Hotel California (Cartagena - Almería - Málaga)

To pick up from the last blog, it was time for dinner. After weeks of tapas and the occasional pizza, we opted for old school pub food, a burger. Don't despair, dear reader, we returned to La Taranta where I noted burgers on their menu a few days back. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Smoky bacon, wood-charred beef, green tomato (interesting) and the usuals, except beetroot, we're not in Australia, Toto. A lesson for all pubs back in the home country ... the bun stayed together until the last mouthful.

Back at the hotel, we part-packed before retiring for the night. The bars and clubs on the dock were pumping and the Saturday night party people were out in force. Not even our double glazed windows could drown out all the revelry.

In the morning, we needed to find a new breakfast place as our regular haunt was closed. We found one on our second attempt. Kuss offered things way too sweet for my palate. Down a side street, we found another café and headed out the back, away from the smokers to order tostados and double espressos. Suitably charged, we returned to the hotel to finish packing and check out.

I wasn't looking forward to escaping from the maze of columns they call a carpark, but the carlift was successfully negotiated and we were free! Next stop was a service station to refuel the car. Petrol was €1.50/l or about $2.65 AUD.

The drive to Málaga was about 4 hours so we thought we would stop at Almería, another port town with a fortress. It was almost half way between our final destination and Cartagena. Jayne had located a positively reviewd parking area, with coordinates loaded into Apple maps and off we went.

They love a tunnel.

The first interesting event of the day was the toll road. We have encountered many toll plazas on this trip. They all require you pay by card, no Amex, philistines. This one tricked me by offering a ticket. Confusing. I reveresed out and read the sign which simply said, "ticket". Back in again, thankfully there was no traffic, and there was ticket waving in the breeze. Ticket rescued on we went. In small print, we were instructed to keep the ticket to present at the point of exit, otherwise we would be charged for the longest distance possible.

No space wasted.

The scenery was remarkable only in that it was a never ending sea of hot houses. We have no idea what they were growing, but on the flat land they covered the ground as far as you could see. In hilly areas, they were carved into the terraces. The soil, that grey, limestone dirt looks like it wouldn't support anything. Obvioulsy I'm wrong in that assessment.

Greenhouses everywhere.

We peeled off the A7 at Almería and followed the instructions to the carpark. Almost. The entire wharf area is under reconstruction so the road we needed to access the carpark no longer existed. After a couple of mainies, we found where we could park. It required a walk because the construction had closed all pedestrian access except at the either extremity of the wharf area - maybe a km or so apart. Well, it is a transit day. Not everything can go well.

Not what we expected.

It was quite warm as we walked back to the street where we headed up the hill into the old town and to the main square and tourist information centre. The streets were unusually quiet in comparison with Cartagena, the joy of not having thousands of cruise tourists clogging the streets.

No action in the plaza.

Plaza de la Constitución was located at the top of the hill. It was deathly quiet. The information centre had closed at 1:30pm, it was now 2pm. Ah, Sunday in Spain. From the other side of the plaza, we could see the fort on the hilltop above us. It also appeared deserted. Ok, let's try the Cathedral. No dice. God was having a siesta until 3pm. "Do you want to find the butterfly house"? Jayne asked. We turned for the car.

The unmanned fort.

Part of the Cathedral wall.

As an aside, the Cathedral is quite interesting because it is a fortress in itself, complete, back in the day, with cannon placements. Almería was a popular destination for pirates and the good Catholics didn't welcome their arrival. Or of they did it was with cannon fire. So the closest we got to the Cathedral was the extensive wall. As always it was difficult to photograph because of its size.

Cathedral wall.

Back on the road, the remainder of the trip was uneventful. The only thing of note was the Hotel California. No really, it's about 1km away from us. It made today's choice of title rather easy. Hotel California by the Eagles. We found Málaga okay but had a little trouble findng the hotel. Much like the AC Hotel in Cartagena, the Gran Miramar Hotel is alson know as the Gran Málaga Hotel. One name is sufficient, people.

The Hotel California has been found.

The hotel is, well, grand. Like very grand. 

Palace Miramar. Another name.

The foyer area is expansive. It is just stunning. After we were whisked from our car, valet parking only, and escorted to the check-in desk, we were provided with glasses of cava. Very good cava. 

The foyer.

There are seven levels, the highest being the roof top bar and chill out space with views over the Mediterranean. There is a very large pool and a reserved beach section for hotel guests. Nice.

The birds returning to roost.

Our room is old world charm. Ornate plaster ceilings, king sized bed, sitting area, marble bathroom with bath, shower, toilet and bidet. So civilised. Once unpacked, we refreshed, changed and strolled down to the sea where jsut across the street was a seafood restaurant. Dinner sorted.

Sunset over Málaga.

We enjoyed dinner as the sun set and then retired to the luxury of our room for a well earned sleep.

Until tomorrow.