Yesterday, we had a feast. At midday, we caught up with the grandparents and went for a slow 1.5km walk (where we passed the famous espetos (fried sardines) of Málaga) before meeting up with the extended family at El Yate (a seafood restaurant). We had plates and plates of both grilled and fried fish. I had my usual tinto de verano and was grateful to have a side salad (I find that many of the meals here don't come with fresh lettuce). Just when I thought we were finishing up, the waiter brought us two plates of prawns and a round of chupitos (digestive shots)...on the house! I can't say I particularly enjoyed the drink - it's essentially a fluro yellow, very strong, herby liquid. Afterwards, we walked next door to a café where I was told to pick out a dessert. I had an apple cake, which was delicious despite being extremely full. Then, all the adults ordered a round of drinks so I found myself with sipping on a g&t for the rest of the afternoon! I'm still full.
For dinner, we had puchero: an Adulacían stew, and the night before we had Flammenquín which is a deep fried ham-pork roll from Córdoba.
On Friday, we celebrated the end of one week's isolation for the parents (after having Covid) and had a big another big seafood aperitivo.
The other day, another Aux and I went to the Casa Cervantes Museum (which is in the same building as my school). It's free to enter, however, there is no English information. The caretaker welcomed us inside and once he got talking, he never finished! We had planned to have a little walk around for 30mins tops, but found ourselves leaving 1.5 hours later! He was super lovely, giving us the full history on Cervantes, Don Quixote, and the origins of Vélez-Málaga, although, he spoke no English, and my Spanish was better than my friend's so we probably only got about 50% of what he was saying haha. The gist of it however, is that Cervantes lived in the house while he was working as a tax-collector in 1594. Vélez-Málaga became famous after multiple references were made to the town in chapters 39 & 40 of the first book of Don Quixote.
I finally have my Padrón! I had tried to collect it last Monday (32 days after I submitted my application), however it still wasn't in the system, so I went back on Friday and now officially have it. (More information on how I did this here.)
Notes:
- After being on the lookout for a while now, I finally found some boats with eyes! I learnt at the MVVEL, that La Axarquía was once occupied by the Phoenicians who were a very superstitious group of people. They used boats as their main method of transport and therefore, had a strong relationship with the Mediterranean sea. To protect them on their journeys, they painted two large eyes on either side of the bow. Some boats can still be found with eyes beached up in Torre del Mar. The eye is also the logo for my school: EOI Axarquía.
- There's this random little plot of dirt on the main road going through Torre del Mar where these three bulls live...just thought I'd share.
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