Wintering in Spain 2023 – The Road to Nerja

Ralph Waldo Emerson… “It’s the not the destination, It’s the journey.”

Woot! I got to start an article with a famous quote! In this case however, I think my ongoing writings about Nerja will be about both. This article is about pulling out of Madrid and heading down to the Costa del Sol where we are spending February and March.

On first glance the photos may seem pretty boring in that they generally just show things we passed by on our way there. However, each of the photos has been selected so that I can address a specific tidbit of information or issue that I think you should know about, and that you might find useful, should you ever find yourself wintering on the Costa del Sol.

Part of our winter getaway strategy is not to rush to our destination, and at the end of it all, not to rush home. We typically pick a city somewhere in Europe to fly to that we either have never been to before, or that we really enjoy, and spend some time there. That is why we kicked off this trip in Madrid. It is a city we never tire of.

To my knowledgs, only one direct flight to Malaga from Canada is available, and that is via Air Transat from Montreal. If you don’t live in the Montreal area, you are definitely making a connection at some airport before you end up in Malaga. And that often makes for a long arduous day. We are now in “we will fly to one destination only per day mode”, so no same day, connecting flights for us. Hence, Madrid.

Of course, after a few days of enjoying an interesting locale and getting all rested up from jetlag, you still need to get to your final destination. One of the benefits of going to Madrid is that you can take the high-speed train down to Malaga rather than a short flight, as you will need to make from most other arrival points.

I did check once, and it costs about the same to take the train as it does to grab a short flight. The benefit of taking the train is that you get to sit and relax for 2 ½ hours, have a meal if it’s offered, and admire the countryside as it rolls past.

We love train travel, and we have travelled all over Europe using this wonderful mode of transport – from as far north as Stockholm, to as far south as… well… Malaga. It is our preferred method for long distance travel if it is available.

Get on Board to Nerja

I went through the “ticketing” process in my last article, so I will not belabour it here. What I will do though, is talk about some of the intricacies of taking the train from the Atocha station in Madrid specifically. Of all the train stations we have travelled through in Europe, it is the one that seems to require a little more effort and time than most to get where you need to be.

Using Atocha Station

I actually ended up doing a Google search to clarify all the facts in my head before recording them here. And I found an excellent site, “showmethejourney.com” that layed out most of the intricacies of using the station. I am going to include an enormous quote from that site here for your reference, but you really should check out the page if you want to get a complete picture.

I suppose the first major thing to remember is that Atocha is three stations in one, which certainly adds a bit of confusion to the proceedings. The second important thing to know is the names of the departure halls and what floors they are on:

Planta/Level 1 – The ‘Planta Primera’ (First Floor) departure hall is on this level.
Planta/Level 0 – The ‘Planta Baja’ (Low Level) departure hall is on this level.

If you are travelling to another city, when you find the name of the city and the exact time you know your train is leaving on the Departures (Salidas) screen, it should tell you which of these two departure halls to go to. After you get to the proper departure hall, you will not know what gate your train leaves from until close to your departure time. 🙂

If all else fails, there are lots of places to ask for help and information in English.

Showmethejourney.com Quote

“Six things worth knowing about Atocha station:

(1) The signage within the station is comparatively easy to follow and is bi-lingual; so you can trust it to navigate your way through the vast complex.
(2) Madrid Atocha in effect three stations in one building:
• the main terminal, known as Puerta De Atocha, which is the part of the station used by the high speed trains.
• the Cercanias station used by the local trains (the Cercanias trains), the Media-Distancia trains; AND the non-high speed long distance trains.
• the Metro station.
(3) The experience of taking a high speed train to and from the Puerta de Atocha is similar to taking a flight.
The arriving and departing passengers are largely kept apart.
Salidas = departures
Llegadas = arrivals
So the experience of using the station is very different if you are departing by long distance train, compared to arriving by train.
When departing by high speed train you pass through a luggage screening area and staffed ticket gates, as you would at an airport.
(4) What can make the geography of the Atocha station easier to comprehend is that the main terminal sits in a valley.
Meaning that level 0 isn’t at street level; it’s the exits on levels 1 and 2 which give access to the streets surrounding the station.
(5) You can move between the multiple levels by escalator and/or travellators (moving walkways); at Atocha the lifts are only available to those that require mobility assistance.
(6) Madrid Atocha is on four levels:
Planta/Level 2:
• This is the top level; it is the location of the main taxi rank.
• It is located above the Cercanias station; which is to the side of the main high speed terminal.
Planta/Level 1:
• This is at street level.
• The ‘Planta Primera’ departure hall is on this level.
Planta/Level 0:
On this level you will find:
• The main ticket office, the ‘venta de billetes; it’s by the indoor garden;
• Most of the shops at the station in an area which resembles a shopping mall;
• Within this mall is the entrance to the ‘Planta Baja’ departure hall;
• The entrance to the Metro station.
• The concourse for the Cercanias part of the station.
The ticket machines/offices for the Cercanias trains are located here.
This Cercanias concourse also houses a departure gate for the small number of long distance ‘larga-distancia’ non-high speed trains, which also leave from this part of the station.
Planta/Level -1:
• This lowest level is where the vias (platforms/tracks) in the Cercanias station are located.”

