Blogs from Almería, Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 2

Motorhome News from Spain I 19th December 2013 - 21st January 2014 Ruta de los Piratas - The Route of the Pirates Hola Sunshine! Christmas might be coming, but the very thought of another dark and cold British winter is making our feet itch. With dazzling blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine almost guaranteed, we're beginning to think a couple of months in Spain might be a good idea. En route we'll pay a brief visit to Limoges in France to see daughter Sonia and grandson Frederick, now six and eleven twelfths, for Christmas. We've not done that before. Maybe we should take some mince pies and a Christmas pudding. We all know that Christmas is for kids and that's where the real fun begins, but we're all kids at heart and Janice and I both love ... read more

When I first arrive in Mojacar, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I had just left Iceland and the UK and arrived in a resorty little town on the Mediterranean coast of Spain in the middle of summer. It was quite a change. At first I didn’t really like it. Big rows of sparkly new hotels line the main road, built high for a view of the beach. Bars spill onto the sand and a lot of retired English people lay in the boiling sun, accompanied by Spanish young families and their shrieking children. Everything seems a little swish and new and overdone. This is one element of this town, but after living there for a month, my opinion changed. I had moved there to start a month internship with Costa Almeria News, an English ... read more

On the road by 9.40am, we waved Camping Rio Java goodbye. A good site all told for the 40 Euro’s (approximately £33.00 GBP), pitches a bit small but well worth the two nights stay. We toured up the coast road, passing the turning we took yesterday to The Rock, and followed the signs for Malaga. Woolly says – it was a bit of a boring drive, with areas built up around the road we could glimpse the sea every now and then through the concrete jungles of Marbella and Malaga, but the sun was out so we sat back and let Oliver pound over the miles. With 97km to go we started going through the mountains and the views changed dramatically, with the road sweeping left and right we were steadily climbing. The further we went ... read more

Almería, located on the Southeast coast of Spain, surrounded by the calm and warm Mediterranean, is a crucible of cultures that offers travelers a wonderful variety of, beaches, sports, culture, and a varied night life. When entering Almería the first impression we get is its Mediterranean flavour. What was once the main port of Al-Andalus is now, as then, an open and welcoming city accustomed to receiving people from all over the world. The city is a rich compendium of artistic styles and contrasting atmospheres bathed in the perpetual, brilliant sunlight which seems to be brighter here than anywhere else. Parque Nicolás Salmerón leads us into the old town which in turn gives access to the Alcazaba (Moorish fortress). Churches, convents and monasteries rise from the narrow streets, inviting us to discover the city’s rich religious ... read more

So, we're on another train, this time heading to Madrid. I'm typing with one hand and holding my nose with the other as I suspect the mumbling loon sitting a few feet away has thoroughly soiled himself. Jo is endeavouring to watch the entirety of New Moon in Spanish (Edward is sooo cute in any language (Jo just let me know that Edward isn't really in this one; Jacob is sooo cute in any language). We've spent the last week in Almeria, a small city on the southern coast of Spain, not frequented by many foreign tourists. Barely anyone spoke English, but we'd given up on trying be culturally sensitive and try Spanish, so we flipped the verbal bird and launched into the good old lingua franca on most occasions (I do enjoy saying 'adios' and ... read more