The TV series Verano Azul is a distant memory for those that arrived on the Costa Tropical in the late 70’s/early 80’s – not so over in Nerja.

This emblematic children’s series was set in Nerja, though filmed in other towns like Almuñécar and Motril, and one of its main characters was an old sea dog, Chanquete, who lived in a converted fishing boat – La Dorada.

Wisely cashing in on the popularity of this nationwide hit, Nerja placed a replica of La Dorada in the Verano Azul park – that was 14 years ago and time takes its toll, which was why the boat has just undergone restoration work.

Work commenced back in May last year, using a budget of 36,245 euros, to get the landlocked vessel up to scratch and now its pretty close to finished.

The fund came from the municipal coffers but there had been hope that the public national broadcasting entity, RTVA, would chip in, but nothing came of it.

The reason that such a sum was needed to restore it was because besides the 14 years sitting in a sun-beaten park, it had also spent many years beating up and down the Mediterranean in its original life.

They had hoped that they could get away with replacing the decking, but closer inspection revealed that a lot more had to be changed. So, the deck and superstructure were replaced using a resilient wood much used in modern ship construction and down below as well, before the whole exterior was sanded down and repainted.

(News: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Nerja, Malaga, Andalucia)