Málaga

The Yellow group with Victor in Málaga

Málaga is the birthplace of Picasso, Antonio Banderas, and our guide Victor. We could see his top floor apartment from the square next to the port. Malaga was founded by the Phoenicians in 770 BC. We walked the old city, which is changing like so many. Residents can’t afford to live there as the apartments are converted to short-term rentals for tourists. These rentals are marked AT, Apartment Touristico. The Cathedral of the Annunciation has only one completed tower. The money to complete the second tower was reappropriated to aid the Americans in their fight against the British. The Marquis de Galves sent Spanish troops to defeat the British at the battle of Pensacola.  The money to complete the second tower has just been approved including $3 million from the American Sons of the Revolution.

Picasso's Minitaur

We visited the Picasso Museum. 187 works of art were donated by Picasso’s daughter. I’ll admit I’m not a fan of his art, but you could see his childlike nature in his art. Underneath the museum are the foundations of buildings built by the Phoenicians and Romans. We sampled salted almonds grown in the region and Muscatine wine as we toured the old town. The highlight of the morning was seeing the religious floats used in the Holy Week processions. These are maintained and carried by Brotherhoods (Confraternities). 250 men lift the 2 ½ ton floats at the sound of the bell, followed by 500 men in hooded red robes, Capirotes, through the streets from 7 PM to 2 AM.

Holy Week Float

We then had a home hosted lunch with Naria and Francisco. Their apartment is on the third floor overlooking the Sea. Naria volunteered for these lunches because she wanted to better learn English, since her husband, daughter, and son all speak it. We had a lively conversation and delicious meal of local dishes: Russian salad, potatoes omelets, and prune flavored pork.

Alcazar and Cathedral from the Castle

In the afternoon I climbed to the Castle of Gibrafaro originally built by the Phoenicians with a lighthouse. Most of the structure today is from the 14^th century. In 1487, the castle was sieged by the Catholics for 3 months forcing the Arabs to surrender. Below is the Alcazaba built in the 11^th century. A double wall was constructed between here and the castle.

European Union Lecture

In the afternoon, Professor Juan Zaro lectured about Spain and the European Union. Spain has historically had an inferiority complex with respect to Europe probably because of the Moorish occupation. The European Economic Community was created in 1957. It became the European Union in 1963. Spain joined in 1986 after it had been a democracy for several years. It is now the 3^rd largest country in the Union. Countries are represented based on their population. There are 24 official languages. Associated with the union is the Schengen treaty, members allow freedom of goods and people, both for labor and immigration, within the region. All EU members except Bulgaria, Romania, and Cypress belong. The EU has strict standards for food safety, consumer rights, and environmental protection. It has no army that is provided by NATO. Foreign policy and social programs remain the province of the individual countries.

That night we had a session of fairy tales. The trip leaders were the actors for the first, while we provided the actors for the second. 

Fairy Tale from trip leaders

Gibraltar

 

Gibraltar is only 2 ½ square miles and has 34,000 inhabitants with no water, agriculture, minerals or factories. But it has served as a strategic fortress and naval shipyard for most of its history. This was the first foothold for the Arabs on the European continent. The Spaniards drove the Arabs out, and later the British took it from Spain during the War of Spanish Succession. The military post was significantly downsized in 1980. The tax laws were changed to encourage the growth of the financial sector, the number 1 industry, followed by the ship services (refueling primarily) and then tourism.

St. Michael's Cave

We stopped at the lighthouse on the southern shore to see the African coast, then began climbing the rock to St. Michael’s cave. The bottomless pit of the cave drops 700 feet. The cave has its name from the rock formation that looks like an angel. Then we entered a large chamber that was used as a hospital during World War II, but now serves as a theater because of the acoustics.

Nee and monkey

Gibraltar has about 300 Barbary Macaque monkeys probably brought here by the Moors from the Barbary coast. During World War II the Monkey’s failed to reproduce, probably from the stress of all military construction during that time. Rumor had it that Great Britain would fall if the Gibraltar monkeys died off, so Churchill imported monkeys to fortify the population.

Cannon battery in the Siege Tunnels

We visited the Great Siege Tunnels. La Linea is the Spanish city just beyond the airport. This was the line that the cannons could reach from here. From 1779 to 1783, the Spanish and French armies and navies laid siege to Gibraltar. Fearful that the enemy could sneak across the line along the causeway, the British dug a tunnel through the rock to reach a shelf from where they could place cannon to protect the causeway. As they dug, they placed their first cannon about halfway to the ledge, then proceeded to dig underneath the ledge realizing that they would be protected from return fire if they placed their cannon within the limestone rock. During World War II, the Allies dug over 34 miles of tunnels, roads, and hospitals within the Rock. Hitler made a strategic error by not taking Gibraltar before opening the Russian Front. Gibraltar became a major transport harbor for supplying Great Britain and the headquarters for attacking North Africa.

