Popped up to the weekly market on Tuesday, check out how things are going.
The market has been back in operation for three months now and I haven’t managed to make it up there since the early days of June.
It was a choice between public transport and the pony belonging to Mr Shanks. so public transport it was. After waiting about 25 minutes at the bus stop, along came one of the small minibuses laid on especially for the market. ‘Aha’, we thought, but we were wrong. It was full.
The driver jerked his thumb over his shoulder to signify that another bus was following. What he failed to indicate was that it was not immediately behind, it was another ten minutes or so before it arrived. At least it was a bigger one and we all got on.
I’m pretty certain there was mention of a ‘free’ bus service to the market when ‘negotiations’ to relocate the market were in progress, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. One euro each way.
There were a fair amount of people milling around the market but it was certainly not full or packed, part of this possibly due to the large area it now occupies. Difficult to tell, but I would hazard that the numbers are not what they were when the market was in the centre of town, nowhere near.
It is out of the way, you do need transport of some description, especially in the hot weather (or in the rain!), you can’t just ‘pop out to the market’ if you’re working and it doesn’t, in my opinion, have that market ‘feel’ to it. Others may, and probably will, disagree.
The market does have everything, as it always did. Apart from a ‘convenient’ location of course. Just have to live with it because it isn’t going to change now!
On the positive side, security for shoppers is improved. The wide open spaces and not being packed like sardines means less opportunity for pickpockets.
Another thing I miss, apart from the social, hustle-bustle ‘atmosphere’, is the old variety of watering holes along the way where you could take time-out and sit and people-watch. Ah well…
George Bruton says:
Fully concur with your comments. I’ve been once, probably for the last time. Since my apartment is at the west end of town ( where the market used to be ) I’ll travel to Torrox where the street market lives on. All I can say is the moving the market has been a diaster for Nerja based on spurious idealogical reasons. But there that’s politics for you. George
George Bruton says:
Fully concur with your comments. I’ve been once, probably for the last time. Since my apartment is at the west end of town ( where the market used to be ) I’ll travel to Torrox where the street market lives on. All I can say is the moving the market has been a diaster for Nerja based on spurious idealogical reasons. But there that’s politics for you. George
Gareth says:
My wife and I have just returned from a 3 week visit to Nerja. We are regular visitors and were sad to see the market move from the centre of town. Gone, is the popping into local shops and cafes while browsing the market, gone are lunches taken after the market, all to be replaced by out of town shopping. For the 1st week of our holiday we had my Sister-in Law and her Husband with us, as this was their first visit, I was interested in their views, which basically were long way out of town; no where to have a drink but the stalls themselves were good and varied. The 2nd week we had my Stepdaughter and her 2 boys with us. Now they have been to the old market and found the new site lacking basic facilities, watering holes and atmosphere, and much preferred Torrox as a market site. My wife and I now travel to Torre del Mar on a Thursday for the market there, where you can still stop for a drink and don’t feel that you need to rush through the market as there is nothing else to do. With so many options put forward by the market stall holders, why the Nerja council insisted on this out of the way site will probably come to light some time, at the next corruption scandal perhaps??
Gareth says:
My wife and I have just returned from a 3 week visit to Nerja. We are regular visitors and were sad to see the market move from the centre of town. Gone, is the popping into local shops and cafes while browsing the market, gone are lunches taken after the market, all to be replaced by out of town shopping. For the 1st week of our holiday we had my Sister-in Law and her Husband with us, as this was their first visit, I was interested in their views, which basically were long way out of town; no where to have a drink but the stalls themselves were good and varied. The 2nd week we had my Stepdaughter and her 2 boys with us. Now they have been to the old market and found the new site lacking basic facilities, watering holes and atmosphere, and much preferred Torrox as a market site. My wife and I now travel to Torre del Mar on a Thursday for the market there, where you can still stop for a drink and don’t feel that you need to rush through the market as there is nothing else to do. With so many options put forward by the market stall holders, why the Nerja council insisted on this out of the way site will probably come to light some time, at the next corruption scandal perhaps??
Richard & Bev Malin says:
We visited the market in August while we were in Nerja house sitting a relative’s house. (Tough gig but someone had to do it!) We enjoyed our visit to the market and quite enjoyed the trek. But I can understand the annoyance of locals who find it a bit out of the way. But compared to our local market in dear old blighty, which basically specialises in bargain bundles of ‘J’ cloths and dusters, Nerja market is state of the art!
Richard & Bev Malin says:
We visited the market in August while we were in Nerja house sitting a relative’s house. (Tough gig but someone had to do it!) We enjoyed our visit to the market and quite enjoyed the trek. But I can understand the annoyance of locals who find it a bit out of the way. But compared to our local market in dear old blighty, which basically specialises in bargain bundles of ‘J’ cloths and dusters, Nerja market is state of the art!
Jon says:
I used to think the old market was a pain as parking was a nightmare if I needed to pop into town for anything.
However, what the old market did was to bring out-of-town tourists into town who would possibly make Nerja the base for their next holiday.
Somehow, I don’t see Almijara having the same attraction!
Jon says:
I used to think the old market was a pain as parking was a nightmare if I needed to pop into town for anything.
However, what the old market did was to bring out-of-town tourists into town who would possibly make Nerja the base for their next holiday.
Somehow, I don’t see Almijara having the same attraction!
Alan Bean says:
Although I am not a “market person” I usually visited the market to pick up the odd small gift.As I stay at the Hotel Monica,the market was on the doorstep. In July I caught the bus from near the hotel to try the new site.There is a plus and minus to the new place.Yes,it is out of town but I think there seemed more room to move without being “hemmed in” by buildigs.
Alan Bean says:
Although I am not a “market person” I usually visited the market to pick up the odd small gift.As I stay at the Hotel Monica,the market was on the doorstep. In July I caught the bus from near the hotel to try the new site.There is a plus and minus to the new place.Yes,it is out of town but I think there seemed more room to move without being “hemmed in” by buildigs.