Feeling Relieved on the Costa Del Sol, Nerja

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Hi folks.

What can I say, we’re feeling very relieved to have arrived in Nerja when we did. Although we’re unsure of the precise nature of the law, as we understand it all tourist movement between Spain’s autonomous communities (and even within many communities) has now been halted until 9th November. Whether there are police manning roadblocks on the motorways, we’ve no idea (Ju has just relayed there are 500 checkpoints in place along the Andalusian border), but we’re grateful at the luck we had in arriving when we did, allowing us to get to the site here in Nerja and tie off to the dock. We aren’t moving any time soon (although flights into or out of the area are still possible at the moment and we are allowed to drive to return to our primary residence, so we’re not completely cut off).

We can think of worse places to be 'stuck'. Looking east towards Nerja.
We can think of worse places to be ‘stuck’. Looking east towards Nerja.

As I write Boris is gearing up to make an announcement back in the UK, rumoured to be placing England back into a ‘full lockdown’ for a month. Here in Andalusia the community’s sub-regions have been allocated to a tier system, which places varying restrictions on each of the villages, towns and cities. Nerja has the lowest level of restrictions at the moment, so life continues albeit with an 11pm to 6am curfew and some obvious visual illustrations of the ‘new normal’.

Nerja is in the Malaga area, and so far thankfully deaths and hospitalisations in this area seem relatively low at the moment. Source: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadisticaycartografia/salud/COVID19.html
The above data source goes all the way down to Nerja, showing there have been 13 COVID cases here in the past week. The larger outbreaks are unsurprisingly in the cities.

Our only experience of living in Nerja is from January and February of this year, when we stayed here for a month, oblivious to the fact the world was about to shift for us all. It was reasonably busy, the campsite full, and maybe 100 motorhomes free camping along the car parks and roadside parking in the town and in running distance either side of it. Now the campsite is maybe 40 or 50% full, if that, with some Brits in motorhomes, caravans and a fifth wheeler who’ve been here for months (and are likely to be here for months more, like us two). There are a handful of motorhomes free camping, but compared to last winter, when half of Lidl car park was full of motorhomes overnighting, it’s very quiet indeed.

Ju's morning runs through Nerja before the shops open.
Ju’s morning runs through Nerja before the shops open.

The restaurants, shops, supermarkets, beach bars and ice cream parlors are generally open during the day, and there are people knocking around in the old and new towns giving the place a feel of life, many of them locals perhaps. Frigiliana, the white village set back inland towards the mountains, is similarly open but very quiet. I ran up there a few days ago, and we’ve just done the 10 mile walk there and back today, and even though it’s a bank holiday weekend, there are practically no punters knocking around. We took advantage of this to eat out for the first time in months, sat outside with a lovely breeze and a cracking view, no-one but the waiter to be seen.

Lunch in Frigiliana. It felt safe and comfortable eating alone outside. Our waiter wore a mask (of course) and the food was great.
Lunch in Frigiliana. It felt safe and comfortable eating alone outside. Our waiter wore a mask (of course) and the food was great.

Apart from the lack of tourists, the masks are the other big ‘in your face’ obvious change. They’re obligatory everywhere in public here in Spain, so as soon as we’re off our pitch, we have to have ’em on, even to go for a shower on the campsite. Officially we can run and cycle without them, as long as we’re not near anyone, which isn’t difficult at the moment as it’s very quiet in town first thing, and the other roads are devoid of people all the time. That said, I’ve run with a thin material mask for 6 miles and found I could breathe OK, although it’s getting up to 23°C so running early or late evening makes sense. We don’t need them on once we’re sat on the beach, far way from others, or when we’re sat down eating at a restaurant (although technically we need ’em on between sips of drinks).

Masked-up in Frigiliana. We've a stash of different masks at the ready for the coming months.
Masked-up in Frigiliana. We’ve a stash of different masks at the ready for the coming months.
Ju says I look like something out of Mad Max drinking from my camel water bladder while masked-up!

