The following day, I drove to Seville. The Portuguese countryside was absolutely beautiful and I was relieved at how much Spanish I understood once I actually got into Spain. Portuguese is so foreign to me and I just feel so lost when I try to communicate, but Spanish, I can get. I'd booked a hotel right in the historic center of Seville, so I found parking about a mile away, and just walked around for several hours before getting my bags and checking into my room. Apparently, Seville has over 40,000 orange trees, and they were blooming while I was there, so it smelled sooooo good. It was quite warm and humid, so I started out with a visit to Maria Luisa Park where it was nice and cool and shaded.
Eventually, I made my way to the Spanish Square and visited a cathedral nearby before getting some Kebab, taking a bath, and calling it a night.
I'd bought tickets ahead of time for the Royal Alcazar and Seville's Cathedral, so I spent most of the next day touring those. I was up bright and early but nobody else was on a Sunday morning, so I had to kill some time before everything began to open up for the day.
After the Alcazar, I went to the Cathedral and it was absolutely packed. I went up to the bell tower, but it was so crowded, I couldn't spend any time up there. The Cathedral itself, being the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, was a little underwhelming, if I'm being honest. But I'm glad I checked it out.
The next day, I paid by $75 parking fee and then drove through AndalucÃa on my way to Malaga. I found a 2-lane country road that was absolutely beautiful...winding through vineyards and fields and tiny little whitewashed villages. It was the most beautiful day and I loved every moment.
It was a tad windy, lol.
I arrived in Malaga at about 3 pm and it was warm and sunny and there were a million people out enjoying the perfect weather. I wanted to go up to this fortress overlooking the city, and since it was Sunday, it was free to get in, so everybody else had the same idea. There was a little cafe inside so I got a affogato and waffle (like, the most delicious waffle I've ever had) and sat in the shade and people-watched.
Eventually, I checked into my hotel, cleaned up, walked around, and went out to dinner. I had to carb up because I had an early morning planned and a fun hike that I was super excited for.
I'd gotten a permit for the Caminito del Rey a few weeks before and figured I should go early since it could have been hot and crowded. The meeting point was about an hour from Malaga, and the time difference there meant that sunset wasn't until 8:30, the drive was in the dark and the hike was in the freezing cold. Knowing what I know now, I'd definitely have booked a mid-day time slot when the sun is illuminating the canyon and it's a bit warmer. I had to wait for the shuttle in the most frigid wind and then we went down into the shaded canyon and it was soooo cold but was totally worth it.
We were even able to spot a family of Spanish Ibex!
Our guide told us about a family that lived in the cabin in the late 1800s that had 11 kids that took the old walkway to school every day and this was their school...so cute!
