Brighter than the Sun in Málaga

I am NOT a morning person!

On a good day, I can’t pry myself out of bed before hitting the snooze a dozen times and then I don’t feel fully human until midway through my second cup of café con leche (coffee with milk). I suppose you can take this coffee addict out of the US, but not the massive travel mug of liquid life out of my death grip. Due to my failure to assimilate, I’ve been shamed enough by harsh Spanish glares on the metro, so please excuse my Americaness.

Spanish Cafe con leche enjoyed leisurely at midmorning

Well today was about to be different. That’s not because the numerous “10 ways to be a morning person” articles I’ve read finally enlightened me to be in the gym at 5am. It was the simple truth that I was teaching English in Spain and had the modest budget to match, making the cheap ticket for a night bus from Madrid to Malaga look so appealing to me and my equally frugal friend.

It’s commonly said that good follows bad as demonstrated in quotes like:

“There’s a rainbow after every storm”

and

“See the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Little did we know that something incredible was about to come from the cramped 6+ hour bus ride that dropped us off at the Málaga bus station in the pitch-black early morning hours. Coffee-less, cold, and disoriented we decided to hoof it to our hostel on the other side of town.

Port at Málaga

Oh, how I would have loved the sight of any 24-hour fast food joint at this point. While we thought the Andalusian town was quietly asleep in preparation for the weekend’s Semana Santa (Easter Week) festivities, we were quickly proven wrong noticing that the previous night’s activities had not even finished!

Having successfully navigated the narrow alley-like streets of the city center, we made it to our hostel to drop off our gear and do a quick wardrobe change that would last us until check-in later that afternoon. With camera gear in hand and a few granola bars, we set off again to find the mirador (lookout point) that my travel mate had persuaded me to investigate.

We saw more evidence of the Spanish nightlife as we passed many Spaniards quite borracho (drunk) and even a few ENTERING the club – that’s right, the Spanish party hard and I still haven’t found the will to stay out as late as many of my amigos. We trekked clear across town to the coast and admired the sea vessels at the port before spotting a large hill. My friend pointed to the top and jokingly said that we needed to hike to the peak. We hiked up, and up, and up realizing that this was not a joke and instead a serious pre-dawn workout.

Isn’t a picture worth a thousand words? I’ll let these shots portray the serenity that ensued as we awaited the sunrise from the most spectacular vista in the city.

Happy Ryan post-coffe & post-morning hike

Have you ever awoken early (or stayed up all night) to witness the beauty of a sunrise? What moment of the day is most peaceful for you?