Nerja (Nair-ha) March 19, 2014
Nerja is a beautiful, small, sunny city of 20,000, a few miles to the east of Malaga on the Costa del Sol. Bruce had chosen this as our destination for a few days of a "vacation from our vacation". We left our dear Alozaina on Saturday, the 15th, amid one last heartfelt hug and exchange of emails from our newest friend, Theresa Murphy. She had made a point to get herself out to the edge of town to the bus stop early enough to catch up with us before we boarded the bus for Malaga. It was one more sweet gesture and, combined with the lovely good-bye meals and hugs of the past few days, made our hearts a bit heavy as we pulled out of town on the big bus.
By noon we were stepping into a new experience in this beachy, touristy city, full of light and warmth. Our small, one-star hostal is surprisingly nice at only $35/night, and we have found ourselves surrounded by young travelers again, which is fun.
After checking in, we wound our way through the typically narrow streets lined with houses and shops. Emerging onto a street near the central plaza, we could see the ocean through the restos lining the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. We were hungry and fell for the first place that offered reasonably priced pizza. The big attraction, though, was the balcony overlooking the sea and the beach, far below us. We chose a table for two, next to the glass barrier, and gazed down at the nearly bare bodies, lined up on adjoining towels on the sand. A couple of hardy kids frolicked in the water, which was a gorgeous turquoise color. We pinched ourselves - but it was real!
Since that first glorious moment a few days ago, we have explored the town and chatted with a few of the older English-speaking folks who visit here at this time of year, escaping their own version of winter. We miss the intimacy of our little Alozaina, where we were sure to run into someone that we knew on any outing. But we are loving the opportunities: to shed some outer layers of clothes, to see a movie, to indulge in more variety of foods, to see more "stuff" in stores, among other things. Yesterday we had a fantastic meal of Indian food. Since we were the only customers on St. Patrick's Day, the owner had plenty of time for a fascinating chat about his life in Spain. We've just discovered a Lao-Thai resto, a Chinese, and a Turkish one, so our options for our last meal here are interesting.
On the enthusiastic recommendation of Alice, one of our Alozaina friends, we made sure to get out to the Cuevas de Nerja yesterday. The caves were discovered by some boys who were out playing and exploring in 1959. Coincidentally, on this day there were groups of fifth graders, out for a field trip. Their teachers sounded just the same in their admonitions as teachers everywhere, no matter the language. The caves are massive, amazing underground pavilions, with tall pillars of stone, created by dripping mineral water, some in fantasmagorical shapes. Concerts are held there in the summer, and I can imagine how lovely it would be to gather in their coolness on a sultry summer evening, listening to classical music.
We walked back to Nerja - only about 3 km - past crops of vegetables, sheltered under plastic greenhouses. Spain's coast is broken up into costas (coasts) of various names; for example, Costa del Sol (the Sunshine Coast), Costa Brava (the Rugged Coast), and Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light). The unofficial name for this area, where so much produce is grown under plastic, feeding all of Europe, is the Costa Plastica!
On Sunday, we checked out a huge flea market. Beside the pure entertainment value, I was looking for a fleece jacket for our upcoming walk on the Camino de Santiago. We joined a stream of folks, mostly ex-pats, it seemed, headed on foot for the outskirts of town, where the market is held. When we arrived under a bright blue sky, hundreds of customers roamed among the open air tables, clustered in a space about the size of a football field, with a view of the sea. Every kind of product imaginable was on offer, all used things. I pawed through a few piles of second-hand clothes before coming upon a real find, a medium-size fleece, going for 50 cents.
The whole crowd was a feast for people-watching. Among my favorites were the vendor wearing a small sun umbrella attached to a headband - and a burly rastafarian guy wearing a skirt.
Apparently the English-speaking population here is large enough to support an English-language movie theater. Bruce has been feeling movie-deprived, so we attended a showing of Blue Jasmine. It's a Woody Allen film with a sad story, but great performances by Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins. Ironically, it describes a lifestyle that is the antithesis of what we've just enjoyed in Alozaina, where simplicity, community, and spirituality prevail.
So, we've had a dose of summer here in Nerja, a place that feels like a very upscale Old Orchard Beach. More like Bar Harbor, actually. Today we are traveling back to Malaga to settle in before Matt and Izik arrive on Friday morning. Can't wait to see them!
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