Bar Feliz has a new owner who will have his opening night next wednesday. New owner Matty doesn’t plan any major changes yet but the bar will evolve slowly. One thing that will be worth a visit for is Matty’s famous curry, available as a free Tapas or as a full portion!
Good luck to Matty and a big thank you to Jane,  Phil & Sam who always gave you a warm friendly welcome.

It seems that Speakeasy Bar has also been sold after standing empty and forlorn for some time. I am not sure when it is due to re-open tho’.

The usual hot weather is set to peak this weekend with a possible high of 40C on Friday and 38C on Saturday then returning to a much more comfortable 32C on Monday…phew.
The Nerja green Party has been busy removing grafitti and are planning another clean up day in September.

Quote
“The Nerja Greens have suceeded in removing some of the grafitti from the rocks of the Rio Chillar. The vinegar and brushes worked perfectly to remove the grafitti without altering the rock. Here are some photos to show the result. In September we will organise another walk to the Rio Chillar in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment. We need volunteers for this trip to help us completely remove the grafitti from the rocks.

We found that most of the rocks were grafittied in 2005, this was shown by the dates written on the rock. Five years have passed without any municipal or regional authority or any individuals doing anything. The newly established Green Party saw these violations and got to work by first making them known, then denouncing, now cleaned and  finally organised a day of environmental education to remove them completely.

Take note authorities & apply yourself as we do. Policies are not made from the back seat!
Take your work seriously, we pay our taxes to manage the interests of everyone. We will soon be informing everyone of the environmental volunteer day.We would like participation and involvement from the citizens of Nerja.

We also appreciate the quick action of the park management after our complaints about the movement of cars to the light factory. This now has closed access with large stones and one chain. Congratulations.
Even so, we have to say that there are still about 300 cars parking in the area around the quarry each day and there are around 1000 people at weekends.

The Park Director is committed to resolving these problems but says it will take some time.

We will continue to ensure the improvement of our environment …..
We have identified more recent grafitti and we ask that the municipality seeks to manage people’s behaviours by creating a graffiti art workshop. Young people should be given panels to paint on so they don’t grafitii other areas. Young people are trying to express their feelings as a solution to their despair for a society that offers them little opportunities or spaces for cultural, social and human and humanitarian expression.
Back to the beginning as usual: education, education, education but all that is offered is concrete, concrete, concrete …
End Quote

Any other political party views are invited.

With the high risk of fires it is very important to take great care if you are having a BBQ and you live in or on the edge of the countyside. All parks and public rest and recreation areas now have a no fire ban in place that includes BBQ’s. Yesterday morning there was a fire in the countryside to the north of the A7 just before the Nerja turn off. The emergency services soon had the fire out using a helicopter to dump water on the fire.
Throwing a lit cigarette out of a car window will get you a short stay in a lovely Spanish prison.

The north of Spain is currently being inundated with jellyfish including the murderous Portuguese man of war ones,  and although we don’t usually have a big problem with them here it does happen. If you think you have been stung do NOT touch the affected area, seek medical advice immediately.

Supermarket Deliveries to Spain made their first Nerja deliveries this weekend, Syd from Almijara II in Nerja  was very happy to receive his order from his favourite UK online supermarket yesterday.

You can find out more about this service at www.supermarketdeliveriestospain.com
Their next collection date for the U.K is 31st August.

The Taste of India has always been my favourite Indian restaurant (and the Dansak is still as good as ever) and I believe this month is the tenth anniversay of Raju opening in Carabeo. He now has a summer terrace so you can people watch as you dine.

Manola is another old Nerja favourite of Nerja, and he now has a digital camera and  he has definately gone camera happy, snapping everything and everyone!

A new bar La Capilla, well actually an old bar with  a bit of a makeover and a new cool outside terrace is now under the ownership of Ian offering friendly service with  reasonably price drinks and very good Tapas. The refreshing rain last night made a nice accompaniment to the cold beer and tapas.

August is here, and as normal it is HOT, even during the night the temperature never seems to drop much below 25C!
The beaches are busy and the town looks good with all the work completed in the plazas, although where they got all that pinkish/brown marble is a mystery.
Lots and lots of Spaniards come to Nerja for August from Granada, Sevilla and Madrid where it is even hotter. Parking is at an absolute premium and you will see many many cars in the same space for the whole of this month. Before the change in the car registration numbering system it was easy to see where lots of these cars came from. Now it is not so easy or fun for kids. MA: Malaga, SE. Sevilla etc. maybe Spanish kids used to play the game I did when I was a kid to see how many number plates you could convert to places.
Quite a few non-tourist businesses close for August here in Nerja but it really annoys me when you take the trouble to walk across town to a shop and just find it closed (and it seems real estate agents are among the worst offenders) don’t even post their opening hours in their windows…DOH!
The new hotly disputed location for the horse and carriages is slowly becoming reluctantly accepted with a few more owners “turning up for business” but to be honest they are not that busy. Ther doesn’t seem to be any publicity for the new location. Lots of visitors who have visited Nerja many times visit The Balcon ask the question where are the horses and where is the Wally Trolley?
And where is the WT?
Anyway lets hope the H&C move to Plaza Cangrejo is good for business that side of town, especially if people know that is where to go for a ride in an ‘Orse ‘n Cart.
Happy August.

Lynda! who celebrated her birthday at Irish Annie’s bar last night. (thanks to Maureen for the pics)

Remember you too can share your pics on nerjanow, just send an email with pics to admin@nerjanow.com

At the end of August the regional parliament in Cataluña voted to ban bullfighting in the provences of Barcelona, Gerona, Lerida & Tarragona. The vote was close with only a 13 vote majority (nine abstentions not included)  but it may just signal the start of the end of bullfighting throughout Spain. It is already banned in the Canaries.
The ban comes into effect in January 2012.

Bullfighting used to be the biggest spectator sport in Spain but that has changed in recent years, with younger Spaniards generally preferring football.

If you would like to see loads of shooting stars (not Vic & Bob though!) then get yourself where there isn’t much light pollution in the early hours of next Thursday and look to the north. The peak time is in the hours before dawn, but start to appear from around 2amish. You should see around 20 shooting stars an hour as we pass through the trail of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle comet and is the annual Perseid meteor shower (also known as “The Tears of St. Lawrence.”) The display will peak in the early hours of the 12th but continues through to the same time on the !3th August

I took the girlie for a birthday meal the other night to Vicentes (Calle 13) on C/Malaga, excellent food and very reasonable prices but without doubt the best Almejas I have had anywhere, the sauce was so good we kept the plate long after we had finished them and couldn’t stop tasting it.
A house salad, racion of Rosada, racion of Aubergines with cane honey, gambas pil pil along with the Almecas and half a dozen glasses of good wine for just over 40 quid. say no more!
It has been a while since I have had a meal at Vicentes but do use the bar for great tapas especially the spinach and scrambled egg which is a favourite of mine.
The restaurant was not very busy which is surprising considering the quality and value for money.

For those of you who can’t wait for cooler weather and a chance to get out and about to explore the beautiful countryside around Nerja, John Keogh may just be the man you need to talk to!
John runs Hiking Walking Spain and specialises in walks around Nerja and Frigiliana.
His “season” starts in October and can offer a wide range of walks from relativley easy riverbed walks to much more strenuous ridge walks. John is hugely experienced and will cater for your walking & trekking requirements. visit his website www.hikingwalkingspain.com