There are reports of ‘flower ladies’ appearing on the streets of Nerja recently, keen to relieve the unwary of their purses and wallets. Firmly tell them to ‘go away’ and certainly do not allow them to press flowers into your hand, a classic method of distraction while they relieve you of funds.
The flower ladies generally work in pairs and are exceedingly good at what they do. If you open a bag and start looking for a bit of change, you will almost certainly end up severely out of pocket. Just ignore them completely.
Nice to see the local esparto grass basket weaver out and about on the Balcon de Europa, although he does, unfortunately, appear to be the last remaining practitioner of this traditional craft in this area. Fascinating to watch him weaving the baskets.
Sad to see one of the last free parking areas, Los Huertos de Carabeo, disappearing. All the free parking areas have gradually disappeared, about the only one left is the area behind the Mercadona on the riverbed. That, one assumes, will be next on the hit list. It will certainly disappear if the Health Centre ever gets built, but more than likely a lot sooner.
The main complaint about the official car parks, both by residents and visitors, is that they are ‘not cheap’.
Will says:
“Local Crafts.”
Nice to see the local craftsman weaving his baskets.
“Beggars 5 Thieves.”
I do not give money to anyone not registered, but do like to tip the buskers if the music is good.
The one and only exception to my refusal to give money to anyone, is Manuel the deaf and dumb man (but only him – beware of imitations). He is registered to collect but is never pushy, in fact once he knows you he doesn’t come to the table, but i call him over and contribute. He is truly a nerja asset.
“Nerja Parking”
Are local residents not entitled to free parking as they generally are in the UK, by having a residents permit displayed in their vehicles?
Maybe the Town hall can have Free parking days to encourage visitors to the resort to part with their hard earned cash ?
The local Town Hall where i live in the UK charge the sum of £ 0.20pence to park for several hours. not a large amount to pay for parking in the current climate.
Larna says:
If the parking charges are as expensive as they seem (it is too complicated to work it out!), we may have to give up on Nerja. We drive to Nerja and spend up to 6 months a year near to the Los Huertos car park, but our days may be numbered, sadly. There must be others just like us who spend in all the local amenities, and also boost the coffers of the Town Hall, who feel that they are being penalised. Many ‘6 month residents’ are pensioners, and these charges could be a step too far.
We love to see the basket weaver around the town, and also Manolo who works so hard for the deaf. A truly wonderful town, but visitors are less and less welcome by the Ayuntamiento.