4 days in Malaga

I was very fortunate to go on a long weekend to Malaga, with my (almost lifelong) friend, Jim, who used to live there and so knew how to find the real city that many tourists miss. 

It felt like we went on the opposite of a 'lads weekend' because we actively avoided the tourist trap bars full of other holidaymakers. Our main focus was going to watch Malaga FC play a home game. We booked some extra days either side of matchday just in case the game time changed - and then it got scheduled for late on the Sunday evening. 

So we did some tourism stuff. The extra days gave us time for plenty of sightseeing and tapas. One of the main sights to see in Malaga is the Alcazaba Castle. We then climbed the hill behind Alcazaba to the Gibralfaro Castle on the top. The views across the city were incredible. 

We could see the football ground in the distance too!

We saw the beach

And the lighthouse in the port

Went to the Picasso Museum

And the Cathedral

Had delicious seco at Picasso's favourite bar, which serves fortified wine from barrels and has authentic sticky floors

Had churros at Casa Aranda

Were entertained by chatterbox parakeets in the park. They were in raucous nest-building mode.

The parakeets avoided the free-range cactus

And most of all just enjoyed walking round and discovering stuff!

I've got to say a big thank you to Jim for being such a great guide, sorting out so much of the travel admin, and being a patient translator when I asked him what some random words meant! Both of us felt sad when the trip drew to a close and we had to head out to the airport. At least we got to ride on a train before getting on a plane!

Maps courtesy of the algorithm

I love a good map. I enjoy books that have a map in the front of them. I like looking at old maps, obscure maps, made up maps... 

Some of the maps in this post are more like data visualisations. They are all maps that have popped up on my social media feeds that I've liked enough to save. The algorithm now knows I like maps and keeps showing me them!

If anyone finds a map on here that belongs to them, then please let me know and I will credit you properly.

Let's start with this beautiful graphic of African river basins.

I found it interesting to compare the map of natural features with this map showing which European colonisers laid claim to parts of Africa in 1914. 

Moving to another continent altogether, here's a map showing the relative populations of humans and kangaroos in Australia. The roos seem to have the upper hand in most of Oz. 

Meanwhile this agricultural map from 1920 firmly divides Australia into terrain suitable for sheep and inhospitable to sheep. 

A friend of mine commented this would make the good basis for a remix of Insomnia by Faithless. "I can't get no sheep."

This map of placenames in Tasmania is done purely for puerile amusement. It amused me.

Coming closer to home, this is a map of the western edge of Europe during the last ice age. A person could walk from Britain to Denmark across Doggerland. 

A map showing Cymraeg names for places in England. 

And another map showing castles - note how many were built along the border between Cymru and England. 

It's almost as impressive as this map showing Gregg's locations across the UK.

Back to castles, this cute map of castellau Cymreig isn't very accurate.

And to bring the post full circle, here's another map of rivers, showing all the rivers in Cymru. 

I wonder what maps the algorithm will push my way next.

Gogledd Cymru - Mehefin 2024

A short round up of our recently concluded holiday in North Wales. We did the touristy stuff because we had good weather and the area was gearing up for the touristy season.

We explored castles.

We explored beaches.

We built our own castles on the beaches (because Cymru doesn't have enough castles).

We saw little steam trains.

We rode on a steam train to Blenau Ffestiniog and for the first time ever in my life it wasn't raining when I went to Blenau Ffestiniog.

When we ran out of trains, we rode on trams.

And sometimes we just had to do the scenic driving ourselves.

Could this look more Welsh?

We were staying on a farm and got to meet the ducklings and the pigs.

And on a more wilder note, we went to the osprey centre and saw nesting ospreys (and chicks).

We were blessed with great weather every day and in the evenings we enjoyed pretty sunsets.

And that was our gorgeous holiday in North Wales.