Tattoo, sharks and Pablo Piccaso in Malaga

I came by blablacar from Cádiz to Malaga. That is a common way to get from one point to another in Spain. I was really lucky and had a nice driver: Adriana who is a professional snowboarder and has a great taste for music.

Malaga was for me just a stopover before I went to my next volunteer job in a meditation center close to Malaga. I stayed there for 8 days. Quite a long stopover...

I have to admit that I don't really like Malaga. I mean in comparison to other cities I saw so far in Spain. For me it is too touristic and in a way artificial. But that's my opinion.

But I met in Malaga very nice people like a kind guy from Austria, a funny American history teacher, a Tasmanian guy who lived in Muenster and also got there my new tattoo.

I also learnt why Spanish people wish you 'muchas merdas' for luck... By the way Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso.

My new tattoo :-). The idea was long planned but the appointment very spontaneous.

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Noche de San Juan in Malaga

From Cádiz to Malaga by blablacar.es

In Spain they celebrate the beginning of the summer with the so-called Noche de San Juan. Around Spain's beaches the people camping, make bonfire and celebrate.

I celebrated at the beach in Malaga with Cristiano the Portuguese from Stuttgart. DJ Juan Magan was the guy how made the music which was quite cool and for free!

You have to jump over a bonfire and then jump into the sea.

A jumping Spanish guy at the Noche de San Juan in Malaga.

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I want back to Maria and Rafa!

My first hostel in Malaga was very central but a real party hostel. I came in and the guy at the reception asked my if I was ready for party and that they offer very cheap Sangria...

I went to my room and my bunk bed was quite high without side protection. OK, I hope I won't fall down... The bathroom was very untidy and obviously the saved toilet paper... Also the music from the reception was under my room and on until midnight...

Time for breakfast

One the next morning I went to breakfast like 10 other people as well and obviously the milk was gone. No stuff in sight... The 10 people pissed of.

Let me think... Ah! The coffee machine has also a button for hot milk. I took this milk for my cornflakes. The 10 other people as well :-). A bit like learning animals. One animal starts with something and the others do it as well. I call it 'Hostel life evolution' or just pragmatism ;-).

"I had better..."

Actually I regret in that moment that I left Cádiz earlier. It was different then Sevilla. In Sevilla it felt real in Malaga it felt artificial.

But...

...it was cool to get to know to some street artist from Argentina who lived in the party hostel. They were quite funny. For example I met a guy who is the double of Jack Sparrow (jap he looked like Johnny Depp :-) ) and some others.

Familiar face

By the way: In the hostel I run into Jessi the Dutch girl who gave me the internet address of the meditation center where I will volunteer next. I had no clue that she was in the same hostel. Funny coincidence.

What can I change to make it nice for me?

Well, OK I just booked the hostel for two days. Therefore I looked for a cosy one with more privacy.

I found one on Hostelworld and its reviews described it as very cosy and comfortable but not in the middle of the center. Great! I booked it and it turned out to be great!

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The idea was planned but the appointment spontaneous

When I came to Ireland I checked out different tattoo shops by checking out their work displayed in the window. But I never found a style which I really liked.

In Spain there are many tattoo shops and many Spanish people have tattoos. Therefore I checked here the shops as well.

There it is!

On my way to my new hostel I saw a tattoo shop and I just thought: "That is exactly the style I love!" Therefore I went in, explained what I want, the tattoo artist drew, I loved it and 30 min later I had my new tattoo!

It is dedicated to my grandfather, my love to write, the lightness of life and the freedom like birds have.

Well, I don't like needles therefore I passed almost out and had to lay... I have to do it even for a tiny blood test...

There it is: My new tattoo!

Topic to talk about

In Malaga I also had to go to the hairdresser again because my hair was very dyed from the sun and my roots were already seen. My hairdresser was very nice and happy to practice her English.

When she saw my tattoo her co-worker showed me hers at her left side of her body. A big one that shows Ganesha. Very beautiful. They told me that the guy who did my tattoo is a very good artist in Malaga. So well done! :-)

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A place to meet nice people over the world

The cosy hostel in Malaga named Casa al sur and the staff and owner were quite nice. I felt very comfortable there. The owner told me that for him was important to create a place where people come together who are interested in real conversations without party atmosphere.

He did a great job! In the Casa al Sur I met very nice people. He also told me that he is looking for workawayers and told me if I am interested, then I should check it out.

Hello neighbor! A nice Doctor from Austria

In my room stayed a nice guy from Austria: Markus. He was really kind and we went to the beach and had really nice chats about different topics.

Great place for talking about men's fears.

He was a doctor and also a sexual therapist for teens. That means he goes to schools and teaches sex education. I found it very interesting and also very important. I got a great inside about men's fears in sense of sexuality.

"No, believe me! There are no sharks in the sea of Malaga!"

He didn't believed me and scared an elderly German guy who couldn't speak English. He asked the German guy in English if there are sharks and the German guy was so confused that he left the sea and asked me what was going on.

That was John :-). John was half Mexican funny guy from the USA. He was a history teacher and very interested in Europe's history.

He came after Markus in my room.

No, there are no sharks in the sea of Malaga...

I had really great fun with him. One evening we went to the castle and had a great view over the city. There we found a hedgehog and tried to help him over a small wall. It didn't work out and the hedgehog was even more scared then before... ;-)

Another one with a feather tattoo...

During my stay came an English guy in my room. He had the bed below mine. Well, he was in the same age like me, was considering to change his life and go travel and... He had a feather tattoo at the same place and some direction like me.

That was quite a coincidence. I gave him the link to my blog for some impulses.

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Why Spanish people wish 'muchas merdas' for good luck

I attended a free walking tour through Malaga which was quite cool. It is tip based which means you give at the end of the tour the money you want to pay.

"I'm from Germany. Close to Cologne."

On the tour was also a guy from Tasmania. He asked me where I would come from and I said my standard sentence: "I'm from Germany. Close to Cologne." "Where exactly?" "Muenster. But I think it is not that common." "I lived in Muenster! I had a girlfriend there and we went often to the Eymann Sauna..." Wow! That is also quite a coincidence...

"Muchas merdas!" "A lot of shit!"

The guy who gave the tour told us that the Spanish people wish "muchas merdas!" for luck. Sounds not very nice... But the sentence was invented in the times when people came by horses to an event. The better the event was the more people came and the more horses covered the place with their business.

That is where "muchas merdas" comes from :-). I wonder where the English and German sentences "break your neck" is coming from...

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Create your own nice place

Malaga is not my favorite city in Spain but I made it nice for me. I met very nice people there and had great fun.

Next destination: Meditation center Kadapma

From Malaga I went by bus to Alhaurin el Grande to the meditation center where I volunteered one week.

There I met also very nice and interesting people like a very intelligent and lovely Spanish woman with the beautiful name Almudena (like the Church in Madrid) and a very open girl from Chile with name Nancha.

There I could improve my Spanish, that sometimes the considering way is not too bad and got some light bulb moments about religion, happiness and life...

Bye bye Malaga!