Let the Trip Begin!

1. Station Security
One thing you will notice here that is very different from other train stations around the continent is the level of security involved prior to boarding. It is very much like going through security to catch a plane at any airport. This is all a result of the terrorist attack on the train system in Madrid in 2004. In the attack, 193 people died, and around 2,000 were injured.

Perhaps it is slightly less rigid than checking in at an airport, but all your bags are screened before you board, and all tickets are checked. The following images, not one of mine, shows what to expect at Atocha.

2. The High-speed Trains
Most of Spain’s main cities are connected by a high-speed train network (AVE – Alta Velocidad Española). The service is operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company. The trains are capable of speeds exceeding 300 kph.

Having ridden these trains, and those on other systems, they never seem that fast when you are chugging along. The only time it feels like you are going faster than normal is when you pass another train going the same speed in the opposite direction. That REALLY gets your attention. 🙂

This is the train we travelled on.

3. Seating
I am still semi-perplexed by seat selection when booking with Renfe online. When I got to the end of the ticket buying process each time, it did ask about seat selection, and because I wasn’t really able to interpret the choices, I allowed Renfe to make the choice. I assumed that by buying two tickets together that we would be seated together on the train. 🙂 That has not happened on any of the three trips we have taken so far.

I think they make the decision based upon personal comfort for the individual travellers when you buy seats in first class. As a result, on the trip down to Malaga, L-G (the Love-goddess), and I were seated at individual seats, each by a window.

As you can see L-G, has a spot all to herself, and my assigned seat is the empty one behind her. I have shifted over the two seats beside mine to get out of the sun. And given that there were only about eight or 10 people in the first-class cabin, which probably accommodated about 30 people, you could pretty much sit anywhere you wanted.

4. Olive Groves
After about an hour of travel, I managed to get this fairly nice picture of one of the ENDLESS olive tree groves we passed on our way south… You always get reflection off the window glass, so it makes it hard to take a good picture. It was more or less at this point that L-G turned around to me and said, “does the world really need and consume these many olives?” 🙂 Spain is the second largest producer of olives in the world after Italy.

5. Meals
If you are travelling in first class, they typically will bring you a meal like on an airplane. I’m pretty sure all the high-speed trains have an area in which you can go and buy food, but it is awfully nice to have it brought to you. You are paying for this, of course.

This is not the actual breakfast that I ate, but it is very representative of what you will get. I was much too hungry to waste time taking a picture before tearing it into it… I don’t take a picture of every meal I consume… hard to believe.

6. The Terrain
What the heck, let’s throw out another quote here. This one from one of the great musicals of all time, My Fair Lady. In the words of Audrey Hepburn’s character, Eliza Doolittle,

“The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain”.

I’m not sure that that is exclusively true, but we did pass through the Andalusian Plain on the way down… as you will see.

Another feature of the regional geography that should probably be added here is that Madrid is the second highest capital city in Europe, with an average altitude of 650 m (2,130 ft). Only the capital of Andorra is higher. And, on average, Spain is the second-highest country in Europe, surpassed only by Switzerland.

The point is that we dropped over 2000 feet from our departure point in Madrid, to our arrival point at sea level in Malaga. You do not really feel the drop, of course.

This Google map screen capture shows you the route our train took. The lightly coloured areas are generally flattish. Our train ride took 2 ½ hours not the 3+ that is shown.

And when I say flattish, I mean flat.

