Day 15, Sunday- An early bus ride to Almuñécar which is in the province of Granada. Only a 2 hour bus ride from Almeria. I got in early and walked about 20 minutes from the bus station to the hotel. I’ve been using Hotels.com for years and it has never let me down. I found a small “boutique” hotel and it was very affordable. Took my chances as it was not too far from the bus station and very close to the beach and the boardwalk. I got a little lost using Google Maps on my phone and ended up going the long way through town. They were winding streets and a little hilly (up and down). Not easy when you’ve got a backpack and rolling suitcase. But I made it!

The hotel was amazing. So lovely. It was the first floor of an older condominium building, about 18 rooms. All on the first floor. Downstairs they had a breakfast buffet which was an additional charge, but well worth it. But back to the hotel, reception desk was super friendly and my room was ready. I checked in and went to my room to unpack. It was a small room, but very lovely. It seemed newer with a comfortable double bed, nice bathroom and amenities. All very shiny and clean. I was ready to get outside and walk along the sea. It was chilly out and the wind was cold. But off I went. The boardwalk was only 2 blocks away and it was breathtaking. On one side was the sea with a wide sidewalk and beautiful tiled benches and the other side restaurants, bars, shops and condominiums. On the sea side there were scattered restaurants here and there. Most of them with outside seating on the beach. Too cold for me.

I ended up walking over an hour until I found a nice restaurant to have some lunch. See the pictures below. A great afteroon!

I regret to say that right about now I started feeling a little scratchy sore throat! I just couldn’t get sick, could I? I stopped at a pharmacy and the pharmacist suggested a very strong throat lozenge. And it helped, a lot. So I cut back on the wine (oh my!) for today anyway. It was also very windy and cool out. My new jacket and warm scarf did help. My lunches on both days in Almuñécar consisted of fish stew (or soup). Very delicous. Take a look:

The rest of my stay in Almuñécar included leaving my luggage at the hotel the following morning and going out to explore the little town. But not before breakfast in their cute little breakfast room. It was a cold buffet of meats and cheeses, bread, coffee, tea and juices. The attendant offered to make me eggs to order which was a nice change from the Spanish breakfast tostada. I ordered eggs and bacon which consisted of one fried egg and sliced ham slightly fried (not bacon as far as I was concerned). It was all good!

I had a bus ticket for later that afteroon to Nerja. I found the town of Almuñécar very charming, but limiting. No shoppiing center, or major shops. Not a big deal, but I don´t plan to buy a car in Spain, so walking and busses will be my means of transportation. And it was little too hilly for me, too many ups and down. Although I loved the Boardwalk, not sure this is the town for me. Onward!

Day 15: 14,936 steps

Day 16 Monday: the bus got me to Nerja in about 30 minutes this afternoon. The walk to the hotel was about 15 minutes, not too hilly (hooray!). I got turned around a little bit (again!), but made it to another lovely hotel. This one was called a “boutique hostal”. Let me tell you… it is ALL boutique. I thought a hostal was a hostel. Absolutely not. Here´s what the famous world traveler Rick Steves has to say, ¨a hostel is an inexpensive accomodation where you generally stay in dorm-like conditions¨. This is what I knew and certainly NOT what I was looking for. A hostal he goes on to say, “is a small, often family-run, hotel; they are a bit more basic than larger hotels, but are comfortable and clean with their own bathrooms.” Well, that is exactly what this hostal was. It was absoluely lovely. Like the night before in Almuñécar, this was a small hotel on two floors with apartments above it. No breakfast or breakfast room was included. And the location was perfect. A block or so from Plaza de España, the very central area in town. Another great room rate; Ioved everything about it (thank you, Hotels.com).

After getting settled in my room, it was now dark and I headed outside to explore.

I walked about a bit, the town is beautiful. I loved it. Lots of small winding streets with lots of restaurants and shopping. Yes, shopping! And not all of it souvenirs. I found a place for dinner, it was Italian. Like in the USA, it seems that Spaniards love their Italian food. I have seen many, many Italian restaurants in every town I have visited. And, like they say, “when in Rome…” So, I found an Italian restaurant. Again, most of the seating is outside. And even though it has plastic “windows” protecting from the cold and wind AND this restaurant had tall outdoor heaters, it was still too cold for me to eat outside (HOW do they do it?). I did find indoor seating in this small Italian restaurant. They served a lot of pizzas, and most tables had the typical large thin crust pizzas. The Italian (yes!) waiter suggested an appetizer of a trio of small fried pizzas. What? I also ordered an arugula salad (delicious!) and a sangria. The fried pizzas were made of pizza dough and were small round rolls, fluffy and filled with tomato sauce on one, cheese and garlic on the other and the third was ham and parmesan cheese. Quite unique and delicous.

Day 16: 15,650 steps

Day 17, Tuesday: I spent my last day of this short trip getting to know the city. After storing my luggage at the hotel, I walked down to the Plaza de España where I had a nice ¨American¨ breakfast at a nearby cafe. Two fried eggs, bacon (again, lightly fried sliced ham) and toast with butter along with my black tea and milk was just perfect for me!

I found online that Tuesday was the day for the local ¨flea market¨. It was a good walk outside of the ¨downtown¨ and up a little hill. But it was sunny out and not too cold, so off I went. I´m glad I did, too. It is a very large open area, like a paved parking lot. There were many stands where people sold everything from kitchen items, clothes, leather goods, jewelry, vegetables, fruits and so many other things. I could tell that it was not full, as many areas were empty where stands probably filled the spaces in season. Vendors were from Spain mostly, but I met a couple from Ecuador (I bought a bracelet for my mom from them) and a man from Morroco (I bought a belt from him). After that long walk, I slowly made my way back to the downtown area, but not before making a stop at a few shops along the way. The good news is that although there was not a shopping center in Nerja, there were plenty of familiar shops for the essentials and supermarkets as well.

I visited the church in town, Church of the Savior. It’s very old, small and lovely. And then I made my way to the Balcony of Europe.

One of the most iconic tourist areas in Nerja is the famous European Balcony. ExploreNerja.com says, ¨it was formally the site of a fortress which was demolished in 1812. Following an earthquake that devastated the area in 1884, King Alfonso XII visited the region and remarked it was the Balcony of Europe, and the name stuck.¨ The views are spectacular. Here’s a picture of one:

My bus was due out at 6:20pm back to Almeria. I stopped at a bar for some tapas and yes one (!) glass of wine. It was starting to get a little colder, so before heading to the bus station, I also stopped at a sweets shop that sold cakes, pastries and ice cream. I had to have one item as soon as I saw it on the menu. Now, this is the second time I tried it, and although the churros in this case looked more similar to the ones we have in Mexico, I must say that I prefer the Mexican ones (so far). They are softer and have sugar on them. Nonetheless, it was a nice treat!

Here’s my final assessment of Nerja: I loved it. It’s probably in my top 3 after Fuengirola and Almeria. It’s a really small town, but lots to do. The downside? There is no airport (closest is one hour, either to Granada or Malaga) and there is no boardwalk. That was very disappointing. The beaches are few, those that are accessible, as there are a lot of rocks and cliffs. So you have to venture down some stairs (fatal for me!). One of my top 5 must haves is a Boardwalk. I love walking along the beach. So there’s a lot to think about…

Now for the bus ride home, I started feeling sick. Although the sore throat was mostly gone, I started coughing a bit and my nose was running. I was not happy at all about this new development. By the time I got back to the apartment in Almeria, I was coughing quite a bit more and feeling congested. I went to bed early. We shall see how I feel tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Day 17: 16,655 steps