Malaga, Spain

Last night the ship had another customer appreciation event and our friends Steve and Mary were recognized for the many days (209) they have travelled with Windstar. We had great fun cheering their win, which included a very special wine from Spain. At dinner we were also treated to another great Spanish bottle. It was a great evening.
This morning we arrived in Malaga. No tour today - we are docked close to everything and chose to explore on our own. We started by hiking up to and exploring the Castillo de Gibralfaro - this original fortress was built in the 8th century and was the centre of Moorish power. It was a steep hike and we were rewarded with great city views, and a beer, at the top. From here we could also see the Alcazaba, a palace fortress built in the 11th century during the Moorish period.
Rounding out the history was the Roman Amphitheatre. We managed to find a place for tapas and 
a bakery for a final treat. We walked the old city streets fro a while before returning to the ship.
The ship presented a show - A Taste of Malaga, Flamenco Onboard! to round out our day.

Getting our free bottle and us trying to make the bottle sound like a ships horn!!

We were very sweaty by the time we reached the Castillo entrance and were grateful for the rest stop and the refreshment.

Our bakery treat, an almond pastry.

To pay for our pastry above, with cash, we were directed to this machine. This was the second time on this ship a merchant sent us to a machine to pay in cash - I assume it's so they don't have to handle cash? We saw this everywhere in Japan.

Flamenco show...