Hordes of foreign visitors boarding a tour bus are a familiar sight on the Costa de Sol.
However, this was a unique early morning trip to Fuengirola for the start of Nadal's farewell show.
Because the media room at the Palacio de Deportes was too small to accommodate the journalists who wanted to speak with Nadal, hundreds of reporters and photographers were instead asked to go to the five-star Hotel Higueron in the hills overlooking the tourist resort.
In a huge conference hall, journalists were reminded that this was the Spanish team's press conference and not just the Nadal show.
Inevitably, almost all questions – both in the English and Spanish parts – were directed at Nadal.
Nadal's answers included the importance of saying goodbye at home, the thought process that led to his retirement announcement and that he assumed Roger Federer was “too busy” to show up in Malaga.
Federer and Nadal famously held hands and cried as the Swiss star retired from the Laver Cup in 2022.
One would expect similar enthusiasm from Nadal – with or without Federer – when Spain says “Gracias Rafa” this week.