Arctic Circle visitor

Today, there were no cruise ships in port, although several expected early Sunday morning. There was just the regular ferry to Melilla, and to my great surprise a vessel belonging to the Finnish Navy called 'Uusima A' and described on its Wiki page as a Minelayer. I wonder how much mine laying it gets to perform these days? I guess its role is one of coastal security and defence, as it has Russia as a next door neighbour in the Arctic Circle. 

Judging from festive bunting hung above the deck, it's on a courtesy visit to various Mediterranean ports. Given the number of Finnish residents on the Costa del Sol, as well as visitors, there's good reason to come to Malaga and through a party for people on the consular guest list. A different sort of experience for the crew too to be operating at much higher average temperatures, and proper night times, away from the land of the midnight sun.

Across the main road in the open air auditorium there was more music this afternoon. I watched a group of eight women in flamenco dresses sing several songs in raw unison, accompanied by a flamenco guitarist, who played with great skill and speed. Others in the audience, men and women were wearing traditional Andalusian style costumes, and may have belonged to ensembles that had performed earlier. They were all certainly having a good time.

Along the footpath beside the Avenida del Parque I counted 48 white painted wooden stalls, over a 200m stretch of path. These were occupied by an assortment of voluntary community groups from barrios all over the city. Some were arts and crafts oriented, some humanitarian, social or political, and all these activities were being undertaken and promoted by people of retirement age. This was a part of the Semana del Mayor, along with all the performances on the open air stage, and running from Wednesday to Sunday this week. I noticed the construction work getting the stalls ready about a month ago, and at that stage had no idea what purpose they'd be put to. As this has been an annual event for local people over the past 24 years, locals would know what was going to happen, I guess. Anyway, another impressive feat of social organisation by those who run the city, and make it good for inhabitants and visitors alike to make the most of life.

   

Busy port and an Elders' fiesta

When I went out yesterday afternoon, I was surprised to see a film crew setting up outside the Parish Church of St Gabriel, at the bottom of Calle Cervantes. I've no idea what for, but several equipment vans, cordoned areas and lighting columns suggested this wasn't a new crew at work, as these days they tend to travel light. 

Down in the open space at Muelle Uno, last weekend's art installation had gone, and in its place a basketball area with seating on two sides for a hundred people was being constructed, to host a tournament sponsored by Movistar Telecoms. 

Before the wooden retail huts were installed for the month of April, there was a Google Marketing roadshow there, and another four events have been staged there since then. And so it continues. The city makes good use of its open air spaces for nine months of the year. It must all help to pay the bills. There were two cruise ships in the terminal area, Silver Spirit and Silver Muse, sister ships of the Silversea cruise line, with about 500 passengers each. After just a week away at sea, exclusive super luxury cruise ship Star Breeze was back again, moored at the Palmeria de las Sorpresas quay. 

The Jacaranda trees in Plaza de la Merced and other corners of the city have come into full blossom this past week, bringing a delightful dark blue colour to the townscape. The Calle Alcazabilla is hosting an interesting outdoor photo exhibition this week, promoting historic site tourism in the Aragón region of northern Spain. There's always something new and colourful to catch the eye here.

This morning I drove to the care home where Ruth lives in Macharaviyaya to give her Communion. On the return trip down the Paseo Maritime, I noticed three large cruise ships out at the terminal, which hadn't been there yesterday. Several days can pass when there are no big ships and then comes a rapid turnover of ships within days of each other. Mein Schiff 5 has 2,790 passengers and 1030 crew and was in for just the day. 

Later, I walked up to the Gibralfaro to get photos of the cruise terminal from above, then walked down the road on other side and into the Old Town, before heading for the port. At six I watched Mein Schill 5 leave port, an exercise which would have brought other marine traffic to a halt for a quarter of an hour, at least. At nearly 300m long, manouvering in port must be a tricky job.

I could hear music coming from across the road behind the quay at the open air auditorium on the Paseo del Parque, and went to investigate. There was an event going on there which celebrated the role and cultural activities of  older people in Malaguenian society. A stylishly dressed women's choir lined up for a photo opportunity. The Alcalde de Málaga (the Mayor) was on stage giving a thankyou speech. This is the 24th Semana del Mayor annual event. After the speeches a group of seven women danced a rumba on stage, and were clearly having a lot of fun before an appreciative audience of mostly Malagueños, rather than visitors.

This is not done for the tourists, but, like many other events, it's part of normal of life in an open air culture, for people who don't need to quarantine their community life from the constant presence of large numbers of strangers.

In the evening, I completed my last Sunday sermon, and my end of stay report for the diocese. It's not easy to summarise eleven memorable weeks in one side of A4, but if anyone wanted more detail there's plenty to be found here, and in my photos. Stories I love to tell.