Costa de Almeria - chilling by the Med...

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After a three hour delay out of East Midlands we are delighted to finally land into Almeria in the south of Spain and find that our car hire company is still open and waiting for us (they were scheduled to close an hour ago). So after handing over our credit card and signing the appropriate forms we’re handed the keys to our hire car for our long weekend - a left hand drive Seat Leon - and we head off on the 1.5 hour drive to our B&B.

At first the feat seemed a little daunting considering it’s now 11:45pm and Lachlan’s first attempt at driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, but as we potter along we find things aren’t too hard. Thanks to the good instructions given to us by the B&B, the only interruption to the journey occurs when we’re stopped by the police for a breath test - in Spanish! ‘Mui bien’ says the policewoman as she shows us the zero reading and waves us on.

Despite intending to have a costal holiday, we have decided to stay in a quiet hamlet tucked away in the mountains and we arrive at our B&B just before 1:30am. Our room in the converted farmhouse is beautifully decorated (Spanish with a modern twist), and as soon as we sink in to the big bed we fall straight to sleep.

With the shutters closed it’s hard to tell how bright Saturday morning is but with one peek, Lachlan can’t resist opening the balcony doors and windows wide to reveal a stunning view of the surrounding hillsides which we were completely oblivious to the evening before. It’s cool and bright and we get the feeling it’s going to be a very hot day - just what we’ve been waiting for!

We get ready quickly and head downstairs to be greeted by a large wooden table set for two with a lovely array of fresh fruit, cereals and home made jams. Across the breakfast table the views on to the garden, the pool and the hills beyond are just magic.

After the late drive last night, we don’t feel like getting straight back in to the car so instead we head out for a walk around the area while the air is still cool. From our B&B we follow a dry creek bed through the gardens of locals and past small villages spotting along the way eucalyptus trees, lemon trees, and grapes (including some that have been left on the vine too long and have turned into raisins!). At the end of the track, we head uphill and are rewarded by a spectacular view of the area we’ve just walked through.

By the time we make it back to the B&B it’s already lunch time so we jump into the car and drive to the weekly market in nearby Vera. It doesn’t take long for us to get there and as we step our of our air conditioned car the heat hits us like that from an oven. The markets are in full swing and locals are selling clothing and fresh fruit and vegetables. We pick up some juicy grapes for our road trip over the next few days before finding our way to a small outdoor cafe for a simple lunch.

Afterwards, on our wander around town, we spot a supermarket and venture in in search of ice cream. Exploring a supermarket in a foreign country is a real adventure and something we try to do in most countries we visit. It opens your eyes to people’s domestic eating habits and in turn gives you an insight in to what life is like for the locals. Who knows what marvels tourists find in Woolworths in Oz or Tesco in the UK?

Inside the Vera supermarket we find the seafood and meat counters the most fascinating. There’s whole octopi (including one which easily weighs 4kg+), dozens of fresh squid, and a little further along rows and rows of whole Serrano ham legs with their hooves still attached. The hams are oh so Spanish and are quite a process to cure - being salted and air cured over a period of 12 -18 months. Surrounded by so much good food we can’t help but pick some bits and pieces up and we end up walking out with ice cream and small packets of olives, Serrano ham, and local cheese.

From Vera we drive to the nearby Garrucha beach in order to catch our first glimpse at the Mediterranean Sea. The water looks very inviting, and while we wish we bought our bathers, we’ve at least got a plan for tomorrow. For today we’ll have to settle for a swim at the B&B.

So back in the mountains we jump in the pool before lounging in the shaded hammocks and sun chairs laid out for us on the deck. Resting in the shade, reading a good book looking out at the pool and Spanish hills beyond, we’re feeling really chilled out.

By dinner time (8:00pm) it is still light but we are starving so it’s fortunate that at breakfast this morning we had already pre-ordered dinner from our hostess. What a spread she lays out for us! Gaspaccio to start, pork served with spanish rice and ratatouille (all vegetables are from her garden) for main and an amazing dessert of fresh figs (also from the garden) cooked in red wine and served with vanilla ice cream. We’re in heaven! Washing it all down with a lovely bottle of Spanish red, which we move out to the terrace to enjoy the stars, we couldn’t be happier.

