to Malaga

View from my patio

Train from Seville to Malaga was very reasonable (19.85euro). This was the slow train - there was a faster one that cut about 45min off the time, but I wasn't in a hurry and at €2.50 per glass of wine, I’m sure I could find a better use for the extra €30.  Initially, much of the trip was rather dull - once out of town, flat farmland for the most part, but after leaving Bobadillla, the last stretch into Malaga got rather mountainous and there was much scenery to look at. A short 5 minute stretch consisting of a series of tunnels and gorges was particularly fun, then lots of white houses with red tile roofs as we left the mountains and entered Malaga area. GPS didn’t work for the entire ride – I guess the trains are signal -proof, but the information panel said we travelled at up to 150km/h. 2hr40min later in Malaga main station I hop on the local train (€2.20) and zip off to Benalmedena (sort of a resort suburbia community). A 5minute walk down the hill and there is my apartment/hotel. It has a kitchen, and I can see a supermercado down the hill so off I go to get supplies. For those of you who were wondering if Spain is expensive or cheap, I'd have to say the travel so far was really inexpensive, the hostel I had in Seville was maybe not cheap, but it certainly was excellent value at €22 (desayunaro incluido). But let me describe groceries - this is going to kill you. Total bill €26... 1/3kilo each of cheese, ham, salmon, coffee, cocoa, 2Lwater, 750ml red wine, 2L beer, 1L orange juice, 3 tomatoes, cucumber, pizza, olives, 8 yogurt, 5 avocados, box of biscuits & a bag of rolls... Now some of you might say, “But mate, you’ve got 17 items on your list, how can that be? Everything would have to be like €1.5!” ...well, you’d be right...except for the cheese. It was €3.

uno el grande cervesa
..and cheap too!

....would you be interested to know how much it is to rent or buy an apartment?...

Apparently I was tired last night, after a walk round, I had dinner at 8ish, came home, put my feet up and fell asleep. Today is Sunday and the sidewalks have been put away for the day...so I will tell you about dinner. €18 total (tip tax everything including desert). I have always had this vision of the Mediterranean, sitting on a patio, eating fish and roasted peppers topped off with a nice glass of wine. Well its winter, and although I did sit outside last night, tonight I opted to sit inside...so no patio. It was a small restaurant, off the strip, but very nice. I was the only customer other than two gentlemen drinking coffee, but they assured me the kitchen was open. I recognize 'atun parrilla' on the menu and since I am already drinking a rather nice red wine... Rather clumsily, I ask for it 'less grilled' - thank goodness the waitress has a fair understanding of English! The chef brings it out and I perceive grilled pepper, potatoes and two rather large slabs of tuna. I give a tentative prod as I am initially sceptical, but the tuna falls apart exactly the way it should and I see that only the outer 3-4 mm are grilled. The flavour and texture are perfect! I notice the chef is watching me from the kitchen as I take my initial taste so I give him ‘the nod’. A moment later he brings out a tray of course salt in case I wish to augment the flavour a bit more... It was perhaps the best tuna I have ever had...and defiantly one of the better meals. Imagine how good it could have been if I’d gone to one of those busy places on the strip!.  J

Trip total 8992km