Month: December 2022

Self-Catering Nerja Holidays – The Best of Both Worlds at Christmas

Nerja Self-Catering Holidays – You Can Have The Best of Both Worlds

Self-Catering Nerja Holidays – Christmas and New Year in Nerja

The great thing about self-catering holidays is the choice of where and what you eat. If you are staying with a holiday company, in a hotel or holiday complex, you are tied to their itineraries. With the self-catering option, you can go and do as you please.

We have just stayed in Nerja with Nerja Beach Holidays, a local holiday rental company. They have a great choice of villas, apartments and townhouses in and around Nerja. For the most part, we catered for ourselves. Cooking in the rented apartment was no great hardship. Also, we took advantage of the takeaway services and the local restaurants and bars.

Christmas Day in Nerja

However; we wanted something special for Christmas Day lunch. Although there were many places offering a range of Christmas lunches, one option caught our attention. This was a Gala Christmas Lunch at one of the local hotels. They were allowed to book in for the gala lunch, even though we were not guests.

For the princely sum of 75€ per head, we could dine like royalty.

Here I have a few photographs of the lunch and the menu. I must say, the 75€ was a very good bargain. Five courses with wine, water and Cava included and full-on waiter service. If ever there was a shining example of how to go self-catering in Nerja and still live the high life of a pampered hotel guest, this is it.

The Christmas Lunch was a great success and we went back to the self-catering apartment, full to the brim and ready for a slouch on the couch.

The cost of a week in one of these hotels does vary and the all-inclusive can be expensive. But, to rent elsewhere and still use the facilities, that has to be the makings of a great break.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2023.

A Place in The Sun – Nerja is Featured Today

erjaerjaA Place in the Sun is a popular Channel 4 Travel and Property Programme

Nerja is a Place in the Sun

Nerja is a picturesque coastal resort town some 50 kilometres east of Málaga, connected by the A-7 coastal highway. It marks the eastern limit of Málaga province’s Costa del Sol on Spain’s southern coast.

Its seafront promenade, Balcón de Europa, tops a promontory with views of the Mediterranean and surrounding mountains.

Below it lies sandy beaches and cliffside coves. Cuevas de Nerja, a nearby cavern with unusual stalactites and stalagmites, hosts popular summertime concerts. Nerja is also known for its palaeolithic paintings, viewable by guided tour.

At 3 pm on Channel 4, Danni Menzies searches for properties in the Spanish coastal town Nerja on the Costa del Sol, Spain. Will she find house hunter Frances her dream holiday home for under £200,000? Watch to find out! 

Finding your own Place in Nerja

Danni Menzies A Place in the Sun
Danni Menzies of A Place in the Sun, Channel 4 – Today Danni is in Nerja, Spain.

If you haven’t been invited to appear on A Place in The Sun, don’t worry! Nerja has plenty of real estate agents. These realtors are only too pleased to help you find your des res or dream home.

It is wise not to rush house-buying. The best way is to book a self-catering apartment or villa for a week or more and look around. Nerja Beach Holidays has plenty of great self-catering villas and apartments for rent. This would allow you the freedom to come and go. You can take all the time in the world to choose your dream holiday home.

Make sure to check out the main Nerja Beach Holidays website. If you need any help with booking or want more information, please contact us. We are happy to help in any way we can.

You can check out today’s Place in the Sun programme from this link.

Good luck!

Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in the Plain

Rain in Spain is falling everywhere: not just in the plain!

Rain in Spain, especially in the south is always welcome. Almeria, home to Europe’s only semi-desert barely has around 130 mm of rain a year, the average yearly rainfall in Spain varies hugely. Almeria is the driest area of Spain.

This year (2022) has been a strange year. The rain typically comes to the north of Malaga province, bang on time; during the annual fiesta! You could bet your house that the second week of September, we would get rain of some sort. This year though; nothing.

September gave way to October and still no rain. Then, all of a sudden, as the Eurythmics would sing “Here comes the rain again!” Only, this time, it hasn’t stopped for the last two weeks!

Our local village saw flooding after an overnight deluge. The autumn leaves that are still falling blocked the drains, and this in turn caused the water to settle in the streets instead of draining into the river.

Rain in Spain, thanks to Storm Efraín

Every Friday, the Sur in English brings us the news for the south of Spain. It is a free weekly newspaper in English. There is always plenty to catch up on. This week, it explained the weird weather patterns. Check out this report from Ignacio Lillo.

Storm Efraín, which has wreaked havoc in some parts of Malaga province, has nevertheless brought the best news of the year to the Axarquía region. On Thursday 15 December the regional government’s Hidrosur network rain gauges registered more than 40mm accumulated in 24 hours, with further rainfall expected today, Friday 16 December.

The rain gauge installed at the Benamargosa river, in the hamlet of Salto del Negro, recorded 41mm up to midday on Thursday. In contrast, the one at the La Viñuela reservoir recorded 37 and 30 in the village of Alfarnatejo. Read more.

Why is it so important that the rain falls when it does?

Something I never knew, until I came to live in Spain, was that the rain should fall on time. As I live out in the Andalucia countryside, all around me are olives, lots and lots of olives. Olives, like all other plants and trees, need water. The olive trees, need the rain to fall before the harvest. If the rain falls during the harvest, work has to stop for several days as the fields are muddy, the nets are heavy and it is almost impossible to collect the fruit.

Harvesting olive trees may begin as early as late August and will continue through November depending upon the region, variety and desired ripeness. They are picked for both eating and processing into oil, so the degree of ripeness is important and a factor in the timing of harvest.
In our area, the harvest is usually around November time. Normally, we will have had a fair bit of rain by then and the fruit will be large and ripe. But, because we have just got the rain, there has been little or no harvesting for the past two weeks. At this rate, we will be lucky to be picking olives before Christmas.

Forecast more Rain

After today (16/12/22) we have a break in the rain for a few days, and, then, back to grey skies and rain until the end of the month. Malaga weather forecast.
As much as I hate the rain, it is necessary for farmers and people in general. Late rain is a bit of a nuisance but no rain is the worst-case scenario for everyone.
Luckily, we have just invested in a new, larger, umbrella.

Christmas in Nerja 2022 – Self-Catering Christmas Breaks in Nerja

Nerja – Self-Catering Christmas & New Year Holidays

Christmas in Nerja is as magical as you could want. Decorated and waiting for visitors, the town is always a hive of activity. If you have never been to Nerja, then, this is as good a time as any to come and see what this lovely Andalucian town has to offer.

Self-Catering is the best option. Renting a self-catering apartment or villa from Nerja Beach Holidays gives you the freedom of movement that a hotel or resort holiday doesn’t. You can come and go as you please and you are not tied to itineraries.

The Balcòn de Europa, Nerja Caves, the Church of El Salvador, the many beautiful beaches and the great variety of bars and restaurants will amaze you.

Booking a Self-Catering Apartment

Booking a Self-Catering Apartment in Nerja 2022
The Balcòn de Europa in Nerja is a great place to visit. The views are beautiful

Definitely, this is the best way to see Nerja. Nerja Beach Holidays has a large portfolio of apartments, villas and townhouses available for rent. Take a trip to their main website and pick yourself a great self-catering accommodation, but be quick about it. Christmas and New Year are very busy times for Nerja and the accommodations can be booked up pretty quickly.

Capistrano Playa 203 – Self Catering Apartment

Description

This spacious two-bedroom apartment has a scenic sea view over Burriana beach and the Mediterranean Sea.

The apartment has two bedrooms, a bathroom and an open-plan living room/kitchen. Both bedrooms have fitted wardrobes and patio doors which open onto small terraces giving scenic views of this beautiful complex and out to the Mediterranean Sea.

Capistrano Playa 203 apartment has one bathroom which has been modernised and offers a walk-in shower, hand wash basin and toilet.

The open plan living room has a television with international channels, a Blu-Ray DVD as well as free WiFi. There is a dining table and seating for 4.

Access to the terrace is via the patio door in the living room and the master bedroom.

​The kitchen is fully fitted with a fridge freezer, hob, oven, microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker and all the usual appliances required for guests wanting to self-cater, including a washing machine.

This apartment also has a large, covered, private terrace complete with a large table and seating for 4 perfect for dining comfortably outside.

​The complex has 2 communal pools (1 for adults and 1 for children) with grass and shaded areas as well as sun loungers for hire.

Burriana Beach is within a few minute’s walk down the terraced, tropical gardens which lead from the Capistrano Playa complex directly to the Burriana beachfront, a promenade with a large variety of bars, restaurants, shops and a host of water sports in the summer months.

Balcon de Europa is approximately 20 minutes walk away. There is also a regular local bus service within a few minutes’ walk from the apartment.

Check out the main website for full details and photographs of Capistrano Playa 203

Booking a Self-Catering Apartment is easy but if you need help to have questions, please contact us by phone, email or via Social Media.

Food and Drink in Nerja – A visit to Cochran’s Irish Pub

Just what you need after a day shopping and watching the World Cup

Nerja is a great place to go shopping, there is so much to buy and so little time to buy it, or, so I’m told.

My family were over for a stay in Nerja with Nerja Beach Holidays and a trip to the centre was on the cards. Ale-Hop has relocated, not very far, just around the corner from the original shop. There is always something you need from Ale-Hop.

Ale-Hop? What is Ale-Hop?

Originally from Gata de Gorgos (Alicante), Vicente Grimalt, the founder and manager of our brand, set out in his professional career in 1968. At that time, he was working in door-to-door sales of products from his hometown, notably the famous wicker bags and hats. A few years later, in 1990, he founded the company CLAVE DENIA S.A., which was dedicated to wholesale. Read more.

If like us, you have been calling the shop “Ale Hop” for the last umpteen years, then you are wrong. The proper pronunciation is “Allez-hop!” and is of French origin. It translates as “off you go” or”so, there you go”…so, there you go.

I digress: Being as I didn’t need any shopping, and neither did my brother-in-law, we decided to catch the second half of the Wales v Iran world cup game. As luck would have it, there was a bar just opposite the Ale-Hop shop. We had a large beer and free tapa (very nice, pork Pinchos Morunos) and the tapa was lovely! That’s more than we could say for the Wales result; they lost 2 – nil.

Cochran’s Irish Pub

After a bit of shopping, we decided to give Cochran’s a visit. As it was a lovely sunny day, decided to take a seat on the terrace. If you have never been to Cochran’s, give it a go. The terrace overlooks the Mediterranean and the area between the Balcon de Europa and El Salon Beach. The terrace has plenty of seating and there is a bar and waiter service. Check the site out.

We decided on some refreshments, beer and wine and also a bite to eat. One of the items on the menu was a platter of mixed items. Stuffed Jalapenos, deep-fried Brie cheese, onion rings and chicken wings, served with a little salad and a BBQ sauce. Just enough to keep us going before we got to the apartment

If you are visiting Nerja, why not give Cochran’s Irish Pub a visit?

How to Make Fish Pie – Como Hacer Pastel de Pescado

FISH PIE- PASTEL DE PESCADO

COD, SALMON AND KING PRAWNS IN A CREAMY FISH SAUCE TOPPED WITH MASHED POTATO SERVED WITH GREEN BEANS AND FRESH, CRUSTY BREAD. LOVELY STUFF.

I used fresh fish from Mercadona supermarket in Archidona, close to where I live. You can guarantee that the fish is super-fresh.

Fish Pie – Pastel de Pescado – very easy to make.

 

Ingredients
Fish (use whatever you like, the firmer the fish, the better)
500ml milk
Butter
Flour
Fresh parsley
Potatoes

Method
Make mashed potatoes (if you don’t know how to do that, then there is no hope for you)
Heat 500ml of milk in a large pan. Bring the milk to a simmer.
Skin the fish and bung it into the simmering milk for about 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes, remove the fish from the liquid and put it into the dish you intend to serve it from. Save the milk into a jug.

Make a Roux
How to Make a Roux
Melt 1 part butter or fat in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Then sprinkle in 1 part flour.
Stir the butter and flour constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight motion for even cooking.
In 3 to 5 minutes, you’ll have a light roux that should puff slightly.
This recipe has 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of butter. Chuck in a bit of fresh parsley.

Putting the Fish Pie Together

Once the roux is ready (it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon) add it to the fish, and make sure to cover it all but leave enough room for the potatoes.
If you are impoverished and don’t have a piping bag, add the cooled mashed potatoes to a freezer bag and cut the corner off (if you haven’t got a freezer bag…Use a big spoon) and cover the contents of the bowl with a nice, thick layer of mashed spuds.

Next make a nice pattern with a fork if you like and then place the dish into a hot oven at 180 – 200C 375 – 400F depending on your oven.
After 30 minutes take it out and serve it with whatever vegetables you like.

Job done!

Finally; Check out this Spanish version of this lovely fish dish. Ask the nice people at Nerja Beach Holidays where the best fish restaurants are, they know Nerja like the back of their hands.