England and Iberia Day 13

My favorite stop of the trip

Posted by Brian Hart on August 10, 2026 · 9 mins read
  • Start of day: Málaga, Spain
  • End of day: At sea

We docked in Málaga at 07:00 with all aboard at 17:00 – a long day in port, and after Ibiza we were glad to have the morning rather than waiting out the afternoon heat. I’d booked just Sherri and me for a walking and eating shore excursion from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

The Málaga waterfront seen from high on the ship in early morning light. A long concrete quay and a palm-lined promenade run across the frame toward the white La Farola lighthouse, with the curve of La Malagueta beach behind and rows of apartment blocks along the seafront. Dry brown hills rise beyond the city under a pale sky washed gold near the horizon, and a couple of sailboats lie at anchor on flat water at the right.

Sherri in a blue and white floral top and glasses walks along a narrow city street in shade, a black backpack over one shoulder. To the right, cream awnings lettered LOS MELLIZOS shade a row of pavement tables set with wine glasses and bread baskets, with a round yellow sign for the restaurant mounted on the wall above. The pavement is laid in black and white chevron marble, and tall ochre and cream apartment buildings with wrought-iron balconies rise on both sides under a narrow strip of bright sky.

A large painted ceramic tile panel mounted on a pale wall, advertising Victoria beer. The artwork shows a flamenco scene in 1920s poster style -- a woman in a white ruffled dress dancing with a man in dark clothes, a figure in a wide black hat behind them, and a woman in red with a mantilla -- above gold scrollwork and the words LA FAROLA de ORELLANA, VICTORIA, MÁLAGA 1928. A patterned blue and white tile border frames the panel, a second panel is visible at the right, and raised lettering reading MÁLAGA 1928 runs along the wall above.

Málaga Cathedral is the obvious landmark, and the Museo Picasso is a few streets on from it. Picasso was born here. Had we more time…

Málaga Cathedral seen from a shaded side street, its honey-coloured stone facade rising above the plaza in full sun. Two heavily ornamented bell towers flank a tall central section of round-arched windows and carved pilasters, with a deep arched doorway below and white scaffolding sheeting across part of the left side. Orange trees stand in the square in front, and a mixed crowd of visitors in summer clothes -- sun hats, sundresses, shorts, one woman in a grey headscarf in the foreground -- crosses the pale paving. An ornate black iron street lamp hangs from the ochre wall at the left.

The entrance to the Museo Picasso Málaga, a deep stone doorway cut into a golden sandstone wall with museoPICASSOmálaga lettered on a plaque beside it in orange and grey. Inside the doorway a wall panel reads Pablo Picasso, Estructuras de la invención / Structures of Invention, Unity of a Life's Work, 2024-2028, with a second line for Joana Vasconcelos, Transfiguración. Two staff in black stand at the threshold and a queue of visitors waits behind a rope barrier at the right, mostly young women in summer dresses and shorts, some fanning themselves in the heat.

The best view of the day was from up at the Gibralfaro, looking back down over the bullring, the city and the whole port – our ship included.

The view down over Málaga from the wooded hillside below the Gibralfaro, framed by pine branches at the top and scrubby trees in the foreground. The circular Malagueta bullring sits at the centre of a dense grid of apartment blocks in cream, pink and terracotta, and beyond it the harbour spreads out -- container cranes, a white Baleària ferry, and a cruise ship moored along the far quay. The Mediterranean fills the left of the frame in flat pale blue under a hazy sky, with hills receding along the coast to the right.

Our shore excursion dropped us back at the ship at around 1:00pm.

We grabbed Siena (Rowan wasn’t interested) and proceeded to walk from the ship back into town and Calle Larios, which takes around 20 minutes, most of it along the harbor.

Looking down Calle Larios, Málaga's main shopping street, paved in polished marble and lined with tall cream buildings with green shutters and iron balconies. A large cream shade sail printed with the Málaga city logo is stretched between the buildings overhead against the bright sky. Sherri and Siena walk away from the camera in the foreground -- Siena in a white pleated skirt with a blue top tied around her shoulders, Sherri in a white vest and purple shorts carrying a drinks bottle. Shopfronts including Etam line the right, a living statue performer stands on a plinth at the left, and more shoppers move through the sunlit square beyond.

We stopped for lunch at Sushita Chinitas, just off Calle Larios. It was advertised as a sushi restaurant (though you’d never guess it from the decorating).

The dining room of Sushita Chinitas, decorated almost entirely in blue and white. Ikat-patterned fabric covers the walls and is gathered across the ceiling, with a large toile-papered wall behind a curved navy banquette. A round marble-topped table is laid with blue glassware and white plates, ringed by rattan cane chairs on a travertine tile floor. Starburst mirrors and a gilt-framed mirror hang on the walls, table lamps with linen shades stand on a skirted side table stacked with books, and potted palms fill the corners. At the right, staff and a family wait near the host stand by the front windows.

We did some strolling and shopping, then meandered our way back towards the ship, cutting past the Centre Pompidou’s glass cube.

The Centre Pompidou Málaga on the harbour promenade -- a large cube of glass panels in red, yellow, blue, green and clear, sitting low against the skyline. A glass balustrade runs along the raised walkway in the foreground with clipped shrubs beside it, and the promenade below is lined with palms and white parasols where a scattering of people walk in the sun. Apartment blocks and hotels rise behind under a cloudless pale blue sky.

We sailed at 17:00, and the run west put us back through the Strait of Gibraltar in the evening – the second time this trip, and this time in great light.

A view from the Magic Carpet platform:

And from my stateroom: The Rock of Gibraltar seen through a cabin window at golden hour, its distinctive ridge silhouetted low on the horizon across open water. The window is a large rounded rectangle set in a cream frame studded with rivets and divided by a central bar, with a grey curtain drawn back at the right. Below the glass, white bedding and a dark blue runner are visible on the window seat. The sea is a deep rippled blue with whitecaps breaking in the ship's wake, and the sky above fades from pale blue to warm gold.

Reflecting back on the overall cruise here two weeks later (I’m writing this on August 24), I feel Málaga was my favorite stop on the trip. The views and scenery were incredible, the streets and parks well-kept, the local people we met were exceedingly friendly, and it’s on the mainland so it could serve as a base for visiting other places. I could see myself spending several weeks here, though perhaps not in August!

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