Settling into Campsite Life in Nerja, Spain

Zagan the motorhome has been sat under blue skies for over a week now, and he seems to be enjoying his rest at Aula de Naturaleza Corjito San Miguel a kilometre or so outside Nerja, on the Andalusian coast between Motril and Málaga (N36.747411, W3.898575). We were worried when we booked in for a month, thinking we’d get bored or itchy feet ready to move on, but at the moment to opposite is true. We’re both nicely settled in and enjoying a bit of a community and the chance to properly explore the area.

Our first week pretty much flew by, a lot of which was spent in the company of Cynthia, Stuart and Luna the Jack Russell who are also known as flipfopsandwoolleyhats.com. It was so easy to chat to those guys for hours, as they are like-minded souls going through the same things we’re going through in life. We’re all too young to be ‘retired’ but equally are able to enjoy lives where we don’t have to work, but with that comes a loss of purpose in life. Stuart and Cynthia are in the process of starting businesses to give them back that sense of purpose. Their businesses are both extensions of what they are passionate about and can be done while on the road – a perfect fit to continue their motorhoming life.

On Friday it was their last night in Nerja, and also the UK’s last night in the EU. To take all of our minds off what was going on, we headed into town for a night out. Yes that’s right, out out – something we rarely do!

After checking what time the ice cream shop closed (10pm – that’s pudding sorted) we headed off into the warren of pedestrianised alleys to find somewhere to eat. It was only 7pm, way too early for the Spanish to eat, but the restaurants were filling up with all other nationalities. We didn’t get far before we spotted a sign..

After filling our bellies with pizza (which we all agreed wasn’t quite as good as the ones we’d eaten a few days earlier at Little Italy for the regular price of €4, but the view made up for it) we headed further into the alleys for a drink, or two. However being Spain, those drinks came with a tapa each – we just managed to squeeze them in.

By now it was nudging 9.30pm (yes we’re party animals, not!) and I have a rule in life; there’s always room for ice cream. I wasn’t about to let that rule slip, so we wandered over to the ice cream place to ensure our tummies were completely stuffed, before heading back along the beach. It was sad to say farewell to those guys, but that’s motorhome life for you. Friends are sometimes about for a few hours or a few days maximum before it’s time to go your separate ways, not knowing where or when you’ll see them again. Thank goodness for Facebook, WhatsApp etc as it makes it so much easier to keep in touch.

With a slightly thick head on Saturday morning, I really didn’t fancy going for a walk, but Jay was keen to explore a trail by the Rio Chillar, the river which runs down into Nerja. I managed to negotiate an 11am set off to give me chance to recover, and soon we were heading out of the town and under the motorway we drove along to get here.

We made our way up a dirt road alongside the river, then reached an area where JCBs and dumper trucks were working to repair the access path to a pylon that had been toppled. We think it may have been the aftermath of Storm Gloria, but there was no one around to ask. In fact one we left that part of the river, we didn’t see anyone else. Perhaps it was a warning sign.

After an hour or so crossing the river, trying (unsuccessfully) to keep my feet dry I was getting a bit fed up. The rocks in the water were slippy and I am bad enough as keeping upright at the best of times. We looked at the map and it was only a couple of kilometres to the first waterfall, so we ploughed on. The river narrowed into a gorge, the path totally disappeared and the water got deeper. Surprisingly my mood lightened as our walk was now becoming a comedy. We joked about how stupid we’d feel if one of us did hurt ourselves and we had to be rescued – we were now in a place where you’d see a report in the paper and say ‘well it serves them right for walking along there, the idiots!’.

Of course once you get so far, there’s no point in turning back. Surely what is up ahead will be easier?! Yeah right! The rocks in the river turned to boulders to clamber over, and the route was becoming harder to find. We stopped for a rest after four hours and decided on a Plan B, to make it as far as where the GR249 crosses the river, and take that back to Nerja. It would be a longer route back, but probably faster so we might just get back before sunset.

After four and a half hours, we made it to the GR249 – I’ve never been so happy to see a footpath marker post. We climbed it out of the river valley and picked up the path along the Acequia, an open canal built for irrigation and to supply water from the mountains down to the towns. Having not fully learned our lesson from earlier about what is a walking path and what isn’t, we headed off along the acequia in the hope of a faster route back.

We were both thankful when we saw a sign that said Sin Salida, no exit, and used it as an excuse to deviate from the acequia and scrabble up a path onto a mountain ridge. Here we picked up the GR249 again and this time we stuck to it. After five hours of walking we saw other people again and cheered as we had made it back to civilisation. We returned to the campsite as the sun set, around eight hours and 30 kilometres after we left. One of those days you won’t forget in a hurry!

After all that fun on Saturday, I’ve been mainly relaxing at the campsite waiting for the blisters on my feet to heal. I finally got around to writing a review of our window vac, not that we need it much at the moment, the days are mainly blue skies and sunshine. Jay has been out running in the hills and even got his feet wet in the Rio Chillar again today trying to find another trail!

At the moment, staying still for a month really feels like the right thing to do. We’ve got enough to keep us busy. We’ve just published a new version of our Motorhome Touring Handbook – the 2020 edition – as now Brexit has happened, things are a bit clearer with regards to what effect it will have on motorhoming. The main impact will be on those wanting to do long-term tours in Europe, so we’ve included a year long itinerary that will get around the 90 day limit for the Schengen zone that will come in after the transition period.

Over the next week I am hoping to get some more runs in, take part in the yoga classes at the campsite, visit the weekly market, visit the famous Nerja caves, head out on a bike ride somewhere not too hilly, and make it up to Frigiliana, a Moorish town just a few kilometres inland (and uphill) which is reputed to be one of the most beautiful in Spain. If I don’t get all that done next week, well there’s always the week after.

Ju x