5 August 2026 – Sea day
I met two people who are
continuing on the cruise for the 12 August solar eclipse. They’ll be off the coast of Spain to watch
this event – how cool! And of course,
now I want to be on the Eclipse Cruise!
(Really, one of the men was wearing a shirt with a section of van 
Gogh’s
“Starry Night” and the diagram of an eclipsed un superimposed over it. Though you’d think the tee designer would
find a Spanish artist’s painting of the sun, rather than a Dutch artist, given
that this eclipse will be most visible from the Iberian Peninsula.)
6 August 2026 – Málaga, España
The hop-on-off bus came right 
to the cruise terminal, so we decided this
must be a sign. We paid and road the
full loop around Málaga, a lovely city in southern Spain. Gardens full of succulents, cacti, and
tropical flowers like bougainvillea, fancy condominiums or vacation rentals
facing the Mediterranean, and beaches covered in colorful umbrellas and beach
chairs – everything one might expect from this 
region!
We decided after two days of
tapas for lunch, we’d go back to our ship for lunch. J could rest her bruised foot and leg, both
of which developed very purple bruises. I
could rest my twisted ankle. (We were quite
a team with our injuries.) We went back
out in the afternoon, got on the bus, and did another full loop, planning to
stop at a beach and play in the water a bit. 
Somehow everything looked different in the late afternoon sun, softer
colors and less severe edges, as well as the lighting coming from a very
different direction.
There was a very odd
sculpture or building – it could be both, it could be either. It seemed to have an interior structure of
pipes, either metal or PVC, creating almost an armature of posts and
cross-beams. The whole thing was 
covered
in large panels of color – and I have no idea if these huge tiles were plastic
or glass or even plexiglass. I finally
found a sign and took a photo – this is the Centre Pompidou Malaga! Yes, turns out this is a branch of the French
art museum of the same name!
Had I known, I would have
visited! This is why it’s smart to do a
little research prior to arriving in a new location. Not 
that I do this research, I like stumbling
on random things – but it also means I’ve learned to not regret missing out on
something I’d have liked to do when I’m in that place. At any rate, if I’m ever in Malaga again,
this will be my destination.
The Centre Pompidou Malaga
was opened in 2015, and is the first branch of the French art museum outside France. The colorful building was 
designed by French
artist Daniel Buren in 2014. Those
colorful panels are indeed glass! The colorful
building is known as The Cube for obvious reasons, and houses rotating exhibits.
AND it turns out the actual building housing the artwork is underground! It was apparent that The Cube couldn’t hold priceless works of art (think Picasso, Miro, and other famous artists from Spain), so it makes perfect sense.
Definitely on my list for my next visit to southern Spain!!!
But a thick grey fog bank
came in and covered the beaches – it was very eerie, like something out of one
of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
(As one woman said, it looked like the scene at Skull Island.) The air was decidedly cooler, and we both
figured maybe we’d skip the beach. It
just looked uninviting – and was way too ominous! (Cue the music to Jaws, right?)
Besides, I had my iPad with me so I could call Richard from the cruise terminal’s WiFi using my MagicJack app. I know, life would be easier if I joined the smartphone generation – but I just don’t like them for so many reasons, and at this point I think it’s either pure orneriness or maybe just pride in being a Luddite.
