Our very first experience of Spain was a holiday in Nerja on the Costa del Sol in about 1997 and we spent several winter holidays there before we bought our place on the Costa Blanca.
With my big birthday approaching (65th) and Kathie's blankety-blank we decided to return to Nerja and stay in one of the two top hotels in the town. We considered the Monica and the Balcon de Europa and decided upon the Balcon after finding a good deal on Booking.com.
The famous Hotel Balcon de Europa
Unlike previous holidays in Nerja, we now live only 4 hours or so from this resort and the drive is a blast. We chose the coastal route. The motorway is never more than a couple of miles from the sea and the route is quite mountainous so some of the views are magnificent.
It almost seemed that every level surface contained a greenhouse
We had booked a room with a sea view in the hotel (surprisingly it does have a few rooms without) and upon arrival we were given a room with a beautiful view but on the east side which only had a sunny balcony until about noon. The hotel management were very nice however and changed our room the next morning for a south facing room.
Our original room, sea view but cool in the afternoon
The new room, bigger balcony and south-facing
I have stayed in several 4/5 star hotels on my travels but only on business. The Balcon is a 4 star hotel and this time we were able to enjoy all the facilities to the full. Private pool, open air jacuzzi, private beach with waiter service, restaurant on the beach etc.
Nice weather for a Birthday Lunch
Breakfast with a view
Come on in - the water's lovely
Small video reminder of our beach
Becoming an OAP has never been nicer. We left the car parked up for the entire break.
Nerja is very quiet at this time of the year so when we went for a wander in the evening there was no problem finding a nice restaurant. On Tuesday 28th February there was a celebration in town for Andalucia Day. A charity bike ride was organized and hundreds of people young and old assembled on the town square for a short ride around the town. There were some great sights.
Some of the charity-riders from the youngest entrant to the longest bike
We travelled home on the 29th February but before we left we visited the famous caves just outside Nerja. These were discovered in 1959 by a bunch of kids who accessed them through a sink hole. Since then they have become one of Spain's major tourist attractions. The main "hall" is so large that theatre seats have been installed and concerts and ballets are performed in there. There is a fenced and ballustraded walkway around the rest of the publicly accessible caves so that one can take a tour and view the magnificent stalagmites and stalagtites. Naturally every effort is made to separate you from your money and there is a photographer on hand as you enter the caves who will take your picture and have it ready as you exit the complex.
Below are a few photographs taken from the roadside on the route home.
If you look closely at the centre of the above picture you can see......
.....the final resting place of this vehicle!
Based on our experience at the Balcon and the price of good apartments in the area we would choose Nerja again for another holiday.
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