In Good Company: Màlaga

A huge part of traveling is the people you meet, and often it determines how you will remember a city. My first impression of Màlaga was not positive - after a windy six hour bus ride and arriving in the polluted and hideously modern city center, it took me two and a half hours to find my hostel (a combination of me not writing down the address and getting directions from shopkeepers to where the hostel used to be). Eventually found it, and partially thanks to the people I've met, my impression has been improving.

Went out for a few drinks last night with my roommates which included: a 70-ish year old eccentric gay man from Ottowa who just completed the 1000km Santiago pilgrimage and is about to travel for six months in Africa, a 40 year old from Italy that actually uses the phrase "Mamma Mia!", and an extremely handsome 30 year old British doctor/ice-climber/world traveler (aka my future husband). It's been so amazing to meet and talk with people I typically would never meet (obviously because of location) but also because the nature of solo traveling requires that you break down your wall and open your mind a bit.

My childhood dream came true! Malaga on Halloween turned out to be pretty crazy...

I think I'll head to Cordoba tomorrow, then Seville after a couple days. Then in a little over a week I fly to Rome, and two days later to Bangkok (which includes a five hour layover in Cairo). The evening I arrive in Bangkok, I´ll hop on a 12 hour night bus to Krabi, then a boat to Ton Sai in the morning. Pray for me.