We planned to leave Málaga today. So, after breakfast, we headed to the beach. My family and I walked around, looking at the beautiful Mediterranean and trying out a few exercise machines in one of the many public outdoor gyms of Spain. We got drinks at a little café. I got the nube, which is something that you can only order in Málaga. In this city, there are a host of ways to order café con leche. Victor Sr. had explained all of the varieties the night before during dinner, though we had all already known a couple. Nube means a little bit of coffee and a lot of milk, which makes since because the word means cloud in Spanish. Sombra, shade, means a bit more coffee in the milk-to-coffee ratio. Corto is about half-and-half, and there are many more options. Don't try to go anywhere but Málaga and order a coffee like this, they won't understand you. Isn't that cool how every city has some vernacular or item that is unique to only that place?
Now, we did what Mama has been looking forward to this entire trip: we sat on the terrace of a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and ate fresh sardines, roasted to perfection. This city is known for it's seafood, and with good reason. We had a splendid lunch.
When we got back to our rental car, we saw that we had gotten robbed. The side window was smashed in, the trunk open. The robbers had taken all of our suitcases and backpacks, minus one: Mama had left her huge suitcase unzipped, and they must have not wanted a bunch of clothes. Ironically, they had taken my dad's suitcase, although all that contained was all of our dirty laundry. Let me tell you, if you ever want to clean out your closet, pack almost all of it in a suitcase and get robbed! Honestly, a perk to this was getting almost an entirely new wardrobe. The best thing was that they had not bothered to look in the seats, where our binoculars, Kindles, and mini-scope were covered with jackets. The worst things were the violation of safety that we then felt and the journals that they had taken, precious to us and worthless to them. It broke my heart that they had done this while we were sitting by the sea, eating and laughing and talking, oblivious that strangers were stealing things that we cared about. Although the most expensive things that they took were a computer, iPad mini, and Nikon camera, what was most saddening was the creative documents that we lost. My dad lost much of the screenplay he is writing, I lost almost all of the poetry I've ever written. But, do not get me wrong, it could have been so much worse. None of us were physically hurt, and we were all together.
We went to the comisaría, police station, escorted by two kind and attractive police officers. I remember learning that word in Spanish class, and it had stuck with me because of how strange it was; why not just call it estación de policía? I'm not sure if I'll ever know the answer to that question, but what I do know is that that police station helped us. We explained what had happened and the items of great monetary value that we had lost. Everyone that we interacted with was very kind and in no way condescending. After we left, we called Leticia and her family and asked if we could take Victor up on his offer to stay with them in Málaga. They, of course, said yes, and we drove to their apartment to spend the night.
Café con leche "nube"
Olivia's pretty hair :)
Every time we come to Málaga, we walk in the Paseo Maritimo de Antonio Banderas
This is the awesome way that sardines are grilled
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