Before I get too far ahead of myself, I will give a recap of my time in Málaga. Although I was not quite as captivated my Málaga as I was by Granada and Sevilla, I still had a lot of fun. As a bigger city, Málaga had larger processionals which was really cool to see. My first day I happened to wait in the perfect area and got to see the Virgin really closely. It is truly amazing how intricate these things are. I enjoyed the processionals themselves, but the social scientist in me, also loved watching and observing the people. I am very impressed with the importance and the tradition that the people here in Andalucía put on these processionals. Families were all on the street, you could tell they were there waiting for hours, children ran through the streets making wax balls from the drippings and a good time was had by all. I could tell that it was a social event for the people, but it was religious as well; whenever a trono passed by, the people stopped what they were doing, gave a moment of silence and often times prayed. I learned that over the course of the week, 60 processionals occurred in Málaga! Hundreds or thousands of men, women, and children sacrificed hours of their days, wearing garb that I'm sure was hot and stuffy, carrying hot, burning candles, and carrying tons of weight in the tronos (Jesus and the Virgin Mary). It was an amazing thing to get to be a part of.
During this trip I have really embraced the concept of walking tours! They are so much fun! As a solo traveler especially, they provide an excellent way to meet people, learn about the history of a place and hear about things in a city from people who live there. Our guide in Málaga was phenomenal! I learned so much and he had so many great stories, legends and facts to share with us, I really felt like I knew a lot more about the place I was in by the end of the tour. The same happened in Sevilla yesterday too!
One of my favorite things that I experienced in Málaga was the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro. These two buildings are remnants from the Moorish era and are so impressive to me! I will post pics on FB soon, but just fair warning that I was obsessed with them and took sooo many! It was truly an incredible experience and a fantastic way to spend my last day in the city! I also got a bit of beach time though the water was too cold to get in!
When I got to my hostel in Sevilla, the first thing I did was drop my bags and head to La Plaza de España. I really wanted to see it lit up at night, and it did not disappoint! I was so impressed by the gentle beauty that it had and how intricate all of the pieces were, learning more about it the next day on the tour was great too! I couldn't believe that such a work never achieved its purpose of welcoming people the the international exposition because of the poor economic conditions of the world at the time that it was to be held. Nonetheless, it is still an amazing part of Sevilla that I am sure the people who live here love very much.
Today before the rain, I went to La Catedral y Giralda for a look inside. The edifice itself is impressive and the inside did not disappoint. My favorite part by far was going to the top of the Giralda tower. From this point I could see the whole city, and many parts of the Catedral from a higher point of view which was incredible.
Tonight I am heading to a flamenco show and tomorrow I will explore the Alcázar, then Saturday I am off to Córdoba for a day trip, and then Sunday it is back to Pamplona for me! I can't believe how fast the time has gone, but I have really enjoyed all of it. I will detail the rest of my trip and some general thoughts about solo travel in my next blog, so stay on the lookout!