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.)

Our recommendations in Nerja

According to one of the area's newspapers, Nerja continually receives the highest marks for overall tourism satisfaction on the Costa del Sol. And no wonder, given the clean, safe, more or less authentically Spanish (as much as you can get on the coast) absence of those horrid high-rise barracks housing Eastern European discount tourists, low crime rate, excellent prices and as we have discovered, a great selection of places to eat of all descriptions. Being restauranteurs and cooks ourselves, we do know good food when we encounter it, and equally important, recognize value for money and all those factors that go into making a decent restaurant experience. And so here are our recommendations thus far....(and we are far from finished doing our research!).

Breakfast: Many restaurants advertise the "Big British Breakfast" which is essentially a classic bacon/sausage/ham and two eggs/toast combination. What makes it British is the addition of fried tomato and (canned) baked beans. Prices range from 3 Euros to about 8 Euros. The cheaper ones don't include the juice and coffee so you'll still end up paying about 7 Euros once they tack that on. Best deal AND best breakfast for our money is the Jamaica Cafe on calle Manuel Marin down by the Hotel Monica near Torrecilla Playa. Total cost for two breakfasts with juice and coffees was 8 Euros. And they throw in all the extras such as jam and butter which a lot of the other places skip. We've also had supper at the Jamaica and although it was nothing noteworthy, it was good value for the money and the food (thin crust pizza in this case) was tasty enough. It's a tremendously popular place with Spanish families and it's always busy and lively, both indoors and on the enclosed terrace.

On the subject of pizza, the Bella Roma, down near the Plaza Cavana does nice thin-crust and they are also very popular and very busy. We were disappointed with the fish we had there one evening as it was non-descript and served with some really boring french fries and nothing else. They have a pleasant atmosphere and a nice terrace and are generally packed in the evenings.

We've eaten paella at Ayo's much touted place on Burriana and found it a greasy disappointment despite the rave reviews some other people give it. I think they turn out such vast quantities of it that any finesse goes right down the drain. You can however, eat as much as you want of it for about 8 Euros...sooo...

There's a little corner place open for lunch almost beside the Bella Roma called The Mandarina and we like going there for lunch. It's a little place with some well-placed tables in the sunny square (almost too sunny on hot days as it has no canopy or umbrellas) and they make a lovely tapas plate for 3 Euros. They also have nice fresh baguettes with ham and cheese and other goodies for 3 Euros. Good budget food, freshly made.

Last winter we had a great dinner at El Encanto, which is tucked into a narrow street downtown. I had rabbit and Tom, again, had lamb. Good food, freshly and creatively cooked and a pleasant atmosphere. Well recommended.

We may not have time to try these others on this trip but if anyone has eaten there, please let us know what you think of Sollun (new and impressed by their menu and by the fresh herbs growing in the window boxes), Casa Luque??? Sloans and Langhams. Happy eating!!!

A lovely evening in late February

We look forward to our special dinners out and this week we are going to a place we discovered last week called The White Truffle. We had their Sunday lunch last Sunday...chicken for Tom and roast pork for me and were entirely pleased with their take on those old standards. Fresh herbs, delicious sauces, everything piping hot and freshly prepared and creatively presented. I've been hearing good things about them also from other people in the area and it seems they are going to be a big hit. We strolled over there taking the long way around via the Balcon de Europa since we are determined to get at least an hours walking in every day. The weather today was gorgeous...hot and sunny and a light breeze.

It's Carneval in Espagne. Here's some photos of the parade in Nerja earlier today. It has a real community feeling...earlier we watched out our window as some of the neighbours got dressed up for the parade. We had a great spot to watch in a little cafe on Pintada....and everyone was in a festive mood....at one point Julius Caesar's chariot lost power and his henchmen had to push him out of the way....that float was followed by a bunch of dubious Alpine maidens with five-o'clock shadows and large bottles of San Miguel lager beer.

What is the cost of a two month winter vacation in Nerja ??? Using our experience as a guideline, here's a breakdown of a sixty day vacation on Spain's Costa del Sol during February and March.
We have never paid more than 1000.00 Canadian per person for airfare including transfers from the airport to our accommodations. We've flown with Air Canada, KLM, Alitalia, British Airways and Spanair via Heathrow, Amsterdam, Milan and Madrid on various trips. The rule of thumb is an overnight flight from Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal to a major hub such as Heathrow or Paris or Frankfurt with an early morning arrival, time to have a coffee and a break in the airport and then a short hop of less than two hours directly to Malaga where you will arrive in the bright Spanish sunshine, depending on your airline, from 1pm to 5 pm. Forty minute airport transfer on a good motorway brings you to your doorstep in Nerja in time for tapas and a drink in the late day sunshine.

Our accommodation per month on the costa averages about 900.00 Euros (1450.00 Canadian per month) depending on the rate of exchange and the particular place we choose. We have stayed in one and two bedroom apartments in and out of town and in small villas in the countryside. These prices are all inclusive...that is...for two people with hydro, water, heating, satellite television, hi-speed internet, parking, clean linens weekly and end of stay cleaning all included in this one flat fee. Should you be travelling with more than two people, the additional cost is usually minimally more...for example for four people instead of two, a two bedroom apartment might be 1100.00 Euros per month. Four sharing is of course, extremely cost effective and there are countless spacious apartments with ensuite bathrooms and lots of space ideal for two couples or a group of friends. We can recomend an excellent selection.

Then there's food and drink and entertainment and transportation. A car rental for one month for a small car (such as a Peugot or Opel or Kia....much like a Chevrolet Astro in Canada....is less than 500 Euros FOR A MONTH. Shorter periods such as three days for 60 Euros are also available from excellent reliable agencies here on the Costa. Cars are brand new, small or midsize, with excellent fuel efficiency and easy to maneuvre on the narrower village streets. Standard stick shift is the norm so if you need an automatic, that will add some price and you need to reserve well in advance.

One of our reasons for choosing Nerja as a destination is that we don't need a car here unless we wish to go out exploring on the back country roads. Nerja is walkable in its entirety and has an excellent reliable town bus which runs every hour from one end to the other. Nerja is also served by the larger Andalucian bus system which means you can hop on the bus in the morning to nearby villages and towns and return in the afternoon. You can take the bus to Malaga for less than four Euros and spend the day shopping in the big city and be home by mid-afternoon for a siesta. In Malaga you can also catch buses and trains and planes for all the rest of Spain and Europe.

Daily cost of living: We have a budget that we adhere to pretty strictly in order to afford our winter life on the Costa (we still have hydro bills to pay in Ontario while we are over here lolling in the sun) and that budget is 30 Euros per day to cover food, drink, eating out, buses, entertainment, books, etc. This makes about 50.00 per day for two people and allows us to eat and drink well at home and to have a couple of meals out a week, as well as little excursions round and about the area and lots of books to read and wine to drink. If you wish to forego restaurant meals you can do it easily on 15-20 Euros a day for two people...if money is no object...well, the sky can be the limit.

So in total: 2000.00 for airfare and ground transportation. 2000.00 for accomodation. 2000.00 for food, drink, fun and games. 500.00 for travel and health insurance depending on your age and good health...comes to 6500.00 for two people for two months. Compare that with any long stay package or even shorter resort holiday and you will see that the Costa is a bargain for a long stay. If you're only looking for a month you can halve the accommodation and daily costs...airfare of course remains the same. And speaking of health...the Costa has excellent English speaking dentists, doctors, health clinics and services so it's also an excellent choice in terms of access to medical services if that should ever be required.