Visitors to Nerja

Sorry for the lack of action on the Blog. This is due to laziness on my part which I apologise for. It won't happen again.

Last night we picked my mother up from the airport and brought her back to our place in Nerja. She is here for a week and we will be making trips to Granada and Malaga. Next week Ivan arrives for a weeks stay. Pictures will be posted in due course.

Bekie bowling in Velez-Malaga.

Bekie P and Mel C. We spent a lovely couple of days with Mel who arrived on Tuesday night and left late Thursday afternoon. The time was spent sunbathing, eating and chatting.

Haircut

The hairdresser was a psycho but fortunately we managed to leave the premises with some hair left.

Tuesday - lots going on...

Both Bekie and I are having haircuts at the same hairdresser at 11am on Tuesday morning. These will be our first haircuts since arriving in Nerja. Could be interesting. Also Mel C arrives on Tuesday night to stay with us and relax for a few days. Finally the mighty Spurs take on the Haddocks on Tuesday night. Should be a cracker!

Parkes and Strings' Bogus Journey

We had been told that just outside Nerja lies a waterfall and we thought we would follow the river and try and find it. Seemed like a nice thing to do on a Monday afternoon. We took a big bottle of water and some comfortable footwear and set off in the afternoon sunshine. The walk lasted just under three and a half hours. This is what we saw.

Parkes at one with nature. Always stretch to warm the muscles prior to a serious trek. The journey begins...

Following the path through the trees in search of the river and waterfall.

Our first view of the river - the waterfall should be quite close. The pathway took us across the river. Here is Parkes drying her pinkies in the sunshine before continuing the trek.

Me in the river. The path had disapeared and there was no other option but to paddle. The cool water was very refreshing.

Parkes powering up-stream in an attempt to locate the waterfall. We were both barefoot and the stones on the riverbed were beginning to cause some discomfort. At this point we thought we should turn back.

Sitting by the river letting our feet dry before beginning our return. Didn't see any fish but we did spot a newt and a small frog. Neither of them were big enough to eat so we had to head to a supermarket.

Whispering trees. Wooooo.

On our trek back. It was about 4:30pm and the shadows were getting longer. The only audible sounds were the birds twittering and more whispering trees.

Weekend Activities

Parkes and I enjoyed our first weekend without work by eating and drinking plenty. On Saturday we managed to watch Charlton v Chelsea, Villa v Spurs and Inter v Lecce accompanied by beer and culminating in a pizza. On Sunday I went for a run whilst Bekie sunbathed followed by more beers and a lovely Spanish meal in a restaurant we stumbled across. Lovely.

Bekie's Last Night

Bekie's last night in the kitchen at the Smugglers' Inn. Never misbehave when a woman is holding a knife.

Burriana at twilight. Bekie took this picture when she came to see me one evening last week in Birras.

The End Approaches

Bekie and I have almost finished our jobs in Nerja - Friday 16th is our last day. We are both looking forward to spending some time enjoying Nerja and the surrounding area. There are some country walks we want to try and we can also start to regain our sun tans. My mother arrives here in late September for a week and following this we venture back to the UK briefly in early October for Bekie's dad's 60th birthday celebrations.

September has seen a huge drop in tourism here. Everyone knew the kids would be going back to school but we thought the people without kids would arrive for their holidays. There are new people about but not many of them and many bars and restaurants are struggling. Maybe the Costa del Sol isn't the tourist destination it used to be.

Finally I have managed to listen to the test match commentaries on-line in Spain and it has been the most enthralling test series I can remember for a long time. Tomorrow sees the start of the fifth and final test match between England and Australia. To James Manton and the guys going to the fourth day at the Oval I hope you have a wonderful time. With a mixed forecast predicted this game should be as tense as the previous encounters but hopefully England won't take their collective foot off the pedal.

Windy day in Nerja. Lost my cap in the breeze quite a few times.