Day one in Málaga — jet lag had my meal times scattered all over the place.
Up at 5 a.m. → work → out exploring from 9 → lunch at half past twelve → a little lie-down at 4 p.m. — and next thing I knew it was 5 a.m. again!
Thirteen hours’ sleep, easily beating any teenager (laughs).
I filled up early on instant noodles brought from Japan — but having come all this way, I wanted something actually good to eat!
Tired from walking and just wanting somewhere to sit, my eyes kept drifting to every café and bar (laughs).
Water here was €2.50 (¥370), and beer often only €1.50 (¥230) — so naturally, beer (laughs).
Wandering here and there, today’s lunch target was, of course, the cheapest option — a market meal!
The Atarazanas Central Market!!
I arrived at about half past twelve, so the inside of the market had quietened down while the eating area outside was packed. Market people, whatever country you’re in, are always warm and cheerful, full of energy — “Hola!” with a big smile.
I ducked into the stall in the market that caught my eye the most!
A cheerful young guy talked at me nonstop in extremely fast English! What I could make out, in broken pieces, was roughly “I like Japan” (laughs).
The menu? Written in Spanish — I had absolutely no idea what any of it said!
Even so, he seemed to be recommending things with a big smile.
“Octopus” — ah, tako, right.
“Shrimp” — ah, ebi, got it.
Looking around at everyone else eating fried shrimp and seafood, I figured this was probably the thing, and smiled and said “OK!” “OK!” …
One? Two? He asked how many, and since there were two of us, I held up a V-sign and said “two! two!” Then a wait of about fifteen minutes. And the beer kept flowing in the meantime …
And then, out came ————!!!!!!
Wait, what — what is this??
I couldn’t even judge the size properly, so — a photo with me in it, for scale!
Had I been set up?? Or was it just my own lack of language ability?? Or myself, laughing it off?
€30 in my pocket … the bill came to €110 (ugh). I said it before I ate a bite:
“Would you let me treat myself to this?” (laughs)
Even so —
no dwelling on it, no regrets!!
That is my motto, and I finished the whole thing like something out of an eating contest!!!
Right! Tomorrow I found somewhere with clear, upfront prices, so nothing like this happens again!
Look forward to part five!!!
“What are you even doing here?” “Sightseeing?”
“No — this is a brief stay in Málaga to adjust my body clock and build up my strength before a 4,800 km, twelve-day rally starts.”
I would be glad if you read more about this challenge of mine!
