“In our town, it was in the early days, when we were taking the town, the fascists were in the municipal building and in the house of the priest and in the pension where the officers lived. They had barricaded themselves and we had to take the streets one by one. But there was one thing they did not know. There was a man named Don Guillermo Martín who was a fascist, and he had a shop where he sold cameras and photographic supplies. And he was in his shop and he did not know what was happening in the town, and when they came for him, he was in his shop, and they took him out into the street and they marched him up to the cliff.”
Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
"There is a tour for Alhambra tomorrow," said the young woman at the front desk in the Malaga resort. "It leaves in the morning."
We made arrangements for the next day, and when the next day came, we were at the bus stop a few minutes early. Rochelle and I waited and waited. Darn bus never came. It turned out the clerk had given us the wrong date, and as the next available date was outside our stay, our Alhambra tour did not happen.
Instead of Alhambra, we decided to hang out in the vicinity and visit the white pueblos on the Andalusian mountains.
I like the freedom of exploring. Of getting lost and discovery. Preplanned routes are great when the situation warrants it, but as soon as they become strict scheduled affairs, the wild barbarian in me comes out and rebels. I like to stand on any given street corner and leisurely check out the scene without feeling like I have to be somewhere else dictated by the clock. These beautiful places in Spain are great for random exploration.
Then we were off to Ronda to explore the historic ruins. This area contains the remains of prehistoric Neolithic settlements including cave paintings, but as I was not aware of this fact when I was there, I did not get to see it. I guess there's something to be said about planning your trip beforehand. 😄
“They had him in the line with the others and they were pushing them toward the edge of the cliff and he was shouting, ‘Viva España! Viva Franco!’ and then they pushed him over and he went down out of sight and you could not hear him hit because it was too far.”
Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
A few of these bridges became infamous because of the proclivity of the locals to chuck people from them during times of struggle
“That was in my town and it was very curious to see and it made me sick to watch it, but I watched it because I thought it was right and just that they should die. But now I am not so sure.”
Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
Over the course of the following days, we explored the surrounding cities like Marbella and other coastal towns joined by the railway.
"That's the rock of Gibraltar," said the waiter. "You can see it from here."
All too soon, we had to say goodbye to lively and colorful Malaga and move on to our next destination: Dénia.
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