Winter Sun in Nerja, Spain / Georgina Does

Winter Sun in Nerja, Spain

Monday, 14 November 2016

Nerja was the sunshine stop on my trip to Malaga but before I got my dose of winter sun on one of the many beautiful beaches, we had a cave to explore! Yep. Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought a cave would be something that I was interested in either but that all changed as I stepped down below ground level.

The caves of Nerja were discovered fifty years ago by five teenage boys. They used to watch birds flying in an out of a hole and decided to follow them one day; discovering these 5 million year old caves in the process. Visiting them was quite an experience! I would highly recommend that instead of using the headset, you book an exclusive tour guide to show you around. Ours happened to be Miguel Joven, (a Spanish TV child star) and he was great! We could all clearly see how passionate he was about the caves. Miguel talked us through the process of how curtains, columns and gours were created all those years ago. He pointed out all the sorts of things that we would never have known were there otherwise but one of my favourite things happened while the rest of the group were taking photos. I was just staring at this amazing space in awe and he told me to stand on a particular spot. He then pointed his torch up and we both watched as a drop of water fell from the top of the cave and landed on my jumper, it was pretty cool.

The caves are enormous, none of my photos do it any justice but they are definitely worth a visit. They are regularly used to host a 4 days festival and if you are really brave, Miguel does dark tours on Saturday night; the big lights go off and you explore with just a headlight!

After the caves, we made our way to the seafront passing by Acueducto del Águila (Eagle Aqueduct) an spectacular 19th century aqueduct. It was originally used to transport water to the sugar refineries between Malaga city center and Nerja but today it is used to irrigate land. Even if you dont stop off, its still worth a drive past; of course we stopped - the photographers in the group were desperate to get a shot so we pulled over on the road opposite! Luckily there is a lay-by so we were all about to get off the bus safely to have a proper look.

Finally it was time for some sun! Nerja is a holiday resort but don’t let that put you off. The way it’s been looked after and its traditional Spanish charm makes it a lovely place to be. Plus look at this weather! This was taken in October; low season but still hot making Nerja the perfect place for some winter sun! We started at Balcon De Europa which was full of people out enjoying the sunshine and admiring the panoramic views over the beaches - there are 12 in total. It was a little bit windy up there but it was perfect with the heat from the sun. I totally fell in love with the colour of the jewel blue sea and the good mood that being by the seaside puts you in.

Later, we had lunch right on the beach at Chiringuito Ayo, it was a seafood feast; one dish came out after another. The place is very well known for its paella but ate the seafood that we could see roasting on the flames behind us. There was anchovies, prawns, mussels, fried fish all followed by a whole grilled fish each and dessert!