Malaga to Granada

OK. We have been in Spain now for three days so we should be starting to know our way around, right? We´ve been getting up relatively early every day - about 8:00 so as not to miss the daylight. The weather has been great but there is just so much to see! Yesterday we got up and out for a quick breakfast - cafe au lait and crescents. Chris had something else, we are not sure what, but he ate most of it - toast with some sort of pate - it looked like jam when pointing from a distance. The coffee is always good - whether cappacino or otherwise. Our main event in Malaga was a walk around the public park and gardens below the fortifications that we had seen the day before. Of course they were outstanding! Even though it´s winter, there are still quite a few flowers in bloom and Chris does a great job capturing on photos. Then it was a quick dash to the Post Office, bakery and market to mail postcards and stock up for the trip to Granada.

Getting the tickets for the train to Granada was interesting. Chris had done his research and had the print-outs from the internet so he managed to get what we wanted. A short hop to Bobbadillo and then transfer onto the eastbound train to Granada. The seats ended up being in first class which meant we practically had the car to ourselves with big windows on either side and spectacular views to make it well worth the investment. The train raced past a number of smaller stations and after about only 45 minutes of breathtaking scenery (mountains, hillsides, orange groves, and rock faces into which the train went several times), it pulled quietly into Bobbadillo station. We had our knapsacks on and bags at the ready but were waiting for some sort of announcement or someone to open the door. After about 20 seconds, the train started to move gently again and we just thought it was pulling more fully into the station for disembarking. After another 20 seconds as the train started to go faster and we saw Bobbadillo disappear behind us, we had to accept that we had missed our stop! That ticket agent who reluctantly sold the tickets we wanted must have put a hex on us or something. This was an express train and wasn´t to stop again for another 1.5 hours. Miguel, the train master, was wonderful. He took good care of us in Cordoba - a place we had planned to visit, but not until next week :). And he just happened to be going back to Malaga himself on the 4:30 train so helped us find our way from there.

That brings us to Granada. Kaila was at the Hostel before us. Had to wake her up - guess it was a week-long goodbye party back in Holland. Went out for a lovely evening meal. More later...