We could see the lights of Morocco
as we passed through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean around 11
last night but we were on the wrong side of the boat to see Gibraltar and we
were too sleepy to go topside.
When we awoke we were dockside in Malaga, Spain, our first landfall on the European continent and the 55th country I have visited. It is also the birthplace of Pablo
Picasso - actually just two of his 20-something names. His last name is actually
Picasso-Ruiz but he chose his mothers name, possibly to the great relief of his
father, an artist himself.
The pier is a mile or so from the
town itself, but walking on stable ground felt wonderful. Malaga is pretty with lots of gardens
and plenty of quiet winding streets.
We hiked another mile uphill to the Gibralfaro Castle where we had
panoramic views of the harbor, the bullring and the flowering jacaranda trees.
Hiking downhill less sweaty but not a joy ride;
it just uses different muscles. We
wandered around and eventually found the Alcazaba, the fortress that originally
protected the town from invading pirates.
It was built upon Roman ruins and ancient amphitheater and disused Roman
columns are haphazardly mixed in with its distinctly Moorish architecture and
gardens. The arches, geometric
patterns and fountains reminded us so much of what we have seen in other
Islamic regions.
“¿Donde esta el Museo Picasso?” I
asked. A simple question, no? As it turns out there are two Picasso
museums. One is his
birthplace. We wanted the other, a
collection of his art. I guess it
is as good a representation of his work as any 100 pieces can be considering he
is credited with from 20,000 to as many as 40,000 works of art. No, I haven’t become a fan but I did gain
some insight into what he was trying to accomplish. Like the Impressionists, jazz musicians or hippies, Picasso
was trying to rock the boat, to make people see things differently. He didn’t always know where a painting
would end up when he began, and he often stopped before it was finished, so
there were always an infinite number of possible outcomes. Kind of a quantum approach to art, and
he did take us out of our comfort zones.
