Nerja - Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean
We finally exited Granada, the driving city from hell. The drive to the sea coast provided a view of the distant Sierra Nevada mountains and many more olive groves. Things were moving nicely until a beeping sound came from the car and a 'pneumatico' signal appeared on the dashboard. Yvonne checked the car manual and with some quick interpretation told me that the signal was for low tire pressure. Oh great, what next!
Eventually we saw the sea and as the town of Nerja came in sight, the sun appeared from behind the clouds that had been following us from Granada.
After checking into our B&B and picking up some takeout for lunch, we headed to the beach. With our swimming gear in hand we settled on the white sandy beach under the hot sun next to a frolicking German family and a few other tourists. It was nice to feel the salt air and hear the pounding of the surf against the rocks. Its times like this you appreciate growing up by the ocean - even if the water is somewhat cooler.
Walking around Nerja, despite the tacky souvenir stores targeting the British tourist, was relaxing and rewarding. We even stopped at the house of an elderly lady selling home grown veggies and fruits on her door stop. Fruits and vegetables were abundant, fresh from the vine and inexpensive. There were also so many exotic varieties to chose from, for instance, this was the first time I had fresh figs.
Nerja is known for the 'Balcon de Europa' which is a large balcony that stretches out over the cliff's edge and provides amazing coastal views. The Balcon is the gathering place of Nerja and where we enjoyed a couple of evening shows.
We were sitting having ice cream at a café when the first evening act appeared. A parade of Egyptian looking men walked down the street with fire sticks and loud drums leading to some sort of sacrificial platform. There was lots of fire and noise but not much else. The main act was more entertaining, called 'Placidos Domingos', were a sort of travelling gypsy troupe that sang, juggled, and performed acrobatic tricks.
After the evening entertainment we headed down to the now deserted beach. The relaxing sound of the surf and smell of the sea in the fresh sea breeze reminded us both of our youth. Mine in Newfoundland and Yvonne's along the Mediterranean. This was a great way to finish up our last night in Spain.
The next morning we left early around 8am to get to the airport in Malaga for our 12:30pm departure. The drive went very smoothly - finally the Spanish driving thing was working out. We would even have a couple hours in the airport duty free stores to spend our remaining Euros. After parking the rental at the Avis drop-off, I opened our flight details to check our flight number. It was that moment that the worst possible rookie travel mistake was revealed to me. Our flight actually arrived at 12:30 and our departure was at 10:30. I checked my watch - it read 9:45. Again after a couple, loudly audible choice words, I told Yvonne 'Lets Run, we are very late, our flight is leaving now!"
Luckily the terminal was a 2 minute walk, I grabbed the bags and started running. We got to the British Airways check-in and were promptly refused check-in. I was about to get very ill until Yvonne checked the board and saw the flight was delayed by 15 minutes. Then she used her beautiful charm and nicely asked the gentleman agent to let us please board, especially as the flight was delayed. He relented, tagged our bags and called the baggage handling to take our bags. After a big 'Mucho Gracias' and a thankful pat on his back, we were off.
But our ordeal was not over as the security line was very long. We ran to the front and pleaded with the line of departing British tourists to let us bump the queue. We got through security and started to run again...until, we hit the passport control line. Again we bumped the line, were let through and again started to run to the departure gate as the departure notice was now indicating 'Last Call' for our flight. After running full tilt for about 10 minutes we arrived at the gate and slapped our tickets and passports on the departure counter.
The two agents looked at us and stated we can not board the plane - we were too, and wait for this....early! They had not started to board the plane yet! Yvonne and I looked at each other and laughed with a big sigh of relief. We had just been through an crazy Amazing Race-like experience just to be early! At least we had express check-in service through security!
We boarded the plane and said good-bye to Spain. Even with a bit more excitement than planned, it did not dampen the joy of our beautiful trip to Spain.
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