Day 12, Friday April 27, Malaga, Spain, Formal

I woke briefly about 2AM, and we had lights from both sides of the ship
seeming very near. We may have been passing by Gibraltar or a narrow
portion of the Strait of Gibraltar but we appeared to be within about 3
miles of land on each side.

When I rose for the morning and went out on deck again, the lights of
Malaga were getting closer in front of us. We pulled into the dock
around 7:30AM, snuggling in between the mammoth Voyager of the Seas and
the microscopic Sea Dream I, quite a contrast.

There were about 40 people registered for my tour "Caves of Nerja". We
left the port about 9AM for about a 45-minute drive East along the
rugged coast to the town of Nerja, where we had about 45 minutes to
explore the oceanside town, before out 10-minute transfer to the caves.

The caves of Nerja were discovered in 1959 by several farm boys, and
were quickly developed as a tourist attraction. There are 5 large
chambers totalling 2 miles in length but only 3 are open to the public.
The spaces run from very small to some rooms that were likely 100 feet
tall and perhaps 80 feet wide. The first of the rooms are about 20 feet
below the surface with other rooms much deeper. The description said
"strenuous" with "more than 100 steps", likely something of an
understatement. After I started counting I climbed 150 steps and
probably a total near 250 (another 250 down), so everybody got a pretty
decent workout. There was sufficient (artificial) light to see the many
calcium formations but the lights were not really good for photography.
At one point some of the columns were at a strange angle due to an
ancient earthquake.

We left Nerja about 12:30, returning to the ship about 1:30. I walked
into town for lunch, then stopped at the cruise terminal to upload video
of our entry into Lisbon using the wifi there:

http://youtu.be/30QhQEksTEU

As I returned to the ship a Cake Decorating Demonstration was in
progress in the Grand Foyer.

We were the first ship to sail away at 6:00 and I went immediately to
Blu for a salad entree. As I ordered we were still backing out into the
harbor and starting to pivot when the nimble Sea Dream, which had
already turned around, came by us and moved ahead of us on her way to
her next port. I was a bit distracted with studying the menu as Captain
Berdos gave his sailaway update but I didn't hear anything to indicate
anything other than a pleasant night. On the final formal night of the
voyage the Captain also posed with passengers for photographs between
dinner seatings.

The Stars of Solstice also gave their final (and I thought best)
headline show of the voyage, Ghostlight, featuring music of Broadway.
The show concluded with an inspiring selection of music by Andrew Lloyd
Weber.

As today's parting shot, sometimes what seems like a trivial event can
go far beyond the expected. Five boys notice a small hole in the round
and a cave 2 miles long is discovered, something that enriches our lives
today.

Roy