Vacation in the South! First stop, Málaga Spain

This monument is to the heroes of 1842. I don't know - you have to Google it yourself!

Easter in Spain is a BIG deal. Málaga, on the south coast, has 45 processions of Catholic churches for the whole week leading up to Easter Sunday. Neal and I arrived separately on Thursday afternoon. From the train station to our housing was about a 15 minute walk - except! - all the roads were closed so that processions could proceed down them. We spent about an hour wandering around trying to cross processions. Here's one of the first blocked streets, with a float carried on the shoulders of the brotherhood.

Good Friday, we marveled at the pointy hoods. My makerspace heart was totally intrigued. Imagine all the support structures from the shoulders up to the points! They were beautiful black velvet.

And the floats! Each represents some part of the Passion of Christ, and weighs over a ton. The brotherhood carries them, all lined up as closely as they can get, walking in each others' footsteps. Inside each is some relic. As they pass by, all observers have to be silent.

One of my favorites, of Mother Mary, with silver and gold ornamentation. You can just make out the men in black carrying it.

Imagine how it looked after dark, with all those candles. Ahead of the floats, they frequently carried large torches. Little kids ran around collecting the bits of wax that fell, and formed them into balls. There were bands associated with each, as well, and lots of bells were ringing. It is a total sensory experience.

The first morning, Neal and I went exploring. The views were spectacular from the top of the hill where the Moorish castle was.

Looking at the Mediterranean over the top of Málaga. Yes, I think they do have bullfights.

A couple from Bergen live in Málaga half of the year: Margaret and Jon Helge. We had a nice lunch with them at one of their favorite local cafes. Loved their apartment!