Go Spain: Forget all the cliches about the Costa del Sol. It's easy to reach, the climate is lovely, Marbella is fun – and Nerja is something of a hidden gem, writes Lorraine Courtney
THE NICER END of Spain’s sunshine coast grabbed the world’s attention in 1959 when five boys, out hunting bats in the hills above Nerja, stumbled into a vast system of caves with dazzling rock formations and prehistoric paintings. Just in time for the tourist boom, cynics might say. Our guide waxes lyrical about them – she tied the knot inside the caves a couple of years ago. I’m usually underwhelmed by holes in the ground, but these ones really are good.
The Nerja caves constitute a gothic torture of natural forms, calcified in the most intriguing shapes. Virtually every architectural style is in evidence somewhere. Palaeolithic art includes wall paintings of horses, goats, stags, assorted fish and anthropomorphic female figures. And stratigraphy confirms the use of this space by humans for a staggering 25,000 years.
The caves’ Organs (Los Organos) are a particularly strange formation composed of parallel folds. When struck, they sound different musical notes. They are decorated with schematic rock paintings, and the deliberate breaks in the folds go back to prehistoric times, indicating that primitive man probably achieved his first harmonies inside the cave.
The spectacular Hall of the Cataclysm (Sala del Cataclismo) has a gigantic central column that features in Guinness World Recordsas the world's biggest. It's 32m tall and measures 13 by seven metres at the base. The caves are lit discreetly, and a sound system quietly plays classical music, although you can hear an unremitting drip, drip behind the orchestra that tells you this is still a work in progress.
Nerja itself, with a population of little more than 10,000, is a chocolate-box town of narrow, twisting streets sitting on the foothills of the Sierra Almijara. The ancient town was called Maricha (meaning rich spring water) by early Arab inhabitants. The square is dominated by the baroque-neoclassical church of El Salvador. It is composed of three naves separated by pillars and round arches and is one of the few temples in the world with representations of the three archangels: the patrons of Nerja. A lot of tourists are about at the time I visit, but there’s still a very genuine Spanish feel in Nerja’s whitewashed winding backstreets.
In the days of the corsairs, and before them the Moors, a network of towers blazed warnings the length of Spain’s deep south. The one that is clearly missing is the great tower of Nerja itself, part of a Moorish stronghold that was demolished long ago to create the beautiful promenade that is known today as the Balcón de Europa. The promenade was given its name by King Alfonso XII, who visited the area after an earthquake on Christmas Day in 1884. Nowadays, it’s a natural balcony, lined with palm trees and overhanging the Mediterranean. At night, the rocks below and the surrounding sea are floodlit a greenish hue.
The Balcón is where everyone meets everyone else sooner or later. Get there in the early evening and join the paseo. This is the evening stroll that fills the day from late afternoon until the dinner hour. The paseo can take in everything from shopping and sightseeing to eating, but the main event is the walk itself. For the more intrepid, a clifftop walkway winds its way around the two coves and through honeycomb limestone rocks dotted with flowering cacti, fig trees, mimosa and dandelions.
While there, gorging on tapas is obligatory. The origins of tapas are disputed. A Roman habit, to soften the effect of coarse wine on the stomach? A decree by the king to prevent drunkenness? Or a convenient way to keep thirsty flies out of your drink by covering the glass with a slice of stale bread ( tapameans lid), which soon evolved into something more appetising because drinkers insisted on eating the bread slices, so bar owners felt obliged to make them more appealing. Who knows what's true? But here in Andalusia they take tapas seriously. It's something of a gastronomic and social phenomenon. Tapas make up the 14-course moveable feast that we are served at Casa Luque.
Our waiter brings plates of papas alinas(potato salad seasoned with olive oil and vinegar), jabugo(air-cured ham from pigs fed only on acorns) and tortilla de patatas(potato omelettes), canapes and bowls of fat green olives. Of the scores of hot tapas offered are calamares(fried battered squid), bacalao con tomate(salt codfish in a tomato sauce), caldereta(stew) and caracoles(snails). Then there's a darker, more delicately flavoured meat skulking along the side of the plate. Mild-tasting. Delicate. Actually quite nice. Just don't think about Black Beauty galloping freely as you eat it. And after this sybaritic excess? What better than that other great Spanish speciality. Yes. It's time for a siesta.
Of course, the Nerja part of the Costa del Sol is a story only half told, and so we head off in the other direction in search of the ultimate sun-drenched pleasure pot. The coast road from Nerja to Marbella passes fields where bronzed men toil as they might have done a century ago, tending salad crops, and several bent old men, with black berets and sticks as crooked as their backs, lead laden-down donkeys. There are some windmills that Don Quixote might have tilted at. A dose of Spanish reality.