On the subject of the weather, it’s quite glorious. Torrox, the resort three miles west, claims to have the best climate in Europe, and it’s hard to argue with. There’s some rain forecast next week, but generally the days here are wall-to-wall blue sky and sunshine. It’s getting down to 13°C at night, so we’ve an electric heater to take the chill off. It will get cooler as winter progresses, but as we’ve found in the past it’s not really the warmth which lifts our spirits as the light. The sunshine is the thing. We’re in shorts and t-shirts at the moment, but even if we’re in coats and jeans, the sunlight will be the thing we crave and appreciate in the coming months.

Pure blue seas and skies in October in Nerja, Costa Del Sol
Pure blue seas and skies in October in Nerja, Costa Del Sol

How long do we plan to stay? Who knows? The world’s shifting so quickly. The second wave is currently crashing over Europe, with national lockdowns inevitably being implemented to halt skyrocketing infection rates. It’s no longer as frightening as it was back in March, and we feel safe where we are, so we can’t see ourselves moving any time soon. We’re technically able to stay in the EU until the 90th day after 1 January 2021 (31 March), and then we’ve gotta be out to comply with the 90-in-180 days Schengen Area restriction the end of the Brexit transition period will bring. I suspect all being well we’ll still be here in March.

Looking out over the Río Higuerón
Looking towards the Med from Frigiliana
Looking towards the Med from Frigiliana

So, the van’s on the ramps, wheels chocked, handbrake off, silver screens on. The noise from the wheel we heard on the way south is yet to be investigated but seems likely to be the wheel bearings on their way out (for the 4th time) or a tyre problem. We’ll decamp and head to a garage at some point, but we’re in no rush. We’re hooked up to the mains, so the fridge has gone uber-cold, and we’re cooking on a hotplate, boiling water with our electric kettle and showering with the site’s facilities, without touching our remaining 33kg-or-so of LPG. The nearest LPG refill station is in Malaga, which might not be accessible for (or in) a while, we’re not sure, so we’ll eke the stuff out and can use our canister-powered outdoor stove (like this one) if we need to. We have a water supply on our pitch, which we’re using to water the flowers, and orange/lime trees. The cherimoya (custard apple), banana and fig trees are taking care of themselves.

Custard Apples fall off the tree alongside us, taking 3 or 4 days to ripen, at which point they're soft, sweet and delicious
Custard Apples fall off the tree alongside us, taking 3 or 4 days to ripen, at which point they’re soft, sweet and delicious

Although there are other Brits on the site, everyone’s either keeping to themselves or (we guess) have formed ‘bubbles’ with other long-termers, so we’ve not spoken at any length with many of them. One lady who lives here told us how she had to get a serious eye problem operated on during the lock-down, having to get tested each time she went to hospital, needing to sit for hours looking downwards, and having to repeat the visit three times. Just what you need when the world’s gone mad. She got lots of support from the family who run the site, and from other long-termers lasting out the lockdown, which was good to hear.

Masked up food shopping in Nerja, Spain
Ju’s done all the grocery shopping for us for 7 months. This is my first time back, in a Mercadona in Nerja. It was quiet in there, no need for door staff to control people like we have in Sainsburys at home.

Our days are filled with writing, reading, running or walking, sitting on the beach, cooking and shopping for groceries, calling friends and family, watching TV and listening to the radio or music. The Superdrug SIM is working well, grabbing a 4G signal with enough bandwidth to stream TV (we have a 12V Cello telly), albeit at the lowest quality settings on our Amazon Fire TV Stick. Although the bandwidth is good, the ‘ping’ is long, meaning voice and video calls are a little hit and miss. Overall we’re happy though, and have found we can watch iPlayer, More 4 and so on without needing a VPN. We stream Virgin Radio in the morning when we remember we can!

Coconut cracking on our pitch in Nerja!
Coconut cracking on our pitch in Nerja!

I wonder sometimes how much the pandemic has changed me. Back in the spring we spent ages discussing whether we should stay a whole month here. We felt bad we weren’t touring around experiencing more of the country, being ‘proper travellers’ perhaps. Now that seems daft (it was daft, but now we really know it was daft). Having a safe harbour is critical to us at the moment, and our appreciation of being able to be here has gone through the roof. There’s a ton of stuff we can do without shifting around. Learning Spanish for example – Ju’s always put in more effort than me, but now’s a fantastic opportunity for both of us to improve. We’re working on another motorhome book, which is enjoyable and takes our minds off all the negativity in the news. The mountains and running track here are a gift for building fitness. I ran a 50 miler a month ago, proving to myself that I could do the distance, and I’m planning on attempting a 100 miler in 2021, so I need to get much stronger and fitter.

