A day in Nerja

Coastline to the East of Nerja taken from the Balcony of Europe

As is often the case when you live in an area, you hear over and over again that certain places warrant a visit.  One of these places is Nerja.

Why?  Mostly because of its situation on the coast, which affords great views in either direction. 

Nerja is situated to the East of Malaga, about an hour’s drive from where we on the West of Malaga.  The easiest way to get there is by following the A7, which takes you over the top of Malaga and down the East coast.  

I've also heard that there's a very good Brazilian barbeque restaurant in Nerja too.  EUR12.95 for all you can eat... we didn't try it.  I shall have to find a way of persuading Mr H that it really is a good idea.  Perhaps I will have to enforce a fast the day before?

Aside from my disappointment of not eating at said Brazilian restaurant, we did have a lovely few hours wandering around in Nerja.  It was a windy, grey and somewhat chilly day when we ventured out.  The great views were perhaps a little less great because of this, but I can definitely see what people mean.  The best place to get the much discussed views is from the Balcony of Europe in the old town.  It's a curved structure which juts out of the old town so you can peer over the edge onto the waves crashing against the rocks and then turn to your left or right to see lots of rocky cliffs, some mountains and the blue sea of the Med.

Our highlight, whilst on the balcony, was a little French girl, the same age as Miss H toddling over to introduce herself to Miss H in the most French way possible.  By giving her a kiss.

The old town makes for a good wander.  Lots of shops, old buildings, bars and restaurants.  It felt like it had some character left, even though it is extremely touristy.

And whilst I didn't get to eat a Brazilian barbeque, I did get to indulge in one of my favourite food nationalities - Mexican.  We had lunch at the atmospheric Cielito Lindo (beautiful little sky being the literal translation, but I understand it is also the title of a popular Mexican song meaning lovely sweet one).  Fresh guacamole (at the price we'd pay, you'd hope the avocadoes were fresh.  Perhaps even grown with water from the Jordan River) and build-your-own fajitas.  Delicious.  Miss H had her first taste of Mexican food with a burrito.  It wasn't as popular as the accompanying chips.

I've always wanted to go to South America

I still haven't been.  But I have now had some authentic (at least it seemed that way from what I've read and seen on TV) South American food.  I still want to go to South America by the way.

Today we went to Mijas to have a look at the 'Festival Internacional de los Pueblos'. 

Mijas is a small, whitewashed Andalucian village in the hills to the North of Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.  It's a very pretty place  but rather touristy.  Probably because it's so pretty.  And it has a great views down to the Mediterranean sea.

It has a small central square (Plaza Virgen de la Peña), which is where the feria was held.  There were a number of stalls selling the same old handmade jewellery that you see all over the coast (no offence to the craftsmen) but far more interestingly it had food stalls representing countries from predominantly South and Central America and some European. 
 

Uruguayan BBQ

The first stall that we stumbled upon was a Uruguayan BBQ stall.  I have never seen such a big BBQ.  My salivary glands kicked into action.  Right next to it was a Uruguayan cake stall and opposite it a wood-fired-oven bread stall (also Uruguayan).  We kept on meandering around the square and discovered Spanish (no surprise there), Finnish, Argentinian, Cuban, Indian, Italian, Jamaican, Brazilian, Swedish, British... the only problem was, it was just after 12 o'clock and none of the food seemed ready to eat yet.  We should have remembered where we were and that lunch in Spain doesn't really kick off until about 2pm.

We both had our eyes (and stomachs) set on the Uruguayan BBQ for our main lunch, but we were both really quite hungry.  There was no option but to have a few snacks to keep us going.  A couple of Argentinian empanadas (pasties) and an Italian sausage puff did the job.  Finally the Uruguayan BBQ was ready.

The plate of meat from the Uruguayan BBQ

We went for a mixed meat platter.  €10 for a plate of chips, chicken, sausage, black pudding, pork belly and some top quality steak.  So good.  Mr H said if we'd gone to Mijas yesterday (the feria was on then too) we would have gone back again today.  I agree.  It was really really good.

Things I observed whilst holidaying in Portugal

1. A lack of personal privacy in the bathroom 

Quite simply, personal privacy in the bathroom does not seem to be an issue.

In our first accommodation, the bedroom and bathroom were fairly open plan.  There was no door.  There was no door between the bedroom and living area either, but there was a screen.  There wasn't even a screen between the bathroom and bedroom.  Now, this was a very old cottage, so we thought that perhaps the modernisations had been sensitive to tradition and perhaps doors were too modern.

However, on several visits to public facilities I noticed that there were no locks on the doors.  At least there were doors.

In our second accommodation we encountered a similar layout, there was no door between the bathroom and the bedroom.  This time there was a screen, but it was fairly feeble (even though the frame was metal).  And when I tried to use it, it tumbled onto the bed.  Luckily neither Mr H or Little Miss H were on that part of the bed at the time.

