Málaga? ...Nerja!

*October 9 - 12, 2009*

What an AMAZING weekend in southern Spain!

We left town around 7 pm from the Valladolid train station. Natalie, Aubrea, Tiffany, Hanna, Kristen and I were going to Málaga for the weekend! (or so we thought)

The train ride there was one such a great way to start out the trip. Since it was a night train, I expected us all to sleep on the train, but we ended up talking the entire time. I feel like I can't say it enough, but these ladies just continue to amaze me, and I can't believe how we just keep getting closer.

So we got into Málaga around 1 am. As we were leaving the train station, an older man with a Scottish accent approached us asking if we were lost... he turned out to be Natalie's relative, Ian. We followed him outside, where Ian had gotten us a minivan/taxi for us. Inside was Ian's wide (Natalie's grandpa's cousin) waiting for us).

Turns out, they don't actually live in Málaga like we thought, but they live in this town called Nerja, about an hour east of Málaga on la Costa del Sol.

When we got to Nerja and to their home, we realized that they rented us the two apartments next door to them! Four of us stayed in one, and Natalie and Aubrea stayed in the other apartment. Before we went to bed, Ian asked us if we were hungry, and although we said no, we ended up having a midnight (well, 3 am) feast! He brought us pizza, some sort of dip (which I learned later was a home-made mackerel paste), octopus, toast, and champagne and orange juice! So nice of them... and we went to bed very content :)

-----

The next morning, we were in awe at the view! Through the front door, we had the view of the ocean, and we also had a balcony overlooking the pool of the complex, and also a view of the ocean! To our surprise, Ian brought over some cereal and milk for us for breakfast, along with some cappuccinos mixes. We definitely didn't expect them to provide so much for us, but their generosity didn't stop there (you'll hear more about it as the weekend goes on).

(Ian, Natalie, and Pat)

After breakfast, we walked down to the old town, and took a ton of pictures at the lookout point over the ocean, and did some shopping. When we met back up with Pat and Ian, we got some gelato, then headed towards the beach. We ended up finding a place for lunch, and sat down to eat some pizzas - with an ocean view of course. Nerja is so beautiful!

Ian and Pat left us there to head to the beach to go play, where he told us that if we follow the water around the rocks to the other side of the beach, we will find a man with a bunch of paddle boats - he had reserved one for us! So we slowly wandered down to the beach, and walked along the water's edge. As we headed down towards the paddle boats, we discovered that nudity is allowed on public beaches. Many kids were playing in the nude, along with a TON of older women just sunbathing without tops. Strange, and somewhat awkward, because I wanted to take pictures of the view and beautiful beach, but didn't want to accidentally capture the, umm, other people.

Anyway, so we found the guys who had the paddle boats, and just had to tell them that we were "The Six," and we were able to take a paddle boat out on the water for an hour.

Well, we of course chose the most outlandish looking boat: a HUGE pink flamingo! We paddled it out for a while... and jumped in! I couldn't believe how clear the water was! It was about 20 feet deep, but you could clearly see the bottom! The water was also super calm, since there are no waves in the Mediterranean. It is such a weird concept too that the tide never changes.

Back in the paddle boat later, we noticed these huge jellyfish. They were the size of a basketball, and had fish swimming underneath them! At that point, we were glad we had gotten out of the water.

We eventually got back to the apartment, by which time we had to get ready for dinner. Ian and Pat took us to one of their favorite restaurants (where they were each very adamant about how often they go there). Pat and Ian are in their 70s and are both super witty - they always crack jokes about the other, and never miss a beat. You can tell how much they adore each other though, even when they are always making quips about how they can't stand each other. They were very entertaining all weekend!

After dinner, they suggested we go to the "Feria" - since it is the National Holiday of Spain (celebrating Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas), there was a huge carnival/festival going on down by the beach. There were games, rides (we rode the roller coaster!), lots of junk food, and even a section with bars and a DJ, where we danced for a while.

It was an exhausting day, but one of my favorites so far :)

-----

The next day, we went to Nerja’s Sunday market, which was like a swap meet. We spent hours shopping, getting breakfast at a café nearby, and talking to the locals. I was surprised to find that a lot of the people who were selling things at the market were locals, but not originally from Nerja, or even Spain! I talked to people from Ireland, London, Thailiand – and almost everyone spoke English. There were also way more tourists shopping along with us than I expected. Apparently it is a huge holiday weekend, and since the southern coast of Spain is still really warm (it was 80 all weekend), it attracts a lot of tourists.

Ian and Pat took us to lunch later to what they call a “chiringuito” – a restaurant on the beach. Like last night at dinner, Ian just ordered a ton of different things on the menu, and we all shared them all. It is the true Spanish way to eat (they call is “tapas” in Spain).

We spent the rest of the day at the beach… and there was the most gorgeous sunset!

On our way home, we got ice cream and crepes, and just sat and enjoyed each other’s company. I really love traveling with these girls – we always have an amazing time, and I loved that Natalie joined us and was able to invite us all to stay with her family.

Ian and Pat were also amazing this entire trip…. They were so generous in getting us a place to stay, treating us to meals and other excursions, despite the fact that all six of us were complete strangers to them. They even made us packed lunches the next day for our trip back to Valladolid. They are some of the most generous people I have ever met, and we were all truly grateful for their hospitality.

Overall? It was an AMAZING weekend. I loved traveling with all 5 of these girls... this weekend was one that I will never forget :D