What happened to the Nerja of 'Verano Azul'?
Probably a good part of Traveler's readers have seen it in one of the numerous reruns that have been made on TVE. It premiered in the fall of 1981 and since then Nerja has never been the same . The adventures and misadventures of this curious gang placed this charming town in Malaga on the map of Spain and I am sure that I am not the only one who has come to the town excitedly asking about "Where is Chanquete's boat?"
From 'Verano azul' to 'Blue summer': this is the Nerja of the 21st century
35 years later, camera in hand, we go through the main locations that television showed us between the months of October and February at the beginning of the 1980s, when this was less of a “silly box” and more of a window to the world for the Spanish.
We are in the easternmost part of the region of the Axarquia, in the province of Malaga, one of the most touristic places in the region, something that, to a large extent, they owe to the fiction directed by Antonio Mercero . Okay, maybe the many guiris that we meet in these parts have no idea who Chanquete was. The many Spaniards who have come this far do know who it is and we must confess that one of the reasons for the visit – those of us who have made it on occasion – has been to check if the Ayo's beach bar to ask us for one of those paellas that looked so good.
As soon as we arrive we see the first indications that remind us of those vacations in 1981: to the right, Verano Azul Park and chaquente boat La Dorada . We leave these 'main dishes' for last and continue straight to get lost in the center.
balcony of europe
The balcony of europe It could be considered the heart of Nerjeño and it is one of the first scenes that appear in the series, while Julia practiced what she called jogging – today running, we have changed the word but we continue with the anglicisms. The truth is little has changed from this picturesque ride , perhaps that now the foreigners win the game against the nationals. The panoramic view of the Costa del Sol from here is spectacular and this circular plaza with King Alfonso XII watching over the scene –take a selfie with the monarch– allows you to discover, from a bird's eye view, one of the coves where Bea, Pancho, Desi, Tito, Javi, Piraña and Quique used to play, Calahonda.
Alfonso XII guarding the scene
We went down a kind of passageway to this little piece of the Mediterranean. In the 80s you didn't have to get up early to get a seat and you didn't have to dodge towels to be able to take a bath. As we have changed! And this is going to happen on other beaches where it was filmed: the Molino de la Miel, on the cliffs of Maro-Cerro Gordo, or La Caleta , which at the time seemed to be the private property of the gang.
Nerja from beach to beach
Very close to the Balcón de Europa is the Current Town Hall , which was not the one that Antonio Mercero recorded as such. The one that then served as the town hall is located in Plaza Cabana, a few meters from the main balcony, and today it has given way to the ** Hotel Plaza Cabana **. This location appeared in several of the episodes, so if you are a big fan it may sound familiar to you.
Strolling through the center we are likely to come across this sign 'Bar El Molino, an old oil mill, was Frasco's tavern in the television series Verano Azul'. It is on San José street and it is a flamenco tablao with a long history, well known among the neighbors and one of the essential places of passage in Antonio Ferrandis, from our Chanquete.
The Mill Bar
We are now going to go through one more protagonist of the production, Julia's house . Surrounded by flowers, in a spacious patio with lots of light, this whitewashed house shows us in the first frames a young woman Maria Garralon eager to bring a painting to life. Witnessing the situation Tito, Quique and Javi who describe the work as 'crush'. What a start! Well, this residence is still standing, only that over the years some walls have been erected that protect it from looks as curious as mine. We will find it next to the Parador de Turismo, next to Burriana beach, another of the scenarios, perhaps one of the ones that have best stood the test of time, is practically the same!
Facade of Julia's house
From here we planted in just a few minutes in Burriana , The next stop. We can go down from the Parador along a path prepared to connect this high part with the coastline or take the car and try to park on the seafront. We warn that in summer it can be very difficult to find parking.
This is the largest beach in Nerja and one of the most visited – by fans and non-fans of fiction, right? The ride was renamed as ' Antonio Mercero promenade ’ and one of the streets that lead to it is called Antonio Ferrandiz Chanquete. The same thing in the XXI century when seeing the sign of the road is to ask: "Ferrandiz with 'z' or with 's'?" Let's 'Google' quickly to check that someone screwed up, huh? The protagonist's last name ends in that.
Tribute to Mercero
Errata aside, going along the promenade we will come across a monument in honor of the director of Verano Azul, a management chair with the name of Mercero . And if we go a little further, we can have a Tinto de Verano on the terrace of what was –and still is– the ** Chiringuito de Ayo **. A kind of pyramid crowns the restaurant, a place that still preserves the essence of the traditional picnic areas of the Malaga coast, probably the only one that still maintains sand as a floor. I mean, we can be trying the famous Ayo's paellas while we bury our feet in the sand on the beach. You like the idea, right?
At the bar I found a sign that left me speechless: Blue Summer Route ! I found it late, it would have saved me from getting lost looking for some of the locations of the series but that doesn't mean that I don't want to share the discovery with you. As they explained to me there, they have been organizing for years and it is the not so young Tito, the actor Miguel Joven – it's not a joke or irony, eh? he is surnamed like this–, the guide. There is the option of a 'basic' visit or we can opt for the Fan Pack , t-shirt and cap included, or the Super Fan, with t-shirt, cap and mug included.
Ayo's Beach Bar
From the sea we jump to the mountain to review the one who was another actor/actress in this story, specifically in chapter 11 he monopolized numerous shots, the so-called 'Green Cat Cave' . Yes, it exists; yes, you can visit. It's in the Honey River , just below the A7 viaduct that connects Nerja with Almuñécar. Here the exteriors were recorded while the interiors are from the famous Nerja Cave, discovered in 1959 and which awaits paintings that are considered to be the first known works of art in the history of mankind, 42,000 years old. It is considered a Site of Cultural Interest and Historical Heritage of Spain and you can visit both on your own and on guided tours.
The time is coming to close this trunk of memories. The best way to do this is by hanging the 'The End' in what is probably the most photographed 'monument' in all of Nerja, the Chanquete boat. The original location of the 'Dorada 1ª' is on one of the peaks with views of the sea that wind along the Malaga coast, near Burriana beach. Between orchards and ditches was what was nothing more than a full-scale model made in Prado del Rey, in Madrid. What we can visit today is a replica of what was the home of the sailor in the Blue Summer Park, a tribute that the town of Nerja paid to a television production that gave it much of the fame it enjoys today. It is made up of an area for children's games and a car park where yes or yes it's time to take another selfie, and that is because each of the streets in the car park has been baptized with the name of the chapters of fiction and there are also plaques with the image of each of the actors in the series.
They won't move us from Chanquete's ship
We put the full stop, of course, with the melody of Blue summer . How not to remember it and end up humming it when remembering all this? Although it may seem incredible, not all the images that appeared in the header and at the end of each broadcast belong to this municipality, but a good part of them were shot in the port of Motril, in Granada.