Motril to Nerja

November 8, 2022

A hilly ride along the Mediterranean coastline

We were out the door just before 9. We had a relatively easy exit from Motril, other than the bike lane being shared with buses - that was the situation in Granada too. We just pulled over and stopped when a bus came through.

We headed southeast towards the water on the Costa Tropical, but not down the nice bike/walking route we used yesterday, because there is no seaside connection west from Motril. Highway N340 was busier than we’ve become accustomed to, but there was a nice shoulder. We saw bananas, mangos, and avocados growing. Some outdoors, some under plastic.

Our Komoot route took us off the highway in Salobreña, but it was no gift. The town is incredibly hilly, and we ended up pushing and pulling our bikes up.

After a bit more time on the highway, we ended up in the beach highriseland of Almuñécar. Definitely not my cup of tea. Endless same-same apartment blocks, maybe 10 to 12 stories high. There was a nice big beach though, lots of shops, and a bike path. We stopped for baked treats. After the beachfront apartment blocks, we rode through the older part of the town. I stupidly jumped a red light (not on purpose!) and could’ve been hit.

Then another up and down again. It's amazing how lumpy a coastline can be. We rode through a short tunnel that was a bit awkward because it had a not-very-wide sidewalk that ate into the shoulder. After the tunnel, we exited onto the old highway 340 up again to the beautiful views of Cerro Gordo. Unlike our last diversion, this one was well worth the effort. There were lots of cyclists, but hardly any traffic. We had terrific views up and down the coast, including a decrepit house that looked structurally unstable, on a very steep slope. I wonder if it was a forced evacuation? The climb up Cerro Gordo wasn’t as tough as either of us had feared.

Starting our day in Motril using a shared bike and bus lane. Interesting!

Looking for a way to avoid a big climb in Salobreña. It didn't work. We pushed and pulled our bikes up a stupidly steep hill, for no reason at all.

The beachfront apartment blocks in Almuñécar. There were a LOT of them.

Not the most pleasant of tunnels. The shoulder wasn't very wide. But as we encountered throughout out trip, Spanish drivers were remarkably careful around bikes.

Climbing up to Cerro Gordo. It was not as tough as we expected.

Coastal views looking west, on the descent from Cerro Gordo.

This property has a multi-million euro view, but the house seemed to be on unstable ground, and had been abandoned.

The Puente del Aguila (Bridge of the Eagle) Aqueduct, originally built to provide water to a sugar factory. It's still used for irrigation.

From Cerro Gordo, we had one final climb on the highway before a gentle descent into the town of Nerja and a return to the Costa del Sol. A kids' track meet was underway and we stopped for a quick peak.

We followed a nice bike path right to the edge of the old town. As usual, once we hit the old town, there were multiple occasions where we were directed to go the wrong way on a one way street. I really should have recorded some of them to make corrections to OpenStreetMaps.

Our nearly seaside hotel is super nice. For the ridiculously low price of 36 euros, we have a large ground floor room with a private patio area - the bikes are outside for the night. Technically, we are 100 m from the beach. But I think that’s straight down! We are in a nice area with lots of restaurants. Many of the tourists are elderly. Don’t think they’ll be partying until 4 am like our neighbours in Granada.

There are lots of international tourists here, and international restaurants too. I heard people from England, Scandinavia, and people speaking Dutch and German too. We had a late pizza lunch, then went for a short walk around town and near/above/on the beaches and had some delicious ice cream.

The views from the locally famous Balcón de Europa were fine. We finally saw one sailboat on the water. But nobody was swimming- it was only about 20 C today, so maybe a bit cool for a dip in the Med.

The highly recommended Hostal Tres Soles in Nerja. We were actually staying across the street from this building.

Our street in Nerja. It parallels the sea shore.

This guy was pretty relaxed, safe on his window sill.

One of the beaches in Nerja. That's the Balcon de Europa viewpoint above the beach.

We had yummy Indian food for dinner. What a treat to have a different flavour profile.

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 1,166 km (724 miles)

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Rachael AndersonI loved Nerja and Berja that was near there. We did some amazing rides with virtually no cars only bicycle racers in training.
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1 year ago