Malaga
In the evening we left Fuengirola, there was a bit of wind from the west and we took about 31/2 hours to get to Malaga. Half under sail, and then as it was getting dark we became motor-assisted. We understood that yachts are not welcome in Malaga harbour which is a busy commercial and fishing port, but we were able to anchor by the beach on the far side of the harbour. It was a quiet night there with little wind, just a small swell.
Malaga is still very Spanish and has a very pretty old town, because although it has a busy airport, all the tourists move on to other places and do not stay in Malaga.
Monday 19th July, after a slow start we got the dinghy to the beach about midday, this time we only used the oars, and after depositing me, Dan, Dan’s pushchair and the necessary bags on the beach, Nigel took the dinghy back to the boat and swam back to the beach. We were not sure whether it was safe to leave the dinghy on the beach although it looked ok, but given the stories we heard at La Linea our confidence had been shaken.
When we had had a quick swim we left the beach to go exploring in the town, and I asked a couple who seemed to be English if they could tell us where the old town was. The lady was English and her partner Spanish, they were very helpful but when we said we were from the boat anchored in the bay, they then invited us for a drink at their apartment nearby! It turned out that the man used to sail a lot and as he had had very good experiences of people going out of their way to help him in the past, he felt pleased to extend the favour to sailors that he met now! So we spent a couple of hours at their apartment, which was in a stunning location on the 9th floor overlooking the beach on one side and part of the harbour and town on the other side. We were treated to sherry, wine and food, and learned more about Rafael and Sarah, later we returned the favour and took the pair of them out sailing on the boat, which pleased them no end.
This was followed by a late trip to the supermarket by which time it was dark. We left the dinghy on the beach this time and it suffered no ill effects.
On Tuesday 20th July we got up a little earlier than the day before and did the same exercise with the dinghy but took Dan’s bike this time. Dan and Nigel swam for quite a while, Dan wanted to swim in his rubber ring all the way back to the boat!
Then we got ready to go to town, and while Dan was playing on his bike by the beach, he finally sang the entire alphabet song from beginning to end without any help! We have been teaching him this song for a couple of weeks.
We meandered into town via a long leafy avenue, interspersed with ice creams and a visit to a playground. We finally reached the cathedral which was very imposing and well-kept, and went down a back-street where we had a tapas lunch. Although the food was excellent the whole meal from arrival to departure must have taken two hours! Even then although it was 3 o’clock we still had to wait until 5:30 before any of the shops opened again for their “afternoon” session, so we wandered the old town for an hour, then as the wind had increased we went back to the beach to check on the boat. Nigel and Dan swam again, and this time Nigel did let Dan swim all the way to the boat with him, although with some assistance because it was a long way. Dan is getting so brave in the water! Then I had a few hours off and I went to town for some retail therapy. I went by the old 14th century castle “Castillo de Gibralfaro” and then went near the cathedral to an internet café to catch up on banking and email.
Then I wandered the shops and came away with a couple of bargains, I think Nigel was quite relieved I hadn’t spent the whole 300 Euros we had withdrawn from the cash machine that morning, actually I spent only 15 including the internet.
Back to the beach where Nigel and Dan picked me up in the dinghy, Nigel had been very efficient and not only prepared tea but done all the accumulated washing up as well! Nigel had also taught Dan to recognise the letters “A” and “B”, Dan could pick these letters out from a series of random letters.
In the morning the anchorage was very rolly and Nigel got up at 7 am to up anchor and motor away. We decided to aim for an anchorage next to Marina del Este, at the western end of the Ensenada de los Berengueles. This was 5-6 hours away. There was little wind and we motored the whole way. Nigel spotted a very large swordfish on the way, it was jumping out of the water some distance away, probably chasing another fish. When we got to the anchorages however they were very swelly and we decided to continue further.