Almerimar

Sunday 30/12/2018

We can see the distant snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada through our windscreen

We are hunkered down in Almerimar and decided to sit here until the New Year.  The wind came up yesterday and has been getting stronger and stronger, we now like the van who parked up against us, as he is shielding us from the worst of the gale.   Yesterday was cloudy so quite grim outside; today we have at least had sunshine although the wind is biting cold.

We have been catching up on reading, some admin and long walks through Almeira, taking some pics along the way.  Tomorrow the weather should hopefully improve and we will see if there is anything happening for New Year's.

There are loads of golf courses in Almerimar

Some of the locals and motor-homers have been fishing from the harbour walls in front of us and I was treated to a spectacle when a German motor-homer who is parked near us hooked an octopus.  He knew he wanted to eat it and had to disable it somehow and get it into a plastic bag, but was clearly terrified of actually touching it.  His dancing around reminded me of a puppy playing with a crab, determined to be brave but terrified of a nip to the nose! He eventually succeeded and was very chuffed with himself.

This cormorant caught a huge fish and was beating it on the surface when it escaped

Today we went on a long walk and about 2 km into it I realised Bokkie's keys were no longer in my pocket.  The walk back was somewhat 'brisker' but there was no sign of the keys.  Luckily, it seems that they had dropped out of my pocket within the port area and some kind soul handed them in at the port office.  Phew!  We have become a bit casual about carrying the spares but will be more careful in the future.

Best idea for a windy day!

Our view of the sunset over the breakwater

Almerimar

Friday 28/12/2018

We had a rough night in Cabo; Spanish lovers arguing at midnight (or were they just talking?), cars coming and going, rubbish collections at all hours and even a helicopter in the night. Such is the price you pay for staying in a free parking spot...!  We decided on an early start as we wanted to beat the masses to the shops in Almeira.

We went to Lidl and refilled Bokkie's lockers with food and did some shopping for other bits at some sports shops.  We even popped into McDonalds for some coffee (properly brewed - none of the instant stuff) with ice cream in which was delicious.

We worked out more or less where we wanted to be and headed off again after a couple of hours.  The landscape is quite mountainous inland with every available flat area covered by tunnels, this really is Europe's vegetable garden.  We tried to photograph it while on the move but it is almost impossible to capture the sheer scale of it.  If you zoom out of the Google Map above you can see the large white / silver areas, these are all plastic covered tunnel farms.

A 'sea' of poly-tunnels

We left the main highway after about 35km south of Almeria and headed for Almerimar, a resort town with a fairly busy marina.  We stopped in a local parking lot and walked into town to investigate the parking arrangements for motor-homes, and it was bustling in the midday rush before everything closes.  After much walking we came up with a plan and fetched Bokkie.  We are now in a paid Aire in the marina, in a spot that opened up as we arrived, right next to the harbour mouth.  

Dropping back down to the coast

The packed marina extends right into the village

Bokkie is resting on the other side of the control tower

Unfortunately it is outside the marked off areas, as they are all full - possibly people settling in for the New Year - and someone has now parked right next to us which is a pity.  We are constantly amazed at the sheer number of motor-homes on the road and in every coastal town.  There is a real 'migrating community' - we are even seeing some familiar faces in new spots!

We may see if we can move later when people leave and we still need to decide where to spend New Year.

The view out of Bokkie's door

Cabo de Gata

Thursday 27/12/18

We had been stationary for so long it seemed to take ages to get everything packed away this morning, to turn Bokkie back into a vehicle and not a house,  but we knew we only had a short drive so weren't worried.

Only half an hour's drive to Cabo de Gata, a small fishing village just outside the park, was our destination and we timed