There's plenty to explore around here - the eastern Axarquia
There’s plenty to explore around here – the eastern Axarquia

We plan to pop up a blog post once a week. It’ll be a diary for ourselves, reminding us in the coming years how these days we’re about to live felt, what happened, and how we reacted to things changing, as they’re certain to keep doing. We can’t promise it’ll be full of exciting ‘motorhome touring’ stories, but we’ll do our best to relay what’s happening around us as the months progress. Hopefully we’ll get some nice photos too, to inspire you for next year, if you’re unable to travel but chomping at the bit to go. Here are a few interesting sights we spotted on today’s walk:

Two cows pulling a trap, which had a small plough attached, along the Rio Sec in Nerja
A (slightly reluctant) horse being used to move building materials on the tight cobbled streets of old Frigiliana
We spotted this chameleon as he/she crossed the road, and it legged it (slowly) into the foliage alongside the path.

Cheers, Jay

48 replies
  3. Anne McLaughlin says:

    Hi, really good to hear about your trip, how you’re finding everything and what your thoughts are about being in Spain just now. We lived in Orgiva for a couple of months when our kids were 14 and 11. We took them down to Nerja every Saturday to help out at the donkey sanctuary, on the edge of the town. Sadly, it closed down a while ago. They did some amazing work.
    Will carry on reading your blog. Enjoy and stay well x

    Reply
  4. Kate says:

    I can’t agree more it’s not the temperature in winter, it’s the light & longer days what really makes the difference! Have a wonderful time!

    P.s Ju have you tried the Duolingo podcasts? The dialect is mostly South American, which can be a bit tricky, but the stories are really interesting, and you can read the script whilst listening. I’ve found they have helped me loads!

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Hi Kate. I am a big fan of Duolingo, once I got past the ‘yo como manzanas’ bit which seemed to take ages! Not tried the podcasts as I didn’t think I would know enough words yet, but I will have a listen. Cheers Julie

      Reply
      • Craig says:

        Hi Ju
        Be careful of that Duolingo South American accent! You need to remember to “th” a lot here. And if you really want to sound like a local in Andalucía you also need to drop loads of word endings (or sometimes whole words!) until you’re barely intelligible 😉 – “buen.. di..”, “…luego” 😁

        Reply
  5. Sparklebee says:

    You have done the right thing.
    The UK enter another lockdown from Thursday. Only essential shops open and takeout only…
    With the cold weather and the shorter daylight hours, it’s good going to be a depressing winter. I doubt we will open up on 2 December.

    Enjoy the sun, longer daylight hours and the ability to get out and see new things and explore a new area. The pictures look great, keep up the posts as they will be a ray of sunshine for us back in the UK.

    Reply
  6. Frank & Carol says:

    Hello Both.
    You’ve featured this past week in our conversations. “Wonder how they’re getting on?”. “When were they catching the ferry?”. “OMG What are they going to do now Nottingham’s just about closed down?” We’ll have to check in on Sunday” etc, etc !!
    So pleased you made it but did we miss the one about the ferry and the journey down?
    Anyway Nerja here we come. You’ve convinced us although probably in January.
    One thing though. We’re in SW France and we can’t access I Player even with a VPN. Can you tell us your secret?
    Anyway we love reading your blogs so do please keep it up even though you’re not on the move.
    Take care
    Frank & Carol

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Hi guys

      Know what you mean – we’ve been tracking the progress of others as they’ve opted to move into and around Europe – such turbulent times we’re all living through.

      Yes, Ju wrote a post for our journey down here, here it is:

      https://ourtour.co.uk/home/ferry-to-spain-portsmouth-to-santander-and-beyond/

      As for iPlayer working – we’ve not done anything to be honest, it just works. We’ve seen it work without a VPN twice now – using a Vodafone SIM in Switzerland and using a Superdrug SIM (on Three) here in Spain. It seems to be dependent on which network your SIM is issued by. I guess it could stop working at any time, but for the time being it’s proving useful.

