A surprise around every corner....

Sometimes when you are travelling around you have preconceived ideas of what a place will be like before you get there only to find that it's surprisingly  different to your expectations. Our next destination after 'turning the corner' of Southern Spain was Roquetas de Mar, I was expecting a typical busy tourist resort filled with tacky souvenir shops and loud bars, what we did find was much more relaxed, not a tacky souvenir outlet in sight and the bars and restaurants looked very inviting.

We found a place to park a little way from the many motorhomes crowded together in  the huge car park by the beach. We were right next to the cycle lane and the long promenade where it seemed the world and his wife were out walking, running or cycling! In fact you needed to be careful not to step out of the van too quickly for fear of bumping into one of the passers by! We discovered that you could cycle for miles either way along the coast and the weather was warm enough to spend the day out on our bikes with a picnic lunch.
After a couple of days the novelty of being in a rather public place wore off so we moved a mile or so along to a quieter  spot right on the beach.

Looking out over the bay of Almeria in a more secluded place suited us much better - when people pass by they can't help but look in on us, after a while you feel like you're living in a goldfish bowl.
At night you are lulled to sleep by the sound of the rolling waves and in the morning woken by the sun rising on the horizon. How perfect is that.... well perfect until they have a running race pass by you on a Sunday morning that is!

At least the runners didn't have time to stand and stare...

Locked out in a far distant corner of Spain

Cabo de Gata - the view across the bay to Almeria and the snow capped mountains of the
 Sierra Nevada  in the far distance

Have you ever locked yourself out? Do you recognise that heartsink feeling when you realise that you are outside your vehicle but all the keys are inside? Well, that is precisely what happened to us! We arrived at a lovely area to park at Cabo de Gata - the national park on the southeast tip of Spain. The sun was shining and we had taken our chairs out to enjoy a cup of tea and enjoy the view of the rolling waves, when I came to get back in the van I found all the doors were locked, the keys were inside - it's a ghastly feeling!

Fortunately (now, please don't repeat what I'm about to tell you) the van has a security weak spot and we were able to remove all the contents of the underbed storage area from the outside access door and Keith wriggled his way into the van, lifted the bed from underneath and got in to rescue the situation. Phew! Panic over but lesson learned not to operate the internal central locking system and then get out of the vehicle and shut the door! Take note other Motorhome owners!

One thing we discovered about Cabo de Gata that its very beautiful but it is also very windy. Not only that but just down the road there are saltpans and the salt seemed to permeate the wind covering the van in such a sticky layer of salt that we could hardly see out of the windscreen in the morning!

Nevertheless we enjoyed a couple of days here cycling along the long beach road to the nearby village stopping to watch the flamingos in the wetlands (sadly they were only distant pinkish blobs!)

Far distant Flamingos (the pinky white blobs)

Mooching in Mojacar

The cliff walk to Mojacar

Mojacar Pueblo

Our next stop was in the coastal town of Vera (pronounced by the Spanish as Bare-ra), we found a great place to park right by the beach and next to a lagoon, the added bonus was it was also on a cycle path which took us along the coast to Mojacar. It was also close to a launderette where we were able to catch up on a bit of a back log of washing!

The weather turned colder (relatively speaking!) a cold north wind meant we had to wrap up if we went out walking or on our bikes. One day we decided to cycle up to Mojacar pueblo (the village on the hill, not the sprawling Mojacar playa - the seaside resort) We soon warmed up cycling up the steep hill to the village! 

Mojacar pueblo was in the sixties almost derelict until it became a tourist resort and is now a thriving resort town with many ex-pat inhabitants enjoying the winter sunshine - it may be colder in Southern Spain than is normal for February but when the sun comes out if you can find a sheltered  spot it's lovely!

The car park in Vera we made our home for 5 nights

As you know we don't tend to stay anywhere long so after five days we moved about eight miles south to a beach bar car park we have visited in the past. It's a great place to stop for a day or two but you have to just watch out for the slightly dodgy bloke who runs the bar (ask Keith for the story about his encounter with him!) We were able to park right on the edge of the beach and have access to water and toilet. From here there is a two mile long scenic walk cut into the cliff side into Mojacar. We were also in the area at the right time to see the Carnival which, unfortunately for all the scantily clad participants, was on a rather cloudy and cold evening! It wasn't a massive event but the music was loud and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves!

A strange natural sculpture at Bolnuevo

After leaving Totana our next destination was Bolnuevo a delightful coastal resort renowned for Gredas de Bolnuevo - a curious formation of naturally sculpted rock formed over millions of years by wind erosion of the soft limestone creating a magical landscape. A vast car park by the Gredas meant there was plenty of space for a handful of motorhomes to park (ignoring the 'No motorhomes' sign - during low season the police regularly patrol but don't bother to move us on)

We were also able to walk along the coastal path south, a rugged path following the ups and downs of the coast with a few secluded rocky beaches. We were joined by our friends Maureen and Andy for the walk on what turned out to be the hottest day of our trip so far. 

The sea was a beautiful shade of turquoise on our walk from Bolnuevo

We then returned to La Azohia having left last time with 'unfinished business ' i.e. Walks and cycle rides still to do. The weather became changeable, but we were still able to get out every day either walking or cycling. We felt we were getting to know the area better and went out walking in the hills, but without Andy guiding the way we got lost and never found our way to the secret beach, instead we found ourselves wandering around in the scrub having lost the path. Nevertheless we had a lovely walk with fabulous views.

Andy and Maureen took us out one day to one of their favourite restaurants which is actually a truck stop, but forget all thoughts of 'Greasy slice' ! For 10€ per person we had a four course meal with coffee and drinks included. The food was traditionally Spanish with a shared mixed salad as first course followed by mixed seafoods soup or meat stew then for main course was Pork cheek stew, fish or lamb chops. Dessert was Flan (creme caramel) , chocolate or cheesecake or icecream.

The atmosphere was typical Spain with the TV in the corner and noisy hustle & bustle, but the staff were friendly and welcoming, busy with lunchtime trade and a fairly rapid turnover of customers.

Andy and Maureen weren't sure we would like it there, but we loved the traditional Spanish ambiance and really enjoyed the food. If you're passing that way it's called La Cruce at Ramonete on the RM-332.
Well recommended!