Malaga Blog

In the new Terminal 3 at the Malaga airport have been completed all preparations. During the last few weeks, trials were held in all the installations in order to ensure a smooth process. The official inauguration of the building will take place on Monday the 15th of March in the presence of the Spanish king and various personalities from politics and aviation.

The new Terminal 3 is located next to the old T2, and is connected to it by a direct access. The tall building stands out for its great transparency with huge glass panels which provide a natural light in the departure hall.

The new Suburban Train stop, which will be located next to the T3 in the future, is making good progress and is expected to be functional in autumn / winter 2010. Until then, travelers still have to cross the parking area at the height of T2 and the bridge to get to the current suburban Train station, which brings the travelers to Central train Station Malaga Maria Zambrano (with AVE port) or the tourist resorts Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola along the Costa del Sol. The bus service to Malaga and Marbella, which departed so far outside the arrival hall of the T2, will do so from now on from the arrival hall of the T3. The counters of all tour operators are located from 16th of March is also in the T3.

AENA (Spanish Airports and Aeronautics) makes available to passengers all the information about the Terminal 3 on the web page www.aena.es/t3malaga in English, German and Spanish. In order to facilitate orientation, there is on the Web site also a virtual tour through the new terminal.

Similarly AENA has introduced a new sms service on airline information. As many companies move into the T3, this service provides travelers information, where to find the Tour operators and airlines. For this you have to send only the name of the airline or the ICAO or IATA code to the number 27472 and you get a reply sms sent to your mobile phone. Similarly, there is a telephone information service for all users 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The number is 902 404 704.

If the quality of cuisines is linked to the availability of good and varied raw materials, Andalusia has an excellent position to be a culinary reference. Adding to this culinary tradition, imagination and technical upgrading, the Andalusian gastronomy occupies an important place.

The diversity of soils and climates make of Andalucia a region of varied food production: Mountains, countryside and coast, the dry plains and gentle slopes of olive groves. The coasts of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea offer a great variety and quality in fish supply: The tuna (which migrates annually from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean), sole, sea bass, hake, anchovies, mullet, sardines, prawns (the ones from Sanlucar in Cadiz are exceptional), shrimps (insurmountable the white one from Huelva) and clams, just to name a few.

All these delicacies are eaten fried in olive oil, as the insurmountable fried fish (pescaito frito) or grilled, salted, baked, simply boiled or cooked in creative preparations.

The garden products are plentiful and varied and cater during the cold months the major European markets. Tasty examples are the beans from Jaen, potatoes from Motril, asparagus from Huetor Tajar, artichokes, eggplant and many more.

Irresistible Fruits such as oranges from the mountains of Cordoba, the sweetest and most flavorful; persimmon, loquat, pomegranate, figs and pears, raspberries of the Alpujarras; custard apples, avocados, mangoes, guavas, papayas and many other coastal subtropical fruits from the coasts of Granada and Malaga.

Among all the sausages that abound in Spain, a gastronomic symbol is Jamon Iberico ham and of special quality is the one produced in the mountain ranges of Huelva and Cordoba.

The different types of Gazpacho (Ajoblanco, Gazpacho, Porra Antequerana, Pipirrana ...), provide many nutrients and are highly considered meals for anyone who wants to fight the thirst and heat. They provide plenty of vitamins and minerals as well as being a very pleasant experience for the palate.

The southern Spanish province Andalusia is due to its mild winters one of the favorite tourist destinations in Europe. Its 836 km of coastline are bathed by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, where is situated the Costa de la Luz (Huelva and Cadiz) and the Mediterranean Sea, with the Costa del Sol (part of Cadiz and Malaga), Costa Tropical (Granada and part of Almería) and the Costa de Almeria. Andalusia is divided into eight regions (Jaen, Cordoba, Granada, Almeria, Malaga, Cadiz, Seville and Huelva) with a very specific and considerable climatic variety. The rich diversity in landscapes ranges from the coastal plains, fertile river valleys, five natural Parks with extensive forests and the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges to the Tabernas Desert in Almeria.

Whereas inland areas such as Jaen and Córdoba remain relatively unaffected by tourism, the coastal areas of Andalusia experience a major tourist influx throughout the year. The principal tourist destinations in Andalusia are the Costa del Sol and the Sierra Nevada in Granada.

Thus as well has changed the infrastructure along the coast, which has been developed to offer the tourist the greatest comfort. Away from the bustling tourist resorts one still can breathe the authentic Andalusia, Al-Andalus as it once was called during the Moorish epoch and which is still palpable in many outstanding monuments and popular architecture, as for instance the white villages in the hilltops and mountains.

As for cultural tourism, Andalusia has some notable monuments dating back to the Muslim era such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba, the Alhambra in Granada and the Giralda in Seville and everywhere in the province can be found cathedrals, castles, forts, monasteries, and historic city centers; the city centers of Ubeda and Baeza in the province of Jaén and the district of Albayzín in Granada are declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.