05.06.08

Today was full of adventures. Since we did not have classes today, I decided this would be the best day to explore Malaga by bicycle. Bryan and I walked down to the bike rental shop, which was owned and operated by a man from California. I rented a street cruiser, and Bryan rented a mountain bike.

We first rode along the beach to the east for about 30 minutes, riding by all of the different shops and restaurants. It was very exciting and enjoyable to ride by all of the different places and people. Bryan was riding a lot faster than I was, but I was trying to observe all of the sights, sounds, and smells. We then turned around and rode west towards downtown. We stopped at a superSol and bought some food to eat later.

As we entered downtown Malaga, I stopped at a city map to see where exactly we were. There was an optional field trip for one of our classes that we both decided to attend which started at 13:00 downtown. After figuring out where we needed to go, I turned around to Bryan, who just discovered his bike had a flat tire! Disaster!

We walked our bikes to the center of the city, ate our lunches on a bench downtown, and met our group for the fieldtrip. We would worry about the flat tire after the trip. We toured Malaga’s alcazaba (fortress) which is situated on top of one of the city’s many mountains. The hike to the top of the hill was extremely strenuous. At the top was the fort, which offered excellent views of the city. The group walked along the fortress walls. Upon completion, we had to walk back down the hill to see the second portion of the fortress, which consisted of the palace and gardens. Essentially, this alcazaba was like a poor-man’s Alhambra (see Granada blog entry). It was not as large, ornate, or restored as El Alhambra, but, on the bright side, it did not have El Alhambra’s massive crowds. I enjoyed exploring the palace, but I wish I had more time to explore all of it and see of the rooms. Our group basically sprinted through the entire thing, so I did not have a lot of time there.

Upon completion of the field trip, Bryan and I needed to handle his deflated tire. We asked many people where a bicycle store or a gas station was, and we received many different answers. Finally, someone drew us a map of where to go. We arrived at a bike shop, which was similar to a motorcycle repair garage. They tried filling the tire up with air, but we discovered the entire tire was broken, not just out of air. One mechanic kindly walked us to a different shop down the road which specialized in bicycle repair. After 15 minutes of waiting, the repairman came out and told us that he did not have the appropriate part for this bicycle since it was an American bike.

Finally, we decided to return to the rental shop which was about 3 miles away. Bryan tried to get on a bus with his broken bike, but the driver furiously denied him. At this point, we had no other option but to the walk the flattened tire bike back to the shop.

Upon arrival at the bike shop, the owner was apathetic to our situation. After some discussion, he offered us a second day for free, but Bryan wanted a refund. The owner insisted that he does not give refunds under any circumstances, but he eventually gave us a partial refund, so it was not all bad. With the refunded money, Bryan and I bought a box of ice cream bars from superSol, and ate them all walking home. I only had 2, but Bryan ate 4. He was upset about his flat tire, so he needed some ice cream to appease his frustration.

We were both exhausted from the entire day. It was also the hottest day of the trip (low 80s). We took showers, ate dinner early, and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. Due to logistical problems, we decided the Sevilla trip will be on Saturday, and Cordoba sometime at the end of next week.