Southern Spain and northern Portugal are normally warm and beautiful in the Spring, but after an almost three-year drought, we brought the rain from here to there! Periodic light moisture and temperatures in the upper 50’s, however, didn’t deter us from having fun and enjoying this part of Europe. We first flew into Malaga, Spain, rented a car, and drove along the Mediterranean Sea an hour eastward to the coastal town of Nerja (“near ha”) where we visited my sister. She spends three months in southern Spain each winter to escape the cold of her home near Cleveland, Ohio. Smart woman! Their condo is perched on a hillside overlooking the town and the seemingly endless Mediterranean Sea.

 

Our timing was perfect – we arrived at the beginning of Holy Week and were treated to nightly processions from the small local Catholic Church. The church may have been small, but the processions were not. Over one thousand parishioners, young and old, took part as they remembered the crucifixion and death of Christ. Three large “floats,” depicting the sacred events, were each carried by 90 to 100 men. Before, between, and after the floats were local bands and other members of their communities, elaborately costumed in different colors each night. They were all in White on Wednesday night, Red on Thursday, and Black on Good Friday. They are devoutly religious in this region, and it was very evident.

 

The Spaniards have a nice dining regimen – they eat a light breakfast around 9:00 AM, a heavy lunch between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, and end the evening with a relatively light dinner of tapas and wine sometime after 9:00 PM. I suspect afternoon siestas are still in vogue for some, but most everything stayed open all day long. I never spent more than $30 for the four of us for dinner – the cost of living along the coast is low.

 

I mentioned the wine. This region is known for producing light, delicious reds, mostly Rioja’s, and we weren’t disappointed with any of our selections. Inexpensive, and tasty.

 

We left Nerja and drove westward to Seville, Spain, where we were delighted to see another, even larger, elaborate procession marking Holy Saturday. There’s no way to estimate the number of participants and the crowd size seemed equivalent to or larger than a typical Mardi Gras parade in our area. Very impressive! Seville was great to tour, with a magnificent cathedral and an equally large fort, hundreds of years old. It’s a modern city in many respects, with an efficient trolley car system, high end shopping, and fine dining opportunities.

 

Departing Seville, we drove across Spain and Portugal for the next leg of our Spring vacation, a river boat cruise on the Douro River and a visit to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. The drive across the countryside was long, but pretty, and well worth it.

 

Next month we’ll describe our experiences on the river and the towns we visited.