgeous blooming flowers.

 

I love the terrace homes...so European.

We walked by several buildings dating back to the 1700’s. The history here is fantastic!

The city center had a lovely park with a water fountain and a heavenly smell of orange blossoms.

 After winding deeper into the old town, we entered the historic district finding an old Cathedral dating back to 700AD in a square surrounded by sidewalk cafes. WOW! The ornately shaped ceiling was made of block, around 100 ft in the air. It was an unbelievable structure. Locally mined silver decorated one altar while another was lit with tall white candles around the Virgin Mary.

 

After soaking up the sights for about for two hours we headed back toward the port coming to a fantastic castle and running into the young ladies that we had talked with on the ferry.

 

We met a local gentleman who translated the sign on the structure that told of the English king who had lived here before Spain became a country in the 1200’s.  It was interesting to try to carry on a conversation with this local Spaniard.

                                                              King of my Castle

We scurried back to Santa Maria Port in time to hop on board the catamaran for a relaxing ride back to the Cadiz Port.

The wind surfers jetting by kept us thoroughly entertained on our journey back across the bay. What a lovely day!

Funchal, Medeiria, Portugal

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal        Wednesday, March 26, 2015

Our ship arrived at the Madeira Islands which lie between the Azores and the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa

The Zuiderdam docked at 8:00am. Looking out the  big windows of our breakfast table we were looking at the scenic hillsides covered with white washed homes having red tiled roofs. 

 

 

We boarded a shuttle for a ride into the town for 6 Euro each…a ten minute ride or a half an hour walk along the coast. The bus dropped us at the City Center where we immediately saw a large group of people exercising in the sunshine on the sidewalk to music with the direction of a leader…everyone was welcome to join it…Wouldn’t it be fun to start one of these in Virginia during the summer months?

 We continued walking down the waterfront passing manicured parks and all kinds of artworks…statues, wall paintings, gorgeous architecture, and the fantastic Portuguese mosaic sidewalks.

Portuguese mosaic sidewalks

 

 

 

We paid 20 Euro to ride to the top of the mountain to the village of Monte on a gondola with two UK couples who were vacationing here for a week.

The views were fantastic! The aerial sights on the gondola allowed us to see the highways, large bridges, narrow streets, and individual homes and gardens with ocean views for about 15 minutes. Funchal is one gorgeous city…very clean. 

At the top of the mountain, we stopped to enjoy the awesome views as well as sip some hot tea. The cool temperatures on top of the mountain caused us to put our jackets on.

                                            Larry tried out one of the sleighs in the coffee shop.

                                           The Zuiderdam is on the left....What a tremendous view!

Continuing to walk a little while further up the mountain, we passed numerous gardens and came to our destination, the Cathedral of the Lady of Monte and the famous sleigh basket rides that are the highlight of Funchal.

Beginning in the early 19^th century, the sleighs were used as a method of transportation for the local residents.

 We enjoyed a tasty lunch while watching some folks take their ride down the mountainside. The sleighs are guided by two runners dressed in white and wearing a hat  known as a straw boater.

 A thrilling ride of up to 48 kms per hour is guaranteed. Larry and I finally gathered up enough courage to take our turn on the sleigh….it was thrilling. Two gentlemen who spoke very little English tugged at our sleigh to get it going and gravity took care of the rest of the trip.

We traveled between two other sleighs and it was skillful how the guys kept us from running into each other. It was a  most thrilling ride.

                                      Larry managed a selfie....I was holding on to tight to let go!
Larry and I laughed our sides sore all the way down. We were surprised to find an 8 by 10 glossy picture waiting for us at the end of the ride. From there we walked a little over a mile down the steep, STEEP hillside, back to the city center.

Music filled the air along the way as talented Portugese provided entertainment along the way….WHAT Ambience!

 

 

We passed several flowering gardens along the way. Funchal prides itself in having so many fabulous floral gardens. We enjoyed sitting in one of the parks and just enjoying the warm sunshine while people watching  and listening to music in the City Center.

 

 What  a tree....What a man!!!!!

The day time had just flown by as we boarded the bus at 4:00pm to arrive back at the ship by 4:30.

Larry and I jumped into our swim suits and headed for a nice quiet hot tub soak to watch Funchal passing by as the ship sailed away. Maderia Island is one place we both would like to come back to visit for a longer amount of time. It was simply heavenly!

                                                                      What a sunset!