Out on Playazo beach, which is the least busy beach to the west of Nerja, there are a number of big open-air restaurants called chiringuitos. By day they are full of sun-tanned tourists and Spaniards alike, drinking beer and sangria and enjoying delicious tapas. By night or on chillier days, they lower the plastic curtains and light the wood fire and the place fills up with people once again. There's often live music and its a very friendly and authentically Spanish ambiance as there are lots of Spanish families who enjoy these places...and I think almost all of them are family-run by local Spanish people. Our favorite is the Chiringuito Mauri which has the speediest young waiters you can imagine...and Mama is in the kitchen and Papa is grilling the sardinas in the boat by the entrance and the dog lies basking in the sun.

Shopping in Nerja is becoming increasingly sophisticated and varied. There are a number of good jewellery shops, some new and exciting clothing emporiums and of course, tons of places that sell touristy things including flamenco dresses and pottery and t shirts.

Leather is always a good buy here and there are tons of gorgeous jackets, coats, shoes and boots in all price ranges. The market vendors have some quality stuff too...not just cheap junk. Tom bought leather shoes for about $15 Canadian and he's still wearing them and they still look great.

The narrow streets of the old town are pleasant for exploring and wandering about in search of bargains or a meal or a drink. We spend hours walking around...it's good exercise and there's always some new nook or cranny to explore.

It is our pleasure to take the bus to Frigiliana for a leisurely lunch in one of the many small restaurants tucked into the whitewashed village streets.
The bus, which is a big airconditioned Euro-coach makes a number of round trips from the Nerja downtown to Frigiliana and is usually quite full of locals and visitors traipsing between the two villages. It's particularly busy on the day of the mercado in Frigiliana and if you can't get a seat on the bus, buy a ticket from the driver and wait for the second coach to arrive. Oddly enough you can't buy tickets from the second bus driver. I think the bus is generally only really full on the mid-morning (11 am) run to Frigiliana on market day.




Here we are looking over the mountains and the National Park at the east side of Frigiliana village. These mountains are all protected and are criss-crossed with hiking and walking trails. This truly is a glorious part of Andalucia...moments from the Mediterranean and the unspoiled countryside.
This is a view of various sea-front apartments perched over Carabeo beach. There are a lot of marvellous accommodations in Nerja and this year, I had a lovely time looking for a potential home in Nerja. Haven't found quite the right one yet, but I'm sure it will happen.

Nerja 2008

Our winter holiday this year was only a month long but what a month!
We found a wonderful airfare deal through Air Transat from Montreal directly to Malaga for just over 500.00 return with taxes included. I couldn't believe my good fortune. We took the Greyhound from Ottawa bus terminal to Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport, flew directly to Malaga (just over six hour flight) and landed at 6:30 a.m. Customs and baggage was a breeze and by ten a.m we were having breakfast at our favorite outdoor cafe in Nerja. The return trip a month later was just as simple...left Malaga at 8 am, landed in Paris where we picked up some other passengers and then continued on to Montreal. Our best and easiest flights to Europe ever.
Our apartment was a two bedroom on Calle Merida which is the first street back from Torrecilla beach. The terrace faced south and we could see the sparkling Med. Best location yet, very quiet and only a moment's walk to the promenade and equally convenient for the old town.

Weather this year was incredible. We arrived on Jan 16 and had an endless month of blue skies and sunshine. Never touched our umbrellas. There were a couple of breezy days at the end of the stay...some cloud once in awhile...it never even rained. (not good for Spain which needs some moisture in the winter.)