The principito(or little prince) who first transformed Marbella, Prince Alfonso Hohenlohe, was the product of one of Bavaria's grandest families. It was in 1946, with his family estates in eastern Europe in the hands of the communists, that Hohenlohe, travelling from Gibraltar with his uncle the Marques de Soriano, first set eyes on Marbella. In search of a way to make a fortune, he immediately persuaded his father to sell some wine cellars in Malaga and invest in land there.
Hohenlohe bought his first property in 1947 at the age of 23 for 150,000 pesetas. Aristocratic northern European friends were soon filling his house and falling madly for the climate and scenery. Hohenlohe later sold the house to the Rothschilds and in 1954 converted a farmhouse on the 10-hectacre finca into the swish Marbella Club. It quickly became a magnet for Middle Eastern princes, Hollywood stars and the oldest families in Europe.
Today, Marbella’s a dynamic city. Luxury hotels, villas and exclusive golf courses crowd the narrow strip of land between sea and mountain. Perhaps it’s not real Spain. But this is a highly efficient sun, sea and sand machine. You have to dismiss the idea of discovering great unexplored places while in Marbella and, instead, concentrate on seeking out the good places – and the good can sometimes be great.
Marbella’s Old Town (or Casco Antiguo) is remarkably well-preserved, and, despite some chichi shops, its cobbled streets are as authentic as any in Andalusia. There are blinding whitewashed houses adorned with delicious mosaic tiles and fierce, dark, fascinating churches. Window sills are crammed with terracotta flowerpots. Caged songbirds sing furiously among the window displays.
There’s some real history here, too. The illustrious town hall is a 16th century building. The Old Bazàn Hospital also dates from the 16th century and now holds an intriguing museum of Spanish engravings. There is also the remains of a 10th-century Arabian castle.
Nearby Puerto Banús is where the real money, the high liquidity goes. King Fahd of Saudi Arabia built himself a replica of the White House here, and this monstrosity sums up perfectly what Puerto Banús is all about. Yachts clutter a harbour lined with classy eateries and boutiques. These are filled with all the usual labels, but Versace prevails. There are few better spots for shameless people-watching, so order yourself an aperitif, sit back and enjoy a motley parade of tax exiles, tycoons, the tiniest miniature dogs, dodgy tans and huge hairdos go by.
The Costa del Sol inevitably evokes the furious and tacky package colonisation of the southern Spanish coast that has been going on since the 1950s. But it’s easy to reach. The climate is lovely. Marbella is fun. Trashy-fabulous Puerto Banús should be experienced at least once. And Nerja is something of a hidden gem. Go. But with an open mind – and something bling to wear at night.
Lorraine Courtney was a guest of Sunway
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go
Where to stay
Balcón de Europa. Paseo Balcón de Europa 1, 00-34-952-520800, hotelbalconeuropa.com. This hotel has the most spectacular views over the eponymous balcón and cove. Rooms are comfy and quaint, and twin rooms start at €98.
Marbella Club. Bulevar Principe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, 00-34-952-822211, marbellaclub.com. This four-star venue is no longer quite the address it was when created in the 1950s. However. it is another option and is unbeaten for style and intimacy. Doubles from €255.
Gran Meliá Don Pepe. Calle José Meliá, Marbella, 00-34-952-770300, gran-melia-don-pepe.com/en. The five-star "gran luxe" hotel has superb ocean views. Room-only rates start at €142.
Parador de Nerja. Calle Almunecar 8, Pista Padel, 00-34-952-520050, parador.es. This is undoubtedly the smartest address in town, with clifftop views, a lift down to the beach and jacuzzis in all the garden rooms. Double rooms are priced from €148.
Where to eat
Casa Luque. Plaza Cavana 2, Nerja, 00-34-952-521004, www.casaluque.com. This is a good bet for the ultimate tapas gorge. Its lunch menu has a 14-course moveable feast that will leave you struggling to waddle out.
Taberna del Alabardero. Cerro Artola Urb Fuente del Espanto, 00-34-952-812794, alabarderoresort.com. A Moorish affair in the Marbella hills with exquisite grounds and lovely food. You can also take a room there.
La Navilla. Calle Camilo José Cela 9, Marbella, 00-34-952-862085. Splendid local nosh and ocean views.
Dal Toscano. Calle San Jose 13, Nerja, 00-34-952-527416, www.dal-toscano.com. A carousel of Mediterranean flavours are whipped up nightly at this atmospheric pizzeria.
Where to go
Nerja caves. Carretera de Maro, 00-34-952-529520, cuevadenerja.es. These amazing caves were only discovered in 1959, but here you'll see the remains of Cro-Magnon man and prehistoric paintings 25,000 years old.
Marbella's Old Town. With its cobbled streets and whitewashed walls, this part of Marbella is as authentically Spanish as you can get. The houses are adorned with mosaic tiles, and the window sills are crammed with terracotta flowerpots. There's some real history here, too, which can be unearthed with a little exploring on foot.
Go there:
Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies to Malaga from Dublin and Shannon. Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) flies from Dublin, Cork and Belfast.