Into the mountains of Velez Rubio

We had a fabulous week in Mojacar with the company of our new friends Martyn and Izzie, Barry and Jean, we cycled into the hills beyond Mojacar Pueblo, we walked along the coast both ways, had drinks together and a great Menu Del Dia in the Irish Rover Bar in town. But all good things must come to an end and eventually we went our separate ways, the others headed south whilst we stayed a bit longer to visit our dentist for annual checkups and hygienist appointments (we get excellent treatment at the Mojacar Dental clinic, it costs considerably less than in the UK and they speak English - but it is a long way to go to visit your dentist!)

We then headed inland to meet up with some friends who live in Zurgena, a sleepy Spanish village where we were treated to having the use of a rather swish villa owned by their neighbour, it even had a swimming pool but sadly it was far too cold to make use of it. Philip and Krystina looked after us extremely well and we discovered what a marvellous cook Krystina is! We went out and walked their two dogs scrumping for oranges on our way back. Oranges picked straight from the tree are the sweetest you have ever tasted!
Saying a sad farewell to Philip and Krystina we headed further inland to Velez Rubio, a town surrounded by imposing mountains and a short distance from the Parque Natural de la Sierra Maria here we anticipated some good cycling and we were not disappointed!

Velez Blanco castle

We stayed on the free Aire on the edge of town and spent a few enjoyable days exploring the town which has a very good local museum and tourist centre (entry fee only 1€ !) and a Saturday market with very cheap fruit & veg as well as getting out exploring the local countryside.
We made some more new friends Jane and Keir, who I'm sure we will meet up with again on our travels.
And on our last day we awoke to find our step had been stolen! Poor Keith nearly had a nasty accident stepping out onto a non-existent step! It left us wondering who would do such a thing- another motorhomer or maybe someone more local? We will never know, but we did go to a Chinese supermarket and bought a cheap plastic step which cracked and became useless the very same day! I don't know, the trials and tribulations of being a motorhomer!

Nevertheless we really liked this area and particularly the abundance of cycling routes, the towns like Velez Blanco, snuggled into the hillside and dominated by a very imposing castle and the very 'spanishness' of the region - no tacky tourist shops here!
Having spent so much time in Spain we feel much more comfortable than we used to and even though we only speak a little Spanish, we feel relaxed and at home - it all feels less foreign. We can certainly understand people wanting to move to Spain for the weather when we have had so many days of sun, warmth and blue skies, when the sun shines its lifts your mood and gives you the opportunity to spend so much time outdoors (hence the many keen Spanish cyclists!)
But moving lock, stock and barrel to Spain is not on our agenda so we content ourselves with living in Spain in our motorhome, if we don't like a place we can simply move on!

Velez Rubio

Firecrackers in the night!!

Las Gredas de Bolnuevo (sandstone formations)

Sadly we ended up making a hasty exit from La Azohia, after a visit by the police word quickly spread that all the motorhomers parked up on the rough ground on the seafront had to leave by Monday (a couple of days away).
We decided to head off straight away and travelled about 7 miles along the coast to Bolnuevo, a quiet and unspoilt village with a handful of shops and restaurants. In the centre of the resort are strange natural sandstone sculptures created by the weather eroding the rocks over thousands of years. In front of these weird sculptures is a huge car park overlooking the beach where motorhomes can park for 48 hours. Unfortunately the local young people think it fun to keep the motorhomers awake in the early hours of the morning by setting off loud firecrackers and hooting their car horns. Sadly, it seems another beautiful place has become another place where motorhomers are being made to feel less than welcome.

Fortunately, we didn't experience the noises in the night personally as we were at the opposite end of the car park and enjoyed our stay in Bolnuevo meeting up with a lovely couple we had met in La Azohia the previous week (Martyn  & Isabel) Together we enjoyed a day out walking (and talking!) along the coast path with a picnic on the beach, the weather being very warm and sunny, but maybe not quite hot enough for a dip in the sea!
Leaving Bolnuevo the next day we travelled further south along the coast to Mojacar where we parked up right on the beach just south of the town, we love it there listening to the sound of the waves lulling you to sleep in the night. It's a peaceful place to park up, the police occasionally pass by without stopping and it seems that Free camping here in this area is maybe better tolerated then in other areas.

Martyn, Izzy, Barry, Jean, Keith & me on the cliff path to Mojacar 

Our stay here was made even more enjoyable in that we were joined a couple of days later by Martyn and Isabel as well as Barry and Jean who made our acquaintance via the Free camping group on Facebook. And so began a very enjoyable week of company on Mojacar Playa.
One of the wonderful things about this Motoroaming life is all the people we meet along the way, from all different walks of life, on similar or different journeys, but we all have Motorhoming in common that bonds us and creates lasting friendships.

Our parking spot for the week - Mojacar in the distance