That night we were entertained by the Corinthian Spice Boys Band.

Tangier, Morocco

 

The streets of Tangier

Tangier protects the entrance to the straits of Gibraltar. It was a French protectorate for many years but enjoyed status as a tax-free international city from 1923 to 1957. We entered the old city at the gate of the Kasbar, the Fort. The Kasbar is 9 acres of the 62-acre old city, the Medina or marketplace constitutes the residential and businesses of the city. From the Fort we could see the European continent in the haze. The straits are 8 miles wide and 280 meters deep except at the closest point where it is 1000 meters deep. This is because the Mediterranean waters are salter than the Atlantic so that water sinks and cuts the channel deeper as it escapes into the Atlantic. We found many picturesque spots as we wandered the city. Our guide pointed out scenes that Matisse had painted or that we would find in various movies. The marketplace was busy with lots of folks dressed in traditional kandura (no hood) or jalaba(hooded) long clothes.

The markets

We bussed around the city, and we saw construction everywhere. The population in 1982 was 200K, today it is 1.2 million. The King of Morocco is visiting the city today, so the military were about in their dress uniforms.

Military in their finest

Our lunch was at the Darna farm. They take boys off the street, provide protection for them, and teach them skills particularly in carpentry, cooking, arts, and theatre. Here the boys maintain a petting school for nearby children. Fifteen boys live here and another 18 participate in the activities. Another unit assists disadvantaged girls and women with children. We had a short show of acrobatics.

Lunch at Darna Farm

Cordoba

A house in old Cordoba

We explored the Jewish quarter of the old city of Cordoba. Extended families lived in most of these homes. Less than 1% of Spain is Jewish, but all Safardic Jews have the right to return. During April and May, Cordoba has multiple festivals: wine, patio, and flower festivals. We passed the Statue of Ben Maimonidies, a Jewish philosopher who wrote in Arabic script.

The columns and arches of the Mosque

Cordoba was the original capital of Arab Spain. In the 10^th century, it was the second largest city in Europe. The Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba is unique. The Mezquita, mosque, was built over a Visigoth Church in 780 then expanded 3 times over the next 200 years, it’s now 250,000 square feet. Today 80% of the building is Arabic design with 1000 columns and 2000 arches. In 1236, the Catholics defeated the Arabs and began construction of the Royal chapel within the mosque building, adding tombs and statues of human figures, something forbidden in a mosque. 

The Royal Chapel

Nearby remains the platform where the Iman used to lead his congregation. In the 16^th century, the Cathedral was built rising within and above the mosque. It is amazing how they could build this Cathedral within the original mosque.

The Bull Farm and Seville's April Festival

 

Javier and his ancestral home

Today Javier showed us the oldest bull farm in Spain, Serto de Fuente. He is a 4^th-generation rancher. They sent their first bull to the Ring in 1888. Since then, the village of La Pasajosas has grown around their 1700-acre family farm. There are 348 bull ranches in Spain. The bulls are separated into fields by age. In the first area are the bulls that are 1 or 2 years old. Because of the drought, they’ve had to supplement their grass with animal feed. The bulls have several markings: a circle with 3 lines is the farm brand above that is their year of birth. The qualities they are looking for are fast bulls with straight noble horns that are just beginning to curve. In the second area were the 3-year-olds. Here the bulls have settled into groups with some lone bulls who have lost fights lingering in the area. Finally, we saw the sixty 4-year-olds, these are scheduled for the bull ring this year. On average they will sell for 4000 Euro. Their meat is tough and only worth 200 Euro. In Spain, bull fights are considered a performance art, not a sport. A bull fight has six bulls and three bull fighters. The bulls have never seen a bullfighter before. Each fight is about 15 minutes. The bull is stressed being separated from the herd. The fight ends with a sword strike to the heart. We debated on whether this was animal cruelty or not. What is a better life? A gentle life on the farm and a quick death, or the life in a feedlot and death in a slaughterhouse. The cows and bulls used for reproduction die a natural death after about 12 years. We had lunch at the family home, originally built in 1830.

Three year old bulls

In the afternoon I walked in Seville to the Plaza de Espana, the Golden Tower and the Bull fighting ring.

Plaza de Espana

After dinner we visited the April Festival of Seville, la Feria de Seville. It starts 2 weeks after Easter and lasts for 2 weeks. Over a million people attend the festival. We’ve been watching the parade of carriages and walkers from our ship from noon until 7 AM the next day. The fair is held just across the Guadalquivir river from our ship. People dance and sing in each of the marquee tents, “casitas”, which are setup by companies, politicians, and organizations. Most of the women are dressed in flamenco dresses with Manta de Manilla shawls, the men in suits, even some of the teenagers.

Seville

 

Columbia Pavaillion

Within walking distance from our ship were the pavilions from the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929. Most of the pavilions are still in use as university buildings, civil buildings, or consulates. The medieval walls of Seville have mostly been torn down to create a ring road around the old city. We started our walking tour in the old Jewish Quarter, called Santa Cruz. Most of the Jews were forced to leave when the inquisition started in 1492. The Murillo Gardens cover part of this quarter. We also saw some of the city walls with their pipes for carrying water into the city.

Interior courtyard of Mudejar Palace

Then we entered the Alcazar, the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe today. Originally built as a fort by the Moors in 913. In 1366 the Mudejar Palace was built by Pedro I and later Philippe and Isabela used the upper floors as their residence. Here we saw the painting of Our Lady of the Navigators where Spanish explorers would pray before their voyage. It shows the discovery of the Americas as well as Christopher Columbus, with raised arms. The most spectacular room was the Throne Room.

Bells of the Cathedral

In the afternoon we returned to the old city to visit the Cathedral of Seville. This is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and larger than St Peter’s in area, but not length. The church tower was originally a minaret and has 34 ramps to the top so that the sultan could ride his horse to the top. The Giralda Tower is built to resemble the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh. The church elders who built the church goal was to “build a church so beautiful and grand that people will believe we are mad”. They succeeded with an altar of gold and an altar of silver. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also unique. This afternoon we broke the record high for the month of April at 97.

Tomb of Christopher Columbus

That evening we were entertained with a Flamenco performance.

Boarding the Corinthian at Portimão

 

Quinta Vales Winery

The ship leaves from Portimão to avoid our first night being in the rough part of the Atlantic Ocean. This region of Portugal was known for Sardine canning. Today it is a resort community with many golf courses because of its mild climate. Before boarding we stopped at the Quinta Vales winery. It used to be a fruit farm, but now is a 21 hectares vineyard, producing 15 varieties of grapes. Seventy percent of their production is white wine.

The Corinthian

Azeitão

 

Laura rolling out the mud

In the town of Azeitão, we visited a tile artisan shop. Dagmar demonstrated the process beginning with rolling out the river mud, it is dried for one to three months before being fired for 19 hours, then a white glaze is applied. They primarily make traditional tiles in blue, white, and yellow, but can make many other mineral colors. We were given the opportunity to hand paint our own tile. They’ll fire them today.

Our cheese makers

Then we visited a nearby dairy farm, and they demonstrated the traditional way of making their local sheep cheese. They use wild artichoke, cardon, to provide the unique taste. Milk is poured through a cheese cloth that has salt to begin the curdling process. Six of us were asked to help separating the curds from the whey. Then we were treated to four differently aged version of the cheese.

View from Castle

In the afternoon I did a walk of the Alfama District. I started at the Cathedral, the church was closed, then the Church of St. Anthony, tradition says he was born here. Then up the hill to the Castle of St. George originally built by the Moors. The Castle as several great viewpoints over the city. The outer walls and the castle walls remain. I walked the castle walls. There is also a small museum with artifacts from the castle. From here you walk down this hill and walk up a nearby hill to view the castle from the Church of Christ, famous for its Christ carrying the cross which is carried through the streets during Holy Week.

Entry to the Monastery

Down the hill is the Monastery of St. Vincent de Fora. The entry to the Monastery was stunning. Throughout the walls and staircases at traditional blue and white, azulejo tiles. The sacristy is decorated with marble statues and paintings. There also was an exhibit of tiles pictures depicting the Fables of La Fontaine published in 1668. Further down the hill is the National Pantheon where many famous figures are buried. I hurried past the Fado Museum because dinner was approaching.

Lisbon

 

Belém Tower

We bussed and walked the major sights of Lisbon as indicated by the vast tourist crowds. We started in the Belam (Bethlehem) neighborhood visiting the Belém Tower built in 1521 on an island to defend the harbor. The 1755 earthquake moved the Tagus River, so it is now on the north side of the river and the tower had to be rebuilt. A tsunami followed the earthquake, together a third of the people died. The old monastery, now housing several museums, was closed off because the President of Brazil was visiting Lisbon. Then we went to the Monument of Discoveries celebrating Portugal’s golden age when their navigators discovered the coast of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, and the routes to India, SE Asia, Macau, and Japan. Henry the Navigator leads this collection of 32 important figures. The only woman is the wife of King Juan I and mother of Henry. In 1500 they discovered Brazil after a storm blew them off course from Africa.

Monument of Discoveries

We headed to the Al Fama neighborhood which was 90% destroyed by the earthquake. Only 16 houses remain with their unique design where the ground floor is narrower than the upper floors so that carriages could pass through the narrow streets. We saw the Elevador de Santa Justa we had visited earlier from street level as well as Rossio Square. Lunch was cod, Portugal is 2^nd next to Japan with their consumption of fish. They have over 300 recipes for cod. Our final stop was Church of St. Domingo, which burned in 1959. The roof and altar have been replaced, but the walls remain fire scarred.

Elevador de Santa Justa

Óbidos, Portugal

 

Azulejo (blue tiles) in the gate to Óbidos

The town of Óbidos  was taken from the Moors in 1148 by Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques. By tradition, the town was given to the queen as part of her dowry by many subsequent kings. The town remains surrounded by its medieval walls, but the keep is now a hotel. We walked the streets where the shops cater to tourists. The church of Santa Maria is known for its paintings by Josefa de Óbidos, a female painter from the 17^th century. We wandered the town in the rain before sampling Ginja, a cherry liquor from chocolate cups. Then we had lunch in town. As we left it was pouring rain.

Santa Maria in Óbodos

Cascais and Sintra, Portugal

 

We drove to the nearby coastal town of Cascais. Once a fishing village, in 1870 it became the residence of the Royal family. During World War II it became the home of many royal families escaping the Nazis including, Spain, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Today it is known for its beaches and marina.

Palace of Sintra

We learned that Portuguese is the sixth most popular language in the world, largely because of Brazil and Portugal’s many former colonies. The second largest concentration of Portuguese people is in New Jersey. We drove along the coast to the Western most point on the European continent. Then up into the hills to the town of Sintra. Here we toured the oldest royal palace in Europe, built in 1385. Most of the rooms are tiled with tiles as old as 500 years. The rooms also had unique ceilings: the swan room with 27 swans (the age of Isabel when she married Philip), the magpie room with 136 magpies (the number of her handmaidens). The tiles in the third room were newer because they featured corn stalks – corn was discovered in the new world. The most spectacular room was the Coat of Arms room with 72 coat of arms. King Manuel I is in the center with the king’s children surrounding and other relatives below. On the walls are large scenes in blue and white tiles from the 15^th century. 

Coat of Arms Ceiling

The Castle is unique because of its two symbolic chimneys above the kitchen. Fires were maintained in the arches above the floor, then the coals were moved to the holes beneath the shelves where the pans were heated. This was a different royal palace.

The Kitchen

We had lunch across the street from the palace. After lunch, I climbed the hill, trying to reach the Castle of the Moors, built in the 8^th and 9^th century. I got to within 200 yards but ran out of time.

Castle of the Moors

Lisbon

 

Our guide Maria and the Elevador de Gloria

This morning we learned how to use the metro, then used the same ticket to climb the hill on the Elevador de Gloria. From the Miradoura de Sao Pedro de Alcantara viewpoint, we could see across the valley to the Castle of St George and the Cathedral. Lisbon was founded by the Phoenicians around 1200 BC. In 1755, a major earthquake destroyed most of the city. Nearby we found the church of Sao Roque.

Fado at Lunch

In the Principal Real neighborhood, we found many restaurants offering traditional Portuguese music, Fado, usually offered at dinner time into the wee hours. Fado is performed with Portuguese, classical, and bass guitars with a singer. We were entertained by two well-known fado singers, Elsa Loureino and Pedro Moutinho in the Alfaia Restaurant.

Love of the Centaurs by Reubens

In the afternoon, we went to the Calouste Gulbenkian Gardens and Museum. The museum had eclectic collection from ancient coins to Chinese vases, Turkish rugs, paintings, and jewelry. 

19th Century Dragonfly Ornament

 

Arrival in Lisbon

 

We arrived about noon and miraculously our room was ready, so we caught a nap. I explored the neighborhood to find that the Altis Grand Hotel was 2 blocks from Independence Avenue, the major street in the downtown area and about 3 blocks from the Botanical Garden.

Lisbon from Edward VII Park

That evening we met the group over some port wine. We had dinner in a nearby restaurant 39 Steps, a converted movie theater named for the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Beautiful building with reasonable prices.

Interior of 39 Steps