I didn't try to hop out of bed today, I had the sense to do so gingerly. In the past, when I have overdone it, I often found that the day after the day after was the worst. This was starting off like that, or it could just be that my rest day hadn't done anything to heal me, because it didn't turn out to be a rest day. I had plans for today :-)
We drove over to the caves, I almost regretted giving up our convenient parking place only a few minutes walk from the hotel. However I did say I had plans and continuing to torture my legs wasn't part of it. Mind you, the descent into the cavern did hurt a bit, but the splendour of the caves took my mind off it completely.These are dry limestone caves, the rivers that once flowed through them have moved on due the tectonic uplift and other technical geological and geomorphological factors, I don't plan on delving into here. If you have any questions, I suggest you ask Mr. Google.
The caves are truly awesome. I've been to all of the open public show caves in Ireland and nothing compares, though I loved the boat trip at the Marble Arch Caves.
Photographs just can't do justice to them. All I can say is go and see them for yourself. I took hundreds of shots and could have filled several servers with them. This is just a tiny selection.
The shapes and textures just capture your imagination. This is like walking into a magnificent art gallery of the works of the masters, only this master is Mother Nature.
You can get some sense of the scale of this cavern from the tiny humans on the walkway emerging on the left from behind this column. For me, this was a religious experience. It must be what visiting the Vatican and going inside St. Pauls is like for a devout Roman Catholic.
These caves are the result of geologic processes that began over 225 million years ago when the limestone beds were first laid down. Tectonic pressures between the African and European plates led to the creation of these mountains over a period that stretches from 65 to 5 million years ago and it was at the end of this period that water began to perform its craft on the rock to carve out these caves. Rome wasn't built in a day you know.
These public galleries represent only about 1/4 of the caves. You can arrange supervised trips to the closed galleries, which is something I would love to do. The trips are for a full day and are for a minimum of 10 cavers, minimum age 14. Anyone on for a trip below ground?
I labelled this post, "Wombles for a Day" because a line from a song I never liked wormed its way into my head, the lines (with a little poetic license) go:
You can Google Wombles if you need any help with the concept, I shall not return to the subject :-)
Underground, overground, wombling free,
The Wombles of Cuevas de Nerja are we.
It was with great reluctance that we climbed out of these caves and back into blazing sunlight. We took a nostalgic wander around the park and wondered about what lay hidden beneath our feet before we headed back to the car.
Returning to Nerja, my earlier misgivings were shown to be right, there was no free parking to be had within an asses roar of our hotel. We ended up parked outside someone elses hotel on the far side of town. But by this time my legs were working properly again and the lure of an ice cream on the way back through the Balcon de Europa (the center of all life in Nerja) gave me the childish enthusiasm.
Lunch and a siesta in our room, was followed by a brisk walk along a beach we hadn't been on before and a visit to the Museum. The museum is small and compact and focused on the history and archeology of Nerja and surrounding areas. At this point in the year, it looked like they weren't ready for tourists yet. Several of the displays weren't working. I would love to have seen more on the archeology of the caves. Prehistory is my kind of history.
Our evening was a relaxed affair with a wonderful meal in an Indian Restaurant, at the end of the evening, I was once again surprised at the bill; so inexpensive for delicious food.
So that was my kind of day, underground, overground, short walks and good food. Tomorrow will be different, lots different.
Returning to Nerja, my earlier misgivings were shown to be right, there was no free parking to be had within an asses roar of our hotel. We ended up parked outside someone elses hotel on the far side of town. But by this time my legs were working properly again and the lure of an ice cream on the way back through the Balcon de Europa (the center of all life in Nerja) gave me the childish enthusiasm.
Lunch and a siesta in our room, was followed by a brisk walk along a beach we hadn't been on before and a visit to the Museum. The museum is small and compact and focused on the history and archeology of Nerja and surrounding areas. At this point in the year, it looked like they weren't ready for tourists yet. Several of the displays weren't working. I would love to have seen more on the archeology of the caves. Prehistory is my kind of history.
Our evening was a relaxed affair with a wonderful meal in an Indian Restaurant, at the end of the evening, I was once again surprised at the bill; so inexpensive for delicious food.
So that was my kind of day, underground, overground, short walks and good food. Tomorrow will be different, lots different.
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