Tequila Sunrise

We have visited Nerja a couple of times before, but only for short holidays, so having a whole month to enjoy the Spanish winter sun was a real treat!

Nerja is an old fishing village on the Costa del Sol, which is a popular destination for English, German, Swedish and Dutch holidaymakers and ex-pats. There aren’t the large high-rise blocks of Torremolinos or Benalmadena, but it is close to Malaga, and is famous for the famous caves of large stalagmites/stalagtites (which we visited last time) and sandy beaches.

Arriving in the dark was a bit like that scene in ‘Enchanted April’ where the ladies arrive at the mysterious castle in Italy on a dark, stormy evening, and wake up the next day to a sunny view revealed after opening the shutters. I opened the curtains and patio doors to the soothing sound of the sea and the warm caress of sunshine on my face! I can understand why people come here for the winter months when retired – what a great idea!

I soon settle into my morning routine – warm drink of tea, meditation then breakfast on the balcony consisting of papaya/melon with thin shavings of serrano ham, cornflakes, toast and marmalade. Watching people on the Balcon – men of a certain age (retired I suppose), short and stocky, with flat caps and cardigans, sit smoking and chatting and watch the fishermen on the beach drying out their nets. A ginger cat picks its way along the staircase wall down to the beach then sits on the sand, hopefully watching the nets.

Afternoons usually consist of a long lunch, either at one of our favourite tapas places, or on our balcony courtesy of our ‘SuperSol’ supplies, then a long beach walk.

Good Stuff and Tapas

We ate lots of great food, of course, and became frequent patrons of the Good Stuff cafe, run by an Irish couple who moved here 10 years ago – nice pot of tea, complete with hand-knitted tea cosy, GF peanut butter chocolate brownie and lemon drizzle cake means have probably already put on a few pounds as my jeans feel tight! Time to resort to the M&S magic knickers?

Our other favourite eatery was the Tapas Plaza, run by a lovely Dutch couple, who baked me a special GF bread.

Feliz Navidad!

For entertainment, we have DVDs and BBC 1, so have been able to enjoy Strictly, some of our comedies and an occasional film. Though we do go out and hear some impromptu carol singers a few times, take in a flamenco show, and see the Christmas children’s parade!

At ‘Namaste’ we enjoyed a lively evening of world-folk fusion music, with some of the ex-pat community – and were entertained by an English duo – Russell on guitar, and Chrissy on a variety of assorted instruments and hardware supplies – flute, melodica with hosepipe attachment (!), piccolo, saxophone and a Turkish snake-charming instrument!

For Christmas lunch, we revisit Tapas Plaza and pig out all afternoon! Well, isn’t that what everyone does at Christmas? (mine is a non-alcoholic cider, in case you were wondering!).

The flamenco evening, at Burro Blanco (the white donkey) was just like Strictly, complete with fans, castanets and cape twirling. Mike joins in the singing, but embarrassingly sounds like a badly-dubbed Mexican in a Sergio Leone western. I will not talk about my attempt to join in with the dancing, suffice to say, there remains no photographic evidence I actually did this……

The Balcon de Europa and town hall were festively decorated for the Season, and helped us to enjoy the spirit of Christmas without all the snow and ice! (Adam’s mulled wine and mince pies at Good Stuff cafe helped too!).

Pueblos blancos

We take a jeep safari into the Alhama Natural Park, via Competa, scenic viewpoints, coffee/tea (with pernod!) and the ‘lost’ village of Acebuchal, then more viewpoints (with Cava!) in the afternoon.

Acebuchal was on a 17th century muleteers route, and many old buildings remain, despite the village being abandoned in 1848 after suffering in the Civil War. The village was ‘rediscovered’ and restored in 1998.

There is only one restaurant, but you only need one when the food is so good! We enjoy a fabulous fresh salad, meat stew and home made ice cream with chocolate fudge sauce to build us up for the sightseeing in the afternoon!

Our guide, Michael, a sort of Dutch Ray Mears, and all round adventurer is very knowledgable about the area, and tells us interesting factoids as we hurtle around impossible off-road paths (though I miss most of the stories as I am worried by the fact he turns round to talk to us when he is driving!). He does give useful advice for those wondering about emigrating to live here in Spain – or anywhere for that matter – rent a place for a few months first, and draw up a list of all the things you need to live/work – for example, there is no point moving to Frigiliana if you rely on the internet, as the connections are rubbish!

We did a couple of day trips to Frigiliana, the famous pueblo blanco, one euro bus ride up the hill. On the way we pass a ‘Ferreteria’. I wonder if this is where the old men with the flat caps and cardigans go for their ferrets?

 

 

Had forgotten just how photogenic Frigiliana was from the previous times we had been, and in the winter light we stroll for a few hours, filling our memory cards with white buildings and wooden doorways.

