Our Spanish Hibernation 3:0

It was a busy weekend of football and food for us in Malaga. I won’t linger too much on watching the Manchester Utd match (they lost) in a large Irish bar in town or the blue cheese burger (it was delicious) I ordered for dinner. Actually Morrisey’s Irish Pub is a bit of an institution here. It does what it says on the tin, but it’s not just tourists that go in to watch Premier League, La Liga and basketball on the multiple tvs. And the burgers from the proper charcoal grill in the open kitchen are very tasty.

On Saturday we visited the Sabor a Málaga (Flavour of Malaga) food fair. This six day event has been set up in a long stretch of park close to the marina. It was a warm, sunny day and it was lovely wandering along the stalls selling local produce. Bread, cake, wine, olive oil, coffee, cheese, meat, honey and other goodies. The smell of hot food sizzling on griddles wafted from many stalls and we joined eager malagueños jostling for free tasters. We bought a slab of carrot cake and a crusty loaf. Both excellent.

On Sunday we walked up to El estadio la Rosaleda to see Malaga CF in action against Almería. Malaga are in the lower half of La Liga’s second division, whilst the visitors are knocking on the door of promotion. When Malaga went ahead within the first fifteen minutes, the roar was deafening. The attendance was around 25,500 and the atmosphere was electric. The most dedicated home supporters are known as the Malaka Hinchas and have their own stand from where they chant, bounce, sing and wave their flags. You can’t help but be swept up in their enthusiasm.

The match came to a dramatic end as Almería equalised in the last minute of injury time. It would have been great to see Malaga take the win, but we still really enjoyed the experience and look forward to another visit during our stay.