      Thanks for the encouragement, we’ll keep the posts coming as the weeks pass.

      Cheers, Jay

      Reply
  7. Barry says:

    Hi Jason /Julie
    You say you have a rumble from your front wheel I have had the same problem I have a self built 2001 ducato van 2.8jtd I have had three wheel bearings on the drivers side before finding it was the main carrier that was the problem hope this isn’t the case for you and the anti roll bar bushes have been replaced makes it super quiet my motto is one life live it stay safe enjoy every day
    Barry and bobrobert the dog

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Thanks Barry – some kind folks made suggestion about what it could be when it failed in the past – and the ‘carrier’ or ‘hub’ as I recall was one of them. To be honest, we’d rather replace more parts and get an enduring fix than worry about the cost. It keeps failing but we know that at least once very cheap parts were used, but this time around genuine Fiat parts were fitted by an Iveco garage, so we’d hope they had an idea what they were doing – so it might well need some more metal bits throwing at it! Cheers, glad your problem’s sorted, Jay

      Reply
  8. Colin says:

    Your writing helps me and I am sure many others enjoy the freedom of travel and enjoyment of planning future trips in your footsteps/tyre tracks whilst stuck in our homes.

    I had fun in the sun visiting the south of France in august and so pleased I did as the light as you explain does one so much good.

    Risk is part of life and I admire your balanced approach to it and your impeccable timing.

    Wishing you a fantastic time away and looking forward to your posts.

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Thanks Colin – that’s very kind of you – glad you got some time away in the summer. Our timing was largely luck – we suspected tighter controls were coming but not quite so quickly! Cheers, Jay

      Reply
  9. Chris and Peter says:

    Hi both of you,
    Great timing. Pleased you arrived safely and are having a good time. Looking forward to your blog posts. They are the silver lining! And always so well written, whether you’re touring, at home or staying on a campsite: I love your posts!

    Reply
  10. Geoff says:

    There are few better places to be ‘stranded’ than in this wonderful town. We spend almost half our life there in our little house… until Brexit, that is, when our European travelling will be drastically reduced.
    Make the most of it while you can!

    Reply
  11. FifthElement says:

    We’re in caleta de velez, near the port. Easy to cycle into Torre del mar, where you can get 3 course menu of day including steak or fish for less than €9 . If you dive or snorkel there is a wreak just before caleta from Nerja.

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Thanks – came across the wreck and snorkelled it when we were here in February – really interesting. Cheers, happy travels, Jay

      Reply
  14. David Crutchley says:

    Really enjoyed reading of your time in Nerja. Usually myself and my partner, Anne, would be in Los Alcázares in Murcia at this time. Not this year though. We were in Nerja/Frigiliana a few years ago. Lovely to see the photos. Enjoy !

    Reply
  15. Tom says:

    Great to see you Both enjoying the wonderful Spanish weather I’m living in Ireland weather is terrible here Covid is not too bad here but we’re in second lockdown I have spent most of the winter in southern Spain I hate thoughts of spending winter here I may not get away this year I’ve been following your blogs since the beginning Your a fantastic couple .I am not very confident writing on my tablet regards .Tom

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Good to hear from you Tom, fingers crossed life gets simpler soon and you’re able to travel before the winter is over. Cheers, Jay

      Reply
  16. Annie says:

    My home town! Lovely to hear you’re enjoying it, just so sad not to be there (lockdown),
    My beautiful apt is hoping for a lodger so if anyones stuck, let me know.
    Hoping to travel down in my van in the spring. Xx

    Reply
  17. John and Susan says:

    Hello Jason and Ju,
    Just now discovering your wonderful blog site. Very enjoyable. We are US ex-pats living in Medellin, Colombia but have our sites on moving to Spain in a few years. Nerja, Costa Del Sol looks like a lovely area.
    We will follow you.
    Cheers,
    John and Susan

    Reply
  18. Anne Penny says:

    We love Nerja. For a couple of years, a week there has been our Christmas treat. Sadly not looking promising this year.
    You’re right, the clear blue skies & daylight lift the spirits.
    I’m very envious.
    Writing this from wet & windy Wales!!

