Nerja in November - Day 2

The room is warm and snug to the point of almost being too warm and I revel in the I'm not cold sensation all night while intermittently and blearily eyed checking the Cuevas de Nerja website to see if the free tickets for Monday or Tuesday have become available. They are supposed to be available 48 hours in advance and when from home I checked on a Wednesday for Friday, there they were, no problem. Only now it should have been Saturday for Monday. And on Saturday, taken up with luggage and transport obsessions, I forgot..... Hence the midnight checking for Tuesday..... Nothing at 8 minutes past midnight and nothing at three in the morning. Suddenly at a 6.30 I try, there they are...free tickets for Monday! Shouldn't it be Tuesday? Never mind, I actually wanted Monday anyway!....

Despite the cave obsession it's a remarkably restful night. Next morning we go straight to Balcon de Europa. 

It's first thing on a Sunday morning, few people around, a strong breeze which whips up the spray of the waves below the red cliffs of tropical vegetation in the distance. The view from the simple white arches of Balcon de Europa is beautiful, breathtaking from the surprise more than anything because while determined to visit I had been somewhat skeptical about Nerja. We look at the wide balcony looking out to sea and then go down to the beach below, Playa Calahonda. It's a nice little beach and we like the statute of Chanquete 

which was put in position just a few months ago. This fictitious fisherman was an important character in the Spanish television series Verano Azul, set in Nerja and televised in 1980. The series was also shown abroad and legend has it that Nerja's development as a popular resort was also thanks to the TV programme.

After visiting the beach it's about 10.30 so we go to mass in the nearby church of San Salvador. It's a church service in English and it is quite surprising for several reasons. First of all, it's not completely in English, some bits and hymns are in Spanish, some parts in both languages. Both the English and Spanish hymns are shown on screens throughout the church so it's easy for everyone, whatever their language, as long as they've got a smattering of one or the other, to follow and sing along. The benches are all full and there are people standing at the back. It's all very well organized, and there's a very nice relaxed atmosphere. The last hymn involves hand clapping and finishes with a goodbye applause which, oddly, I don't find out of place. Very nice. 
Back outside in the morning sunshine we carry on our stroll around Nerja going as far as Playa Los Cangrejos. We also get sidetracked at AleHop where we spend so long examining all the new ideas since our last visit to one in Granada that I suspect a store detective starts to keep an eye on us. We leave, obviously, considering the luggage issue, without buying anything, we still have another three weeks of holiday and who knows what I may need to squeeze in. If not, there's one in Malaga for last minute decisions.

After a relaxing lunch break back at the apartment, in the afternoon we walk in the other direction to Playa Burriana, mainly in search of an ice-cream shop Andrea has found on the Internet. Playa Burriana is protected from the wind and there are quite a few people sunbathing or just sitting on the beach and a couple of brave souls amongst the big waves. I walk barefoot along the shore, to say I paddle would be an exaggeration but the sea does cover my feet a couple of times and seems decidedly chilly. The background view towards the east of red cliffs and vegetation is very scenic and the sea, perhaps also thanks to the wind, is a splendid almost dark blue, but the beach itself is unremarkable due, in my fussy opinion, to the coarse greyish sand which brings to mind a building site. Other people however are rolling happily around on it and their kids are playing in it, so no doubt it's just yours truly who's too pernickety. The restaurants and cafes behind the beach are heaving with people, mostly northerners but some Spanish. Hmm, not my sort of place. 
We backtrack through the centre of Nerja, still busy but with quite nice interesting little shops to peer at and then carry on down past la Torrecilla and its beach to Playa Playazo and beyond. Here it's much more to my liking, blowing a gale which requires a scarf and fleece, nobody about, enormous waves, scudding clouds and a mad and/or extremely skilled kitesurfer practising his acrobatics in total marine wilderness. Spectacular! We sit first on some steps sheltered from the wind, then on a bench when the sun breaks between the clouds. Eventually we are too cold and go back to Balcon de Europa for the approaching sunset, where we watch the antics of a group of mainly female Japanese tourists hit in full by a fit of the giggles while trying to take a group photo. Actually the sunset isn't superb from Balcon de Europa because in the middle there are the houses on the next headland looking west but the whole thing is just so enjoyable anyway.

Food this evening involves a dilemma, bread and cheese? Vermouth and tapas or something more substantial in the restaurant below the apartment? Curry takeaway from across the street? Our other two destinations on this trip are unlikely, due to a much lower concentration of British residents and visitors, to provide the last option, most un-Spanish but irresistible. We succumb and invest 10 euros in a takeaway lamb Rogan Josh and rice. Enough for two and very very tasty. We walked another 12 kilometres or so today as well and when the flamenco starts in the restaurant downstairs I open the window to hear it a little and stay where I am, this is a holiday after all.