Day 3: Rockin' Gibraltar! 

 

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Mike and Bone in the Twilight Zone (Literally!)

 

This day started just like the last day, on the Flight from Tunis to Madrid! The 2 half hour flight left the Boys not much time for real REM sleep, fairly groggy, they disembarked in the Madrid Airport for their connector to Malaga, the nearest airport to Gibraltar and a Roman site on its own!

 

A Morning in Madrid

Mike and Bone sleepily staggered to the gate taking them to Malaga, with the goal of driving from Malaga to Gibraltar to check out the iconic rock and the beginning of the Mediterranean Sea. At the Gate they got a good and strong cup of Joe to revive their flagging spirits.  Soon they boarded the short 1 hour 15 minute flight for Malaga.

 

Driving to the Rock!

Mike and Bone drove at a good clip, not having to dodge cars from every direction made the Boys appreciate their Spanish hosts on the freeway driving along the sparking Mediterranean coast! Soon the Rock appeared ahead and as they headed into the city, they easily (no stop border) crossed into British Territory, into the City,  and started driving up that huge piece of Limestone!

 

Top of the Rock

Heading up the Rock without any recon was stupid. Bone directed Mike up a road that dead ended at a Nature Preserve with very little room to park or even turn around, after 10 wasted minutes, they headed back down.

 

Monkeying Around in Gibraltar

On the way down, Bone caught one of the famous Gibraltar Macaque Monkeys. Originally from the Atlas Mountains, the Barbary macaque population in Gibraltar is the only wild monkey population on the European continent. Unfortunately the scary drive soon simply got stupid! The Boys were driving down one way streets that were NEVER engineered for the modern car, much less two-way Traffic!

 

A Narrow Escape

At one point Mike and an oncoming car in front of him and one in back of him and after a few tense moments, Mike deftly navigated out of harms way even though they were within inches of scraping the car on either side of the road! Finally, they got down and were safely on the Freeway  and headed to their first Spanish Roman target, Malaga!

 

Mike and Bone in Roman Malaca!

Mike and Bone Started their tour of Málaga with the Roman Theatre around 4:00PM, which is undoubtedly one of the city’s most iconic Roman landmarks. Located at the foot of the Arab Alcazaba Fortress, this theatre was built in the 1st century BC under Emperor Augustus and remained in use until the 3rd century. Although it was forgotten for centuries, it was rediscovered in 1951 and has since become one of the main historical attractions in the city.

 

The Roman Theatre of Malaca!

The history of Málaga, which the Romans called Malaca, after the Punic Malaka! Is based on the city's strategic location in southern Spain on the western shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. The first inhabitants to settle the site may have been the Bastetani, an ancient Iberian tribe.

The Phoenicians founded their colony of Malaka about 770 BC. From the 6th century BC, it was under the control of Carthage.

From 218 BC, Malaca was ruled by the Roman Republic; it was federated with the Roman Empire at the end of the 1st century during the reign of Domitian. Thereafter it was governed under its own municipal code, the Lex Flavia Malacitana, which granted free-born persons the privileges of Roman citizenship.

The decline of the Roman imperial power in the 5th century led to invasions of Hispania Baetica by the Visigoths. Because of this invasion, there sadly is not much left of Roman Malaga other than the Theater, where the city was conquered and sacked by the Visigoths under King Sisebut in 615, where he destroyed many of the Roman buildings in the City.

However, Rome endures to this day in Hispania, Spain's present languages, its religion, and the basis of its laws originate from the Roman period. The centuries of uninterrupted Roman rule and settlement left a deep and enduring imprint upon the culture of what is now Málaga.

The reality was there was not that much to see, after the Boys walked around out the Theatre, they headed up the hill to check out Arab-built Alcazaba Fortress to check it out and catch a cool view of the Mediterranean!

 

Mike and Bone, Prisoners of Alcazaba

The Alcazaba Fortress turned out to be a fairly impressive and massive complex that also served as bit of a maze!  After about 30 minutes the Boys finally made it to the top!

 

Views from the Top of Alcazaba!

It had been a really hot day and Mike and Bone were on about 2 hours sleep, they needed some fuel fast! At the top they saw a Bar and wanted to stop for drink only to find it closed! Next, they decided to head back to the little square they walked through after they parked their car to find an out door cafe for a drink.

Finding an elevator, they quickly got back to ground level only to find out that they were 6 blocks from where they started! Walking around the entirety of Alcazaba the Boys realized just how massive a complex it had been! 

Fortunately, the little Malaga Town Square was in front of them with just the local sustenance the Boys needed to revive!

 

Miraculous !

Stopping at one of the several local restaurants Mike and Bone order drinks and that most Spanish of dishes, Paella!

 

A Perfect Paella!

The word paella comes from the Old French word paelle and the Latin root patella, which both mean "pan". It refers to the wide, shallow, flat-bottomed metal pan used to cook the dish. It was created in the 19th century by farmers and laborers in Valencia who cooked rice over an open fire with local ingredients like tomatoes, beans, and available meats. It is made from  Short-grain Spanish rice (such as Bomba), which is essential because it absorbs broth well while keeping a firm texture; Saffron, the precious spice that gives the rice its distinct golden-yellow color and aromatic flavor; and Socarrat, a hallmark of a well-made paella is the socarrat—that crispy, caramelized layer of rice that forms at the bottom of the pan during the final stages of cooking.

Mike and Bone had two perfect paellas and adult beverages, they felt a lot better, by then it was pushing 8:00 PM, it had been a helatious 36 hours!  Bone had found a hotel right on the Beach strategically located north of Malaga, so in the morning the Boys will not have to deal with traffic. 

Bone drove the 20 minutes to the little town of Rincon Sol and the Hotel Rincon Sol. Checking in Boys found that parking was,,, interesting. Bone had to drive 4 blocks to a dirt field, find change for a 10 Euro, since the proprietor would ONLY take 1 Euro! After a 20 minute drama, Bone paid the fee, parked the car, met Mike and the Hotel in utter exhaustion! The Boys did Africa, Gibraltar, and Spain in 36 hours! By 10:00 PM, both Mike and Bone were both sawing logs!!