Today I woke and showered quickly to finish packing my bag with my toiletries and clothes that I was airing so that I can wear them again. (It's the seamier side of traveling, dealing with body odors!). Then I started walking--what a long 30 minute walk! I got there just in time to go directly to my platform and the train arrived within a few minutes and starting boarding. Whew! The security procedures for trains are so much easier than for planes. You put everything you're carrying into bins (pile them up) and send them through x-ray and a quick swipe of the wand over you. Grab your stuff, they scan your ticket and you're through! I had a short intercity train from Seville to Cordoba (54 minutes), then an hour and a half at the station (I had a croissant and lemonade at a cafe in the station), then another hour from Cordoba to Málaga in a nice Ave train (faster and nicer).
I decided to walk to the hostel (only a 30-minute walk). It had gotten much warmer, but I had dressed for the 40 degrees when I left Seville. I had jeans, wool hiking socks, hiking boots, and a sweatshirt over my t-shirt. The owner had messaged me that I could leave my bags at the hostel then come back for check-in at 2:00. When I had put my bags in the indicated area, I asked if there was a bathroom I could use to change into cooler clothes. He showed me one and I changed into capris and sandals with my t-shirt. And grabbed my hat and sunglasses to take with. When I came out, the very wonderful owner said that he had just cleaned my room if I would like to take a rest (he said that I looked tired--I was!). He said to rest and come back down after 2:00 to check in. I did actually fall asleep for a bit, waking up when people arrived. I could hear the owner's voice through my window. So I got up, changed things in my bag and when downstairs. He showed me a map he has made and printed out (very nice!). And areas of small streets to wander in the day and areas with restaurants and night life for the evenings. As well as a few monuments I might like to go see. I shared that I had booked a hike for the next day to Caminito del Rey and how I had heard to go there. He agreed that was the best plan. He checked me in and I was off!
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This was in the hostel bathroom. It says "Freedom . . .to love and feel"
Good vibes here! |
I wandered the streets in the old city--similar to Seville, but not as cute and lively. I was hungry, but not for something heavy at a restaurant but also for something more meaningful than snacks. So I found a grocer store--Dia--and bought a roll, a carton of strawberries, and a diet coke (they didn't have lemonade or a small water). The least expensive meal so far! They have many chairs on the sidewalks for people to sit or eat or whatever. So I sat in one and ate my lunch.
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| a statue in a plaza |
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| look at the turrets! |
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| Flowering tree |
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| with these flowers! |
I then went to the Teatro Romano--a Roman theater that they found in the 1950s when excavating to build something else. Free entrance fee! Lots of pics here:
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| The tunnel is where the actors came out of |
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There is the only surviving marble chair of the
upper classes |
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| extra bricks they found |
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That is one of the castles in the background
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Then I was thirsty (forgot my water bottle), had to use the bathroom, and my phone battery was getting low (I forgot my charger at the hostel). So I went back, charged my phone to 50%, then went out to wander some more and find dinner. I walked quite a ways away--about 15 minutes directly, but I meandered, and I found a restaurant that did not have a translated menu. In fact it didn't have a menu at all, not even written on a chalk board. The locals know and the wait person can tell them of any new foods. I didn't know any of this and asked for a menu. She went in and came out with the cook (owner?). He only knew a little English and French; I only know a little Spanish and a little French, so we were at an impasse. He tried describing the food to me, but I could only get a few words. Then he pulled out his phone and recorded a greeting and the entire menu into google translate (gotta love technology!). I was deciding when he said that he could make me fish and gestured frying the fish. I agreed--pescado! He made it and served me. 😊 When I finished, he brought out a box of pre-made desserts with their names on top and told me to choose one, so I did--delicious! And a very low price! When I returned to the hostel, I saw the owner and told him my story. He was delighted and asked where it was. I showed him on Google Maps (which is how I got back to the hostel). He said that he knows exactly which restaurant it was since he lives near there! He was happy to know that I wanted to eat at local places and told me where to find a few more and said that he would work on finding more for me! Too bad I only have one more day!
Tomorrow I am up early for my hike! Wish me luck!
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| one of the narrow streets |
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| a fountain |
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| The other side of the fountain |
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I wondered at first was the Hnos meant in the name of the store,
Navarro Hnos. Then I figured it out--hermanos, which means brothers.
Navarro Brothers! |
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