Ah Malaga, yet again!  Today we are adventuring our way up into the mountains off the coast to one of the Parks to hike.  There are a couple of other sites along the way we may stop for, but our goal is the nature hike.  We dock right in the harbor like we did the first time we were here.  It is so convenient!  Maybe a 5 minute walk into town.  We’ve rented our car from Prima Rental, as always, and know exactly where their office is, so we head right there, arriving early (of course) to a darkened not open yet office.  Ok, we’ll just go stand in the sun until 9am when they open (because it is rather chilly here this morning if you are not directly in the sun).

We head back to the office at the appointed time, only to find out that this is not the office where they have the cars!  You know, we were wondering.  It is dead smack in the middle of a pedestrian area, and we couldn’t figure out where the cars would be kept. As it turns out, they are about a 10 minute walk away.  The sweet girl calls the other office, gets somebody on the line, then finds keys for us in her desk and gives us a great printed map with QR codes that open Google maps to direct us to the other office – where we will drop the keys – and the garage.  Ok – we’re off!

It is a nice walk through town to the garage, which is typical European – the entrance is a huge glass building like structure on the sidewalk – the car entrance just a ramp in the middle of the street.  We go down to level 3, find the car parked in the numbered spot, take our pictures of any damage to send via WhatsApp and go on our way.  Well, sort of.  First we have to get out of the lot.  There is a gate on our level and the reservation gal said we use the card attached to the keys to get out. But it doesn’t work – there is no where to insert a card and the QR code doesn’t scan.  Yikes! We’re getting a little perturbed, and nervous because there is someone now behind us trying to get out, when we spy the little information button. Pushing the button, a disembodied voice greets us and we say Prima Rental, and voila! Gate up!  Same thing (we’re old pros now!) at the exit gate, and we are on our way with minimal fuss.

Of course, now we have to contend with Google Maps which sends us up these hills on little teeny narrow roads that wind and twist through houses and apartment flats and finally, mercifully, puts us out onto the autoway to start our journey up the coast and into the mountains.  Stupid Google Maps – there’s gotta be an easier way!  But we’re here now, so off we go, heading to the town of Frigiliana and the National park beyond.

The drive is easy enough on the autoway, straight and uncomplicated.  But as we get closer to the exit for Frigiliana, we notice that the fog has returned to the coast, hugging the bay area near Nerja which is where there is supposed to be a wonderful viewpoint over the town and the ocean. Hmmm, unless it clears, that’s one less stop on our itinerary.

In a little less than an hour we are off the autoway and on our way up into the mountains, passing Frigiliana which we realize is one of the White Villages of Spain.  It is gorgeous, all white and shining in the sun nestled on the side of the green forested mountains. 

We keep climbing and climbing, up and up, on narrow roads that are getting narrower and narrower as we go.  Ed and I have both tried to research this park, and neither of us could find any official “entrance” or carpark or anything, just a lot of information on trails all the through the park.  We had figured we’d just head out there and find somewhere to hike, but that is looking a bit unlikely as we continue on up the mountain side on what are now turning into dirt roads!  Can you say Crete-2?  Oh no, we are definitely not doing that again! Abort, abort!

Turning around at a particularly wide spot in the dirt road, we high tail it out of there, even as other cars are coming up the mountain and traversing down said dirt road.  We figure they know what they are doing and we certainly do not – so Plan B!  We’re going to explore Frigiliana!  At least we had some spectacular vistas as we were driving up and down that mountain.

We had actually planned to wander the town anyway, figuring it would be a good place for lunch. We just hadn’t planned on being this early.  But hey, it’s not fun if it isn’t an adventure, right?  At least we can stretch our legs a bit by wandering through the narrow little streets of this cute town. 

We dump the car in one of the first free parking spots we find on the main road.  We’re a good ways out from the main square, but decided this was preferable rather than trying to navigate the parking garage which charges hourly.  Besides, we’d rather walk more than less, so off we go on our walk into the town, striking out in one direction which turns out to be pretty much the residential area.  Not much is up here besides houses and a couple of BnB’s.  Reversing course we head back to the town square area and find that there are 3 or 4 full tour buses disgorging their passengers.  Yikes!  We had better hurry and find a place to eat before the hordes descend.

Wandering up into the cobblestone pedestrian area on the other side of the square, we find a lovely little spot called El Comendao, where there are incredibly affordable tapas and we tuck into a spread of croquettas, fried shrimp and this delicious beetroot dip type thing.  Yummy!  All with a fabulous view over the town. How could you ask for anything more?

After lunch we continued on our wandering, heading through the town in the direction of our car, marveling over the gorgeous views, the pretty cobblestone lanes and stunning whitewashed buildings.

Choosing a staircase to get down to the main road, we actually manage to pick the one that is directly across from our car!  Pretty good navigation, if we do say so ourselves! 

The drive down the mountain provides more spectacular views across the rolling hills, dotted with houses and orchards.  The fog is still rolling in, even more so now it seems, so we give up on the panoramic outlook and head to the Caves of Nerja.  Great decision!  The caves were rediscovered in 1959 by 5 boys who were exploring some sinkhole.  A series of caverns stretching for almost 3 miles, the sections open to the public are just amazing.  Its stalactite after stalagmite! I don’t know how big the public area is, but it seems to stretch on forever – and it is just a small portion of the total cave system. Luray Caverns on steroids!  Beware – picture boredom below!  You just can’t get enough of the caves though – they are so incredible. 

Once we have had our fill with spelunking, we head outside to wander around some pretty botanical gardens, marveling at the wildly different acorns – they are elongated and just wild – and some berries of indeterminate type (there is signage, but it is hard to tell which plant belongs to which sign).  There are also excellent views across the town of Nerja, where we get to watch the fog creep in off the water.

Then it is back into town, with a quick pit stop at Lidl for supplies and BP for gas, where the sweet cashier speaks rapidfire Spanish to me about some rewards/points card that apparently I must have.  Ok, sure, now we have one….will we ever accumulate enough points to redeem for a prize?  And if we did, how would we even get whatever prize we wanted?  We won’t, but it’s fun to at least look at and think about – and use as a replacement for a keycard in hotels that require a card for the electricity!

We successfully navigate our way back through the narrow little streets (we had tried to go a different route but were foiled by a weird ramp that Google Maps didn’t warn us about) to the parking garage entrance and into the designated spots for Prima rental.  A very successful adventure all in all.

Walking back to the ship, it is decidedly cold, even in the sun, and we have fears for White Night as I have no alternative to warm weather white get ups.  Oh well – it may be a Black Night for me!  The sun is beautiful on the castle up on the hill, but the fog is rolling in even here, as we go upstairs to grab out AAC 2 top table on the top deck. 

Ours is the only 2 top up there, along with 4 tops along the rail, and as we sit there, here comes the bar staff to move all the 4 top tables.  Hmmm….was it something we said?  Not that we mind being up here all by ourselves, but still…..totally funny!

It is a beautiful place to have White Night though, the castle and fortress are lit up and gorgeous – and even though it is definitely cold (it is a purple night for me now but I bow to tradition with my off-white cat scarf – thank you Natalie – as an accent).  And White/Purple Night is, as always, a wonderful way to spend an evening on deck aboard the Pursuit.