Nerja checked off

When we found that the bus from Lanjaron to Malaga goes right by Nerja, we decided on a quick stopover in this Costa del Sol resort town.

Nerja itself is a pleasant seaside village with three streets. Warm weather seeking northerners have mushroomed Nerja into a major resort town in the Costa Del Sol in the last few decades. One can hardly fault them, as the area's particular suitability for human habitation had long been evidenced by prehistoric cave paintings nearby (not being cave fans, we gave that a miss).

A century ago, the area grew sugar cane; even now vegetable and fruit fields extend all the way to the water. A good part of the fields have turned into housing developments for people from northern Spain and above who both vacation and retire here. I remember reading about such developments during the last financial crisis. We didn't think the area looked particularly boomy or depressed as there were a good many baby boomers roaming around muttering a multitude of languages. We so got the idea is Costa del Sol is like Florida for Europe!

Looking WEST from Balcón de Europa.


And then EAST....Cliffs and beaches, no?


And the Balcón itself faces SOUTH (more or less.)


Streets at night.


And in in the daytime.


Lifeguard stand, and paddle boat with slide.


Beach with elevator access.


At the edge of town, fruits and vegetables are grown below this modern-ish irrigation channel.


On our walk to Maro, a town 4 kms to the east, we passed this 19th century aqueduct. It brought water to a sugar factory.


Maro.


I was joking with SL that although Nerja was reminiscent of South Florida there were no early bird specials; then we saw this. ;-)

Lanjarón

We came to Lanjaron, a small town south of Granada in the Andalusia region of Spain, to do some hiking. As Lanjaron is perched at 750 meters above sea level on the south side of the Sierra Nevada, one can literally start walking up the mountains from anywhere in town.

The mountains are terraced as far as you can see in any direction: up, down, left, or right. The Rio Lanjaron is diverted into irrigation ditches to water the fields below, and to fill bottles of the famous Lanjaron Mineral Water. The upper terraces are populated with gnarly, ancient chestnut trees, domestic goat and wild goats, with a sprinkling of almond and fruit trees.

One day we walked up to Casa Tello, at about 1500 meters, mainly along the east side of the Rio Lanjaron (following the yellow blazes). The next day we followed the green blazes on the west side of the river up to the Huerta de las Monjas (Nuns's Garden) following a series of irrigation canals.

Just above the town center, the tight pattern of stone farmhouses, terraced fields, well-tended footpaths and irrigation ditches reminded us of villages in rural china. We hope to return to Lanjaron one day.

Inspiration: When walking about town we saw a one-legged cyclist ride by in a group with two other cyclists. Inspired. Motivated.

The Yellow Trail and Green Trail, both start right at City Hall. There are also big maps of each trail posted outside City Hall. Let the hiking begin!


Getting going on the Yellow Trail up to Casas Forestales de Tello. Several thousand feet to go.


Chestnut husks litter the trail.


Old chestnut trees.


Sun-Ling sitting on what's left of the flat roof of an old building, halfway up to Tello.


Good signage for the trail.


Passing by several Artisan Workshops, improbably high up the mountain it seemed. Then we noticed an old road coming from the other direction. ;-)


Crossing a small bridge over the nearly dry Rio Lanjaron - almost at the Casa Tello - most of the flow is diverted into irrigation channels. Keep reading.


The terracing kept going up and up.


Finally, the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mts are spotted.


Along the irrigation channel (Acequia Nueva).


Descending.


Almonds and fruit trees are blooming at lower elevations.




We're down after a long day; so it's happy hour with olives, chips, and vine on the balcony.


The next day it's up to the Huerta de las Monjas following the Green Trail. I liked this fence "cutout" - keeps the view from the picnic table.


Huerta de las Monjas and chestnut trees.




Headed down following several irrigation channels. Great walking as they are almost level...


...and sometimes covered.




Back closer to town, there are many terraced groves of olives and fruit trees along the irrigation channels.

Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena has some rough edges in the area between the Bus Station and the newly restored Roman Amphitheater, but otherwise it's a normal port town with a naval base; plus a picture-perfect historic downtown for evening strolling. And just outside the city, there is awesome hiking along the GR 92 ie the Sendero del Mediterraneo.

We rolled in on the bus from Valencia about 4pm, checked-in with our pleasant and helpful Airbnb hosts, then bee-lined to catch the Roman Amphitheater and nearby city viewpoint at sunset. By then a full paseo (leisurely evening stroll) was in progress on the main drag; so we joined in, admiring the windowed balconies, then stopping for drinks and tapas before heading home.

Our one full day: our host drove us to the foot of Monte Roldán and though it was a late start - we seem to be operating on Spanish time - we had a nice 15 km walk with leg-stretching elevation gain and great views both inland and to the sea.

Deep frying churros.


Eating the churros; gone in seconds.


Cartagena's Roman Amphitheater.


View from the viewpoint to the port.


View back to town. We stayed in the long brown and white apartment building behind the dome.


Cartagena is surrounded by hills.


City Hall.


Paseo with Carnival lights.


Drinks and tapas.


The railway station at night.


View SOUTH from top of Monte Roldan.


View inland from Monte Roldan (at 470 meters elevation - about 1500 feet).


Stylish abandoned fortifications at the top of Roldan.


A cloudy, cool, windy day makes for great hiking.


Farther SOUTH on the GR 92 we catch a good view back to Roldan.


Sun-Ling.




And a view NORTH from our turn-around point, with views to Roldan and just behind right, the edge of Cartagena Port.




Also at the turn around; views to the nude beach (so we are told) at Portus.


Almost home, we stop for churros, porras, hot chocolate, and asiatico (coffee).