    Reply
  19. Frank says:

    Hi both
    Great to read you are settled in Spain for now, seems you had a lucky escape from the UK.
    Here in New Zealand life is virtually normal, no restrictions or rules. We’ve just been staying in Mangawhai, on the waterfront, just beautiful.
    Stay safe.
    Frank

    Reply
  20. Eve Furber says:

    Hi both.. loved trading your story and adventures . We live nerja and have spent several winters near burriana beach frequenting ayos on a regular basis for paella. We made the permanent lived a year ago and didn’t think we could find a better paradise but we have in the stunning Puerto de mazarron in Murcia . To wake up to this sunshine is everything. We love frigliana and Maro and of course torrox pueblo. Enjoy your travels. I used to love walking to the balcon europa for coffee in the morning. Also did a mountainous walk to the lost village of Acebuchal. Fabulous.

    Reply
  21. Eve Furber says:

    Sorry for typos. Tried to amend. Meant to say we love nerja and made a permanent move a year ago to the most stunning Puerto de mazarron in Murcia . Blue skies every day.swimming. walking. Reading. Cooking. Perfect retired life here.. good luck and stay safe x

    Reply
  23. Gill Kicks says:

    So glad to hear you’ve arrived without incident and are happily ensconced on your pitch in Nerja. Since each area has asked residents to stay inside the borders we are respecting this and staying in Valencia community, where we arrived first. We couldn’t be happier – it is a huge area with coastline and interior mountains for hiking and biking. We have moved a little inland from Xabia to the Vall de Laguar and would thoroughly recommend it to you for a future trip, for it’s rugged beauty and calf-strengthening potential. We are keeping up-to-date with the covid situation in Spain through the facebook page N332, which is doing a superb job of translating government regulations and documents for us English speakers.
    Take care and enjoy this wonderful sunshine.
    Gill & Peter

    Reply
  24. Johnny says:

    Seems like you guys are staying in Torrox camping. I suggest you take a walk to casa Maria and enjoy her tapas and drinks while you’re here. I am a local myself and go for a bite there once in a while. You’ll find the hidden gem by following the road past bar jaima and keep walking towards the coast. When the pavement ends just keep on heading to the big yellow house.

    Reply
  26. Dave Henderson says:

    Hi. Enjoyed reading the blog but wondered if you could let me know what you do regarding home insurance for tour house while you’re away. All the ones I’ve seen only allow you to leave the house empty for 60 days or so.
    We would like to spend longer than that as we have family in France. Enjoy winter!
    Dave

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Hi Dave

      It’s a good question. We rent out bedrooms in our home to long-term tenants, so we always have people in the house while we’re away (we have landlords insurance). I’m not aware of any other way around the house insurance restrictions, other than to ignore them and take the risk the house is damaged while you’re not there.

      Cheers, Jay

      Reply
  27. Moira Sutherland says:

    Hi my computer skills are ok but I cannot get this page to show. Anyway this landed in my Facebook page N332 it was a traffic site now translates Spanish covid regulations to English, though it might be helpful if you can find it.

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Hi Moira – many thanks – we came across the N332 Facebook page when we were escaping Spain back in March – it’s extremely useful. Cheers, Jay

      Reply
  28. Tez says:

    Fantastic blog which really does give Nerja, Frigiliana and that general area of Spain well deserved praise!
    My family and I visit Nerja at least twice a year usually spring and early winter and the climate is just perfect. One of the most beautiful little towns you will ever see in Spain.
    Enjoy your stay and no matter what avoid the excesses of the pandemic in the UK!!
    Regards
    Tez

    Reply
  29. David Nolan says:

    Great blog,

    Good read as ever, the next few weeks will reveal what will happen here in Spain. If a full lockdown comes we might cross to Portugal, but who knows.

    Like yourselves we have parked up and are exploring the area around Vejer which we fell in love with with when here in 2016.

    Best David and Karen

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Hi guys

      Good to have that level of flexibility, good idea. It hadn’t occurred to me we could head to Portugal TBH, but we’ll see what happens. I’ve just found out I need dental treatment, which will take a few appointments over two or three weeks, so hopefully we won’t get locked down first! 😆

      Have fun over there, look out for any monster waves and keep on blogging guys. 👍

      Cheers, Jay

      Reply

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