From Granada to Malaga part of our trip was by high speed train. We picked it up at Antequera St Ana station. We were the only ones boarding and had to make a run for it as the first carriage pulling in was no. 32 and we were in carriage 5, with an engine dividing the train. It is the longest train and platform we have ever seen. They only allow 1 minutes at the station and we were beckoned by the conductors to hurry up and jump into carriage 11 from which we could walk through to our seats. The train was full. It only took 20 minutes to reach Malaga, at speeds of up to 300 km/h.
Malaga is the gateway to the Costa de Sol, with an airport as well as the high speed train.
The side of town near the railway station is not appealing with roadworks and ugly apartment blocks, but the town centre has a very attractive shopping district, complete with a shade cloth covered main street, as we also saw in Granada. What a good idea! The harbour area has been attractively renewed with nice promenades. We climbed up to the old castle for great views of the city. As per usual there is no end of dining options and the city really comes alive in the evening.
On Tuesday we caught a bus to Marbella, which claims to be a ritzy town on the Costa de Sol. The beach and sea front area were nothing special, but there is a very attractive old town with narrow streets and flower baskets and a good choice of restaurants.
Bus travel is very easy and comfortable and is a good alternative when trains aren't available. We will probably explore more destinations with bus when we revisit Spain.
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