But occasionally, a hill will pop up out of the flatness. And sometimes it’s something as delightful as this village resting on the side of one of those hills, with a lovely mediaeval fortress, largely preserved, on top.

As we get closer to the Southern coast, things start to get a little more rugged.

So, more rolling Hills… And more olive groves.

7. Stops Along the Way
Because this is a high-speed route there are very few stops along the way. Perhaps the most important and most interesting is Cordoba. We shall be returning here sometime in the months ahead for a visit. It is home to one of the most amazing mosques in all of Spain … With a Catholic cathedral stuck in the middle of it. The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba (Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba)

8. Malaga Station and Pickup
And we made it! This photo gives you an idea of how we travel a goodly part of the time when we are out on the road – a rolling softshell case and a backpack each.

If we are doing a bunch of on and off train rides, I strictly travel with my carry-on, which doubles as a backpack. If we are traveling mostly by plane, and an occasional train ride, we travel like this.

We decided to treat ourselves on this outing and ordered a car and driver to pick us up at the station and drive us to Nerja. Normally we would just take the bus. The bus takes about an hour and a half, depending on how many stops it makes.

The main train station and the main bus station are across the street from one another in Malaga, so not a big deal getting off the train and onto a bus if you want to keep the cost down. The cost for the car and driver was €69, plus a small tip. By car, the trip is about an hour.

The driver was waiting for us right outside the exit from the train platforms with a sign with my name on it. He graciously insisted on taking our bags for us, and rolled them out to the car, which was parked across the street.

While he was loading the bags into the back of the van, I turned around and took this picture of the front of the station. It is a very modern, clean, and highly functional station with lots of amenities. There is even a grocery store in it if you want to grab groceries as soon as you arrive in town.

We rode in a nice Mercedes van. I am not sure the ride was any better than a Chevy, but nicely appointed inside, of course

8. The Drive to Nerja
The drive along the coast, whichever way you are going, is a beautiful one. When we are here, we are so largely focussed on living close to the Mediterranean and walking along the waterfront every day that I sometimes forget about the mountains behind us, and just how beautiful they are.

I decided that on this drive, even though I was sitting in the backseat, I would get some nice shots of the mountains, if only just to document how beautiful they are. They aren’t extremely high; but they are quite rugged in many sections. If you are seriously into hiking, then you would probably be happy to know that you can actually hike right to the top of some of these peaks.

And as you can see in this first photo, homes are scattered from bottom to top on many of them. The views must be spectacular.

There are a few tunnels, and they frame up the mountains beautifully as you exit.

The other thing I want to show you is the important agriculture that is taking place along the Costa. Some of it is north-ish of Malaga getting towards Nerja, but most is beyond that point. Parts of this region are very much the market garden for all of Europe.

What you are seeing here is a terraced landscape upon which a variety of tree crops are grown. These include avocados, mangoes, and papaya. This is the only area in Europe, where sub-tropical fruits thrive.

A whole host of other fruits and vegetables are grown here as well and are in season in February and March when we are here. You can also see many of the very simply constructed greenhouses that are used. The use of greenhouses shortens up the growing season, even in this area, which has a very long one.

Much further north-ish of Nerja, around Almería, the Costa del Sol has a couple of other nicknames… The “Costa del Plástico”, or “Mar de plástico (the plastic sea)”. You can actually see the large area that is covered in greenhouses by going to satellite view in Google maps.

As you have probably figured out, the drive between Malaga and Nerja takes place along a very modern four-lane highway. This thoroughfare extends the full length of the Costa del Sol – from down around Gibraltar to well past Nerja.

If you have access to a car here, you can get anywhere on the Costa del Sol very easily, and very quickly. We are planning on renting and driving down to Gibraltar in the next couple of weeks. According to Google maps, the drive will take two hours and fifteen minutes.

Of course, I couldn’t show you this drive without showing you at least one image of the Mediterranean, which is constantly on your right as you drive up the coast. In this image, I have captured a fairly important historical feature.

All along the Costa there are over 100 of these ancient towers that you see sitting on top of the hill here. They were constructed as a warning system to signal, using smoke during the day and fire at night, the approach of pirates.

8. Arrived!
And here we are! Nerja, our home away from home… and all that snow and ice… for the next couple of months. We will be arriving back home in Canada just in time for the kickoff to the golf season in April. It doesn’t get much better than that. 🙂