 

We eat at a ‘Ronseal’ bar (it does exactly what it says on the tin), which Mike calls the ‘Jesus’ bar as there is a picture of Jesus on the sign outside! We both have steak and chips the first visit, then I have sardinas y patatas, and Mike enjoys pork loin and chips on our return.

Trivial Pursuits

We found an article in the local English paper about two Canadian journalists who invented the popular board game ‘Trivial Pursuits’. They wrote the first edition whilst staying in Nerja in 1980, thinking up questions fuelled by San Miguel beer! Following struggles to find investors for ‘Six Thousand Questions’ as the game was originally called,  one Nerja resident, a Canadian barman, decided to back them. He is now a millionaire! I suppose the quietness of the area is conducive to writers, and Spain has been a popular destination for writers since the Victorian times, with authors like Strachey, Brenan, the Woolfs and of course, Hemingway visiting the area. Maybe some of the inspiring landscape and seascape will rub off on my writing skills? Who knows? We shall see…Adios for now Amigos!

Interview with a Vampire

We are here in October and Halloween week  is coming into full swing, with lots of houses festooned with ghouls, skeletons and witches, mardi gras beads and Voodoo paraphernalia. Steam punk outfits fill the clothing shop windows . Drag queens and street performers put on their finery and poodles wearing shoes (yes, shoes!) parade around the streets of the French Quarter.

We join the Halloween theme with tours of some of the cemeteries. St. Louis No. 1 is where Marie Laveau, the mother of Voodoo, is reputed to be buried. Marie started her professional life as a hairdresser, so got to know everyone’s business though gossip in the salon, and turned this ‘secret’ knowledge to her advantage when launching a new career as a Voodoo priestess!

The tombs are traditionally built above ground, partly to prevent the bodies floating away during floods, as the whole district is built on an ex plantation swamp.  It gets so hot inside the tombs that the bodies dry to bones, and after a year and a day (Catholic tradition) the bones can be bagged and drop into the bottom section of the tomb. In this way, one tomb can house many members of the same family, a big saving I suppose!

Scenes from the film Double Jeopardy flashed through my mind whilst walking among the head-high tombs and seeing the trinkets and flowers on the stone slabs – glass Mardi gras beads instead of Jewish-style stones on top of the tombs. The festival nature of this place reflected in a glittering gold stiletto shoe, and plastic flowers (tacky but practical as fresh vegetation would wilt in a matter of minutes in the blazing summer sun).

I buy some herbal soap and a mini Voodoo doll (for healing purposes, of course!) at Voodoo Authentica. Of course, Voodoo isn’t all about sticking pins in people, but more the art of healing of the self and others through meditative thought and concentration on the positive (like most other psychotherapeutic or healing techniques, harnessing the link between mind and body for health!).

Walking around the older area of the Marigny, we see  Spanish, French and British influences in architecture, and many of the ‘shotgun’ and ‘Creole cabin’ houses (doors both sides of the house which can be opened to allow a cooling breeze through in the hot sticky summers).

In the Garden District, the houses are on a grand scale, and we walk past houses belonging to Sandra Bullock, Dan Goodman and Nicholas Cage. It was here that the film ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ was filmed, and everyone we meet has nothing but praise for Brad Pitt and his investment in the ‘Make it Right’ housing project following Hurricane Katrina and the destruction of the Ninth ward. 

Gone with the wind

Our visit to the plantation houses was a welcome quiet contrast to the loud party atmosphere of the city.

Oak Alley is the plantation house you see in all the old films, and has the famous driveway framed by arches of oak trees, dripping with lichens and tree moss. The costumed guide brought the house to life, with an entertaining tour.

Many of the buildings on the Laura plantation are still surviving, and our guide acted out stories there to transport us to the past.

In both places, the contrast between the plantation owners’ lives and that of the slaves was starkly evident, especially after our recent visit to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

Cruising up and down the Mississippi on the paddle steamer Natchez with live jazz and three decks to explore was an easy way to step back to the time of Gone With the Wind! Plenty of restaurants on board, and the ubiquitous gift shop, conveniently located next door to the ladies!

 

As we were leaving the boat, the guide says ” remember whatever the question, the answer is love”, which tickled us and we entered into a ten minute question answer session of how old am I? Answer, love etc.

Exit through the Gift shop

Although there were a few things which bugged me (the hard sell, rules rules rules and always having to exit though the gift shop!), there are many great memories of my first visit to the U.S. We experienced excellent customer service in the smaller eateries we visited, and I loved being called  ‘ma’am’ all the time! The portion control and doggy bags, for those leftover dinners were a fantastic idea, and why can’t we do flushable toilet seat covers in the UK?

Most of all, though, it was the friendliness of the Americans we met (both locals and fellow tourists) which made our visit to Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans so special, and we were made to feel very welcome everywhere we went. We can’t wait for our next visit…..see ya’ll soon!