2. There were so few young people around

Whilst in Portugal we stayed predominantly in rural areas.  One morning I decided to go for a walk before breakfast - there were lots of pretty spring flowers around so I thought I'd try to get some photos.

Whilst on the walk, I was having a bit of a nosey over walls into some of the other quintas (small farms) round about.  There was nobody else around.  After living in the Philippines for 18 months this really struck me.  There were always people around in the Philippines, no matter what time of day you were wandering around.  And generally there were always lots of young people.

In Portugal we saw very few young people.  Is this because the young people have moved away to the cities (or to other countries) to find work?  Or is it just because it is an old population?  Is it because the Philippines is a developing country with a typically young population?  Whatever the reason, it did just surprise me. 

Ronda we all look the same

When we lived in Manila we would get out of the city at least once every 6 weeks, sometimes more often.  Since we've moved to Andalucia we haven't really ventured very far from home at all.  Living in Manila could be quite stifling at times - the heat, the traffic, the pollution, the noise - meaning that a periodic escape was all but necessary to recharge.  Living where we do in Andalucia doesn't create that same necessity to escape for a recharge.  We are very lucky.  But sometimes it's nice to explore your surrounding area regardless.

This past weekend, that's what we decided to do.

The weather on Sunday was beautiful - not a cloud in the sky, with temperatures nudging 20 degrees celcius near the coast.  Inland and at a higher altitude the temperatures were closer to 10 degrees, but the skies were still clear.

The journey to Ronda, via the A357 past Cartama, took just over an hour and a half.  We approached Ronda from the 'new' side, but by following signs to 'Centro urbano' we crossed the famous bridge (Puente Nuevo) and entered the old town.  After a few tight squeezes down narrow streets we found some parking bang in the middle of the old town (near Plaza Duquesa de Parcent).

Our first stop, as is often the case with a little person (she only has a little tummy so needs to eat often to keep fueled up), was a cafe on Plaza Duquesa de Parcent.  The setting was lovely, the cafe standard.

We then wandered around the old town, aiming towards the famous bridge.  Our walk took us down pretty little paved streets (a bumpy ride for the little person in her pram) with great views over the Andalucian landscape whenever we popped out of the built up area.  A fun walk.  With lots of photo opportunities, especially of doors.  More of our photos are on my Flickr page.

We discovered that the bridge is best seen from below; there are very few good vantage points in the town.  We saw a few people walking down the rather steep track to the better vantage point, but we decided to drive.  The road, if you can call it that, was very narrow and steep and looked like it had been built a long time ago.  Still, we managed to get down and more impressively we managed to get back up as well.

All in all a lovely day out.

We drove back a different way - on the A397 towards Estepona and then onto the A7 back to Arroyo de la Miel.  It took roughly the same amount of time as our journey to Ronda but was a bit more of a windy road.

2014

I'm a bit behind, but here is a visual snapshot of our 2014.

Lost in translation

Mr H & I are both trying to learn Spanish.  We are doing it quite differently.  I am using Duolingo and I am having weekly Spanish lessons.  Mr H is using another website (I clearly don't pay enough attention when he speaks to me, because I can't remember which one) and Google Translate.  He uses Google Translate to learn phrases whenever he needs to do something e.g. explain how he wants his hair cut, or change physiotherapy appointments.

A few weeks ago he needed to change a physiotherapy appointment.  He asked the receptionist if he could change his appointment because:

"Tengo que cumplir a mi esposa"

He thought that he was saying "I need to meet my wife."

It turned out, when he was relaying this tale to a friend of his, that he had been saying: "I need to satisfy my wife"!!!

The receptionist apparently had a great poker face.  I wonder what she said to her colleagues afterwards?

Sun, sand, sea and... snow!

If you look carefully, you can see snow on the mountains!

The last few months have passed in a bit of a blur, one of the reasons that there haven't been any blog updates from me.  I think about blogging often, but lots of other things end up taking priority.

Before we moved to the Costa del Sol, I wasn't completely sure what to expect in terms of weather.  Friends who had lived here previously, and who live here now, had told us that the weather was wonderful all year round; that it never really gets very cold.  I suppose I expected never to need a jacket or a scarf: that kind of 'it never really gets very cold'.  I have needed a jacket and a scarf.  Although, granted, not that often.  I wonder if my perceptions would have been different if we were moving here from the temperate UK climate vs. moving here from the tropical Filipino climate?

Whilst we have had some cold days, and some wet days, generally we have lots of sunny days.  The sunny days can feel cold when the wind is up.  But I don't mind, if it's sunny.

On these bright sunny days, we often have fabulous views of the Mediterranean sea on one side and the edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains on the other.  Over the last few weeks, as winter has arrived we have been able to see snow on the mountains, and the sun glinting off the sea.  How wonderfully surreal.