The next morning at breakfast we mention to the hostess that we will probably head to the beach today. Her suggestion is that we get down there early, grab the best sun-bed and book a table for lunch.

So a couple of hours later we find ourselves in Mojacar doing just that. It’s before midday so we score a pair of sun-beds complete with cushions and a straw umbrella set low to keep the sun off us, prepared personally by a very tanned man with a crazy mane of curly hair and bright pink straw hat. Fabulous! We settle in to our front row seats and stare out at the invitingly blue sea. Hang on, what’s that? A topless woman? Another one? By the time our lunch is ready at 1:00pm we are surrounded by women who can’t bare to sunbathe if there’s risk of any tan lines and it’s not even one of the dedicated nudist beaches! We, conservatively in comparison, cover up.

From our sun beds we make our way up to the open air restaurant and no sooner do we take our seats and order some drinks than our seafood paella arrives. We feel like locals listening to Spanish music on the Med; eating paella surrounded by an abundance of tanned laid back people.

After one final dip in the water and another lounge on our beach chairs, we agree that while it would be very tempting to wile away the rest of the day right here, we really should get back in the car and explore the area some more.

We’ve heard great things about the nearby National Park and hop back in to a now very hot car (we’ve forgotten what it’s like to leave your car in the blazing sun for a few hours) and drive south towards Cabo de Gata.

As we draw near, we turn left towards the coast and after passing by what seems like hundreds of plastic greenhouses (or white houses as most of them are) we reach the edge of the park. The change is instant as we meander through picturesque valleys and past spectacular remote coastline. At the edge of the park we reach a long beach, which reminds us a lot of home, with a lake opposite. Pulling up, we know we’ve found what we came here to see- pink flamingos! There are dozens of them flapping about in the water and standing about on one leg. When they take flight the bright pink under their wings is clearly visible and we feel quite fortunate to be so close to them, although Lachlan wishes the hide could have been positioned even closer for photographic purposes. Always the perfectionist.

Weary but satisfied we start the drive back to Garrucha on the hunt for some dinner at one of the many seafood restaurants we had spotted yesterday along the water front. It’s now 9:30pm but still very warm and the Spanish tourists have the same idea as us- a long stroll along the board walk and a late night meal to top off another splendid day in Spain.

The next morning we bid farewell to our B&B and its hostess who has taken good care of us over the past few days and follow her instructions to the nearby Arboleas where we find a local internet cafe to complete our online check-in and print out our boarding passes. The quaint Spanish town seems to be full of English expats who’ve made the dream move abroad to sunny Spain. We wonder to ourselves what the Spanish locals think of it all. There would obviously be positives but surely one outcome would be the dilution of local culture. It’s no doubt arguable that through globalisation and the EU that traditional culture will be being slowly diluted anyway, but surely the large expat presence would speed this up.

From Arboleas to the airport we take a slight detour to Agua Amarga to catch a brief glimpse at yet another spectacular beach. The small town has the feel of somewhere like Emu Park, although with a picturesque coastline and quintessential white washed buildings you could be nowhere but the Mediterranean.

With time running short we turn and cut a beeline for the airport - stopping along the way to refuel our diesel hire car. Normally this should be a straight forward task but everything at the bowser is written in Spanish. Our two fuel options are “Oct-o-something 98” and “gasolina”. Clearly the 98 one isn’t diesel, but is the other one? Hope so. Luckily we make it the next 20kms to the airport and return the hire car without drama.

So our long weekend is over, but what a great way to spend a relaxing long weekend in the sunshine! We must admit we love Spain!

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Photos

Costa de Almeria
A day in the sunshine on the Med- Mojacar Playa

Olives
Apparently in Arboleas there's an oil plant where locals take their olives. They are given x Litres of oil for y kgs of olives - or if you've got enough olives you can have your own oil pressed!

Hammock under an almond tree
Made even more relaxing by being poolside!

Lunch
Seafood paella on the beach - how Spanish!

Majacar Pueblo
In among the whitewashed streets...

Agua Amarga
The approach to the small sea side village from the north.

Agua Amarga
On the beach front...

Comments

[Andray Bath]

love the comparison!
I love the comparison of Agua Amarga with Emu Park!