Malaga redux, except this time we are in a car not on bikes.  And while we arrive at the furthest pier in the port this time, it really isn’t an issue since Prima Rental cars has a kiosk out here in the parking lot (as opposed to the first time we rented from them last year and were on Azamara which put us inside the actual harbor and we had a Keystone Kops morning trying to find the car and the agent!).  Unfortunately, though, there are 2 other larger ships here and they have the 2 piers right at the terminal building, meaning we need a shuttle.  Ok, well, whatever.  Except I swear our shuttle driver had never done this before and she was scaring me to death when she had to turn around at the circle at the end of the pier, barely making it around with the edge of the pier right there virtually under our wheels.  After an excruciating 5 minutes which seemed much longer, we were deposited at the terminal building, and soon on our way out into the lot to meet Sofia and pick up our car. 

Of course, Sofia remembers us, even though she wasn’t the one who met us last year.  (Remember, we have car rental friends all over the world!)  She’s adorable, chatting away, giving us our paperwork to review (because of course they already have all our information), walking us to the car, videoing all the damage (so much easier than writing it all down) and wishing us a good day up in the mountains.  Easy Peasy.

And we are off. Quickly making our way through Malaga’s waterfront and onto some little narrow side streets that eventually lead us to the road that will take us up into Antequera.  The roads are good, if not a little narrow as they start their steady climb through farmland and scrub, reaching ever higher until we see the craggy karst range ahead of us.  The views are spectacular even here. 

And of course, being us, there are goats.  Lots of goats running all over the road and along the craggy landscape next to the road.  At least we are in a car this time!  Oh and deer, who just stand there and look at us as we stop and take pictures.

Higher and higher we go until we reach the visitor’s center at almost 4,000 feet in elevation.  We luckily find parking here – the lot is little and notorious for being packed full.  There is a lower parking lot (that we never saw) where overflow cars park and then it is either a 4 hour hike up to here, or a shuttle that runs between.  Because it is relatively early on a Monday morning, we have our choice of parking spots. Although there is a bus up here.  Hmmmm…..a bus? Really?  Oh well.

Stopping at the visitor’s center to buy a map, we proceed first to the lookout point with incredible views out over the Andalusian valley.

Then quickly reverse our course and hit the trails before they are crowded with bus people.  There are 2 trails here, the green which is a 45-minute round trip and the yellow which is 2 hours.  The both start at the bottom of the carpark, and we figure we’ll decide which to do when we get to the fork that divides the green and yellow.  What ensues next is one of the most incredible hikes we’ve taken.  The karsts are amazingly beautiful, and it is one stunning view after another.

We are out in the middle of nowhere, on a path that can only be discerned by the rocks that have been strewn to indicate the way to go, very few signposts, but at least they are there – and literally hardly anyone around.  There are 2 women ahead of us and eventually we come upon a few other hardy souls – but otherwise there is nothing but us and nature and incredible vistas.

Every corner we walk around opens up onto more stunning views of the karsts, the scrub pines and trees, the rugged stone strewn paths. Boredom warning!  We took WAY too many pictures, most of which you will probably all just skip through!

We couldn’t help it.  This place is gorgeous – and immense – and the day is perfect and how could we not just snap away?

At the fork in the trail we decide to play it safe and just stay on the shorter green trail – it is already going to take us way longer than 45 minutes to make the circuit.  The hiking is not easy going – we’re climbing over all sorts of rocks and debris, searching for sign posts.  Plus stopping to take a million pictures.  If we took the Yellow trail it would probably take us 4 hours to get back to the carpark!  And  how much more beauty do we need to see?

Well, obviously more because we keep snapping pictures!  If nothing else, do take a look at some of the trail signposts, um, spray painted arrows on rocks!  At least they are there for us, because there are some areas where it was a little nerve-wracking trying to find the path. 

Completely the whole circuit, we end up back at the visitors’ center in an hour and a half.  Yeah, that yellow trail was definitely not an option.  Hit the restroom and hit the road.  And good thing – oh my god – there are 3 busloads of people arriving up here!  What are all these people going to do? Hike the trail? Timing is everything, as we always say.  And not just for the peacefulness we had out on the trail, but also for the driving these narrow little mountain roads with a bus coming at us in the opposite direction.  Oh no, that would have been so ugly!

Our luck holds on the drive out too – there is hardly another car on the road, allowing us to stop along the way to take more and more gorgeous pictures of the Andalusian countryside from way up here in the mountains.  Stunning!

Traversing the  mountain range, eventually dropping down out of the highest peaks, then weaving our way up again to the town of Antequera, we sort of miss the parking lot at the bottom of the town (where the guidebooks say to park) and get messed up with the stupid GPS telling us to turn on these little teeny narrow and steep cobblestone lanes (uh, no, see Heraklion for reference!!!).  We decide to just park the car on this wide road where there are lots of other cars parallel parked and make our way on foot to the Alcazaba at the top of the town.  This actually turns out to be the right move, as we are on the outskirts of the walled city, but essentially right below the Alcazaba and the Real Colegiate de Santa Maria la Mayor church. The walk from here is much quicker and easier than from where the parking lot was located!  Bonus.

On the way up, we are treated to views of beautiful old stone architecture as well as the ruins of a Roman thermae (or baths) of Santa Maria.  Excavated and preserved, the ruins sit regally atop the mountain with the city spread out below them.

Rounding a corner, we come upon the majestic Santa Maria church, opened in 1550,  and the Arco de los Gigantes – the arch of the giants which was the entrance to the ancient Arab medina.  Here again there are stunning views out over the city of Antequera stretching out below.

Fortunately also, here is the entrance to the Alcazaba (and not where the stupid GPS is telling us to go).  Choosing to only visit the Citadel and not the church (adding on the church was WAY expensive) we wander through the fortifications and pretty gardens, listening to piped in music from hidden speakers as we enjoy the scenes and atmosphere.

We spend a nice 30 minutes or so wandering around, climbing the different towers and jumping 2 feet in the air when the bell tolls as we are climbing up.  The town is huge, as we can see from up high, but so beautiful, the white houses a fabulous contrast to the brown hills in the distance.

Making the complete circuit, we easily end up back at our car and ready to head back to Malaga.  On the way, we figure we can find a restaurant for lunch, but after gassing up the car, we spy a grocery store where we decide to just buy picnic supplies and find somewhere on the way back to stop and eat.  Perfect. A big bottle of water, ham, cheese, 2 great rolls and we are ready to roll.  Sadly though, all the roads back to Malaga are highways, but we do manage to find a service area where we can stop, park near some bushes in the shade and have our picnic lunch in the car.  Ok, not the most atmospheric or beautiful place to eat, but sustenance and shade worked well.

Getting back to Malaga was a breeze, successfully dropping off the car around 2:30.  It was far too early to go back aboard, so we wandered down the promenade by the port, heading toward Playa la Malagueta to try to have an afternoon refreshment at one of the Chiringuitos (beach bars) lining the beach. We quickly determined that was not the way to go for an afternoon drink.  They were all totally packed, none had restroom facilities that we could see and, being on the beach, well, the tables were in the sand. Yeah, not happening.

But, as this is our 3^rd time here, we sort of know the lay of the land, and knew we could just walk across the street and find something that would suit our needs. And, of course, we did – at Cerveceria Unterturkheim, a wonderful little German beer bar (of all things) – where we had excellent beer and wine as well as some great spicy olives (which I tried to order extra but think they just came with the drinks) and a plate of local sausage (which we did order extra!).

Time to stroll back to the terminal, take the shuttle (fortunately driven by someone other than newbie girl) and hang out the rest of the afternoon aboard, taking some great photos of the coastline from our cabin. And then later, the sunset over the concrete factory way in the distance (where we cycled past on our last visit here in Malaga!).

Typical evening aboard – gym, drinks, dinner at the crazy restaurant – and then the Rolling Stone lounge band, who are an excellent band, then nightcaps on the balcony.  Amazingly, we only have 3 ports left. Can’t believe this is the last leg of our journey. Seems like just yesterday we left – and then again seems like forever.