Days 57-61, 8-12 August 2014, Fuengirola, Nerja (view from the Balcon de Europa) and Frigiliana, Costa del Sol, Spain.

El Espanol coming along nicely - muchos gracias! That really has been the focus recently - 7 straight days of studying and a couple of days off as a reward. Still have 3 lessons out of 31 left to complete. Tomorrow. Los Gatos have been enjoying having me here full-time to the extent that all four were stretched out around the house at the same time the other day. Somewhat like peace on the Gaza Strip - unbelievable and it didn't last long. Bertie (the ginger/marmalade short hair delinquent-yobbo-terrorist) is currently AWOL - hasn't been seen since last night. Suspect he might have taken on something bigger than even he can chew (like a mountain lion?) - who knows. Just a bit worried since plague, pestilence, famine and war are not usually enough to keep Bertie from his food bowl. But moving right along, yesterday was a reward day trip and opportunity to listen to commentary in Spanish en route to Nerja and Frigiliana. First stop was La Cueva de Nerja / The Cave of Nerja. Must admit to never having heard of this but well worth the visit - absolutely massive mountain seemingly hollowed out and filled with stalacmites and tites. Discovered in the late '50s by three boys chasing a ball (Balls and goats are the internationally acknowledged best methods for discovering caves. At any point in history you'd have a fair chance of cave discovery just by following any random ball or goat. Hang on - we're looking after some goats over Christmas... Yay - Cave discovery, fame and fortune now on the agenda!) From the caves it was on to the white village of Nerja which prides itself on having the Balcony of Europe. Essentially a cliff top lookout/town square that is the tail-end of continental Europe - next stop Morocco. (Strictly speak Tarifa/Algeciras/Gibraltar waaaay closer to the African continent - just no big cliff top lookout - and now that 'the Balcony of Europe' is used... what would they call it anyway.) Gorgeous lookout and lovely strollable town. High on my list of priorities was buying postcards, then a ticket for the Euromillions draw on Friday, then, finally, having investigated all options, lunch. Turns out the townsfolk of Nerja (remember j=h so it's Ner-ha), can turn out a very, very respectable thin crust pizza (€4) and glass of white wine (€0.80) in less time than it takes to be narky about my Spanish. Seven days mate. Seven! Would have taken my waiter longer than that to learn to be a tosser - but he's certainly top notch at it now. Aside from the service though, where else can you polish off a fresh pizza, straight out of the woodfired oven and a glass of vino for the equivalent of A$7.20. And the people watching - superb! Back to the coach and finally noticing the day had gotten quite hot. A little vino-induced snooze on the haul up the hill to the white village of Frigiliana (OK - remember our silent "H" in Spanish... here the g becomes h - so Free-hilly-arna"). It was 40 degrees at 6 pm when the coach eventually dropped me in Fuengirola - so when we arrived in Frigiliana at 3.30 pm, high in the hills it would have easily been 43 or so. Jolly good reason to give in and take the dorky wee tourist train for a trip around the epitome of Los Pueblos Blancos - the white villages. Truly - you can have your house any colour you like, as long as it's white. The dorky train was only €3 and worth absolutely every, single cent. Just time for an icecream and back on the coach and home. The coach/guide actually left someone behind here (almost) - luckily she was seen running behind us as we got to the roundabout. And the guide had counted heads 3 times before leaving 2 minutes early. Phew - that would have been nasty. It's unfortunate that it happened to someone who's eyes were apparently painted on, but it actually wasn't her fault... just a reminder to never leave arriving at the coach to the very last minute of the rendezvous time. I'd have to say it was lucky we didn't lose anyone all day - the guide was a great lady who spoke at least five languages and had a touching faith in the ability of people to understand and retain directions on how to get to the bus. Faith that was rewarded in the end. It was still 33 degrees at 11 pm - definitely one of the hottest days yet. It is becoming patently clear why this area isn't called La Costa del Sombra (sombra = shade = sombrero = hat!) So that's all for now. Today has been another R&R day - back to the books and lap swimming tomorrow... today, I siesta.
PS: Bertie is back. I should be happier I know. He announced his return by coming in and attacking Bentley. He had a feed first of course. Both last seen running out of the house to the soundtrack of me screeching like a fishwife. Ceasefire is over.