Spanish Vacation Pt II-Mijas

We traveled to our second hotel on the fourth day of our vacation.  We stayed at the Gran Hotel Costa del sol.  http://www.hmgranhotel.com/spain/galerias.htm  It was filled to the brim with people about twice as old as John and I.  It was not nearly as nice as the Marriot (our first hotel).  It was on the beach and we had a great view of the beach. It was an all inclusive "resort" so we got  buffet style breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The food was not very good, but we didn't go hungry.  

We went to Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves and hiked 14.5 km to the top of Mt. Torrecilla. It's the highest peak in western Andalucia.  The views from the top were great.  The hike got pretty challenging during the ascent.  It was a very steep 300 meters to the top.  We had some great pictures.  :(  They were all stolen along with John's laptop and our luggage on the way to the airport (more on that one later in pt. III).  

We also drove to Tarifa, Spain and took a ferry across the Gibraltar Straight to Tangier, Morocco. It was a pretty bumpy ride.  We took a guided tour provided by the ferry company.  John got to ride a camel.  I think the tour operators cooperated with the hawkers, as we were followed around the whole time by people selling various wares.  The sellers really took a liking to John and tried to get him to buy lots of stuff.  He did end up buying a camel ride, a fez, and some "silver" jewelry.  I'd like to explore Morocco some more when I know some more about the country and don't have to rely on the guides. 

We drove to another Natural park, Parque Natural torcel de Antequra to explore that area.  It was very pretty and very different from anything we had seen in Spain.  The area used to be a sea bed that has been pushed up.  The 2 h hike was beautiful and interesting.  I wish i had some pictures to show you.  

We also explored Malaga for one day.  We toured the Alcazaba, which is an old fortification first built by the Muslims and then rebuilt and used by the christian crusaders.  We also went to the Picasso museum.  Picasso was born in Malaga.