July 25 - Motril, Spain

Weather – 28º high, low humidity,

caves!

pleasant

Steps – 6,489

CAVES!!! Despite never having been in a cave in Canada, we seem to find ourselves in plenty of them on vacation. We figure we’ve been in at least 8 caves over the years. The “Treasure Caves” in Rincón de la Victoria (the town) are the first ‘underwater’ caves we’ve visited. These caves are one of the only three marine caves in the world. Whereas the other caves we’ve visited were formed by underground rivers, these caves are formed by the sea. The sea

caves!

water has made the formations in these caves rounder without any stalactites and stalagmites. These caves also have Paleolithic Age wall paintings which I was super excited to see. As it turned out, these are off limits to the public, so this was disappointing…still cool, but don’t go to these caves for the art. The temp today was fine, but the temps in the caves were especially fine...probably around 22 degrees.

Next, we visit a restaurant for tapas and local wine pairings. This was more than just tapas...this was lunch. The wines were interesting as was the food, but as many things described as ‘interesting’ I wouldn’t rush back to have anything we tried, including the wine. We started with

caves!

Spanish ham and Manchego cheese which was as usual…great. The rest was good, but not great…toast with avocado and cod, toast with ratatouille and pork, and what they described as ‘French toast’ for dessert. We sat with a family from Miami who were fun to chat with. The location was also remarkable…right along the sea at a restaurant/resort. We sat around a pool overlooking the sea.

caves!

By the time we returned to the boat we had no need for more food, so we sat on our balcony for a bit before a nap.

The evening started with the requisite ship ‘block-party’. This is where everyone on the ship is encouraged to step into the hallway in front of their rooms to meet their neighbors. The staff pour wine distribute snacks which we meet the people who are living around us. This is charming and practical…we pass people in our hallway all cruise but never actually meet them.

caves!

The evening was typical…drinks listening to music, dinner, the show (Broadway songs by the ship’s cast) disco, casino, blogging, laundry prep (the BEST thing about this cruise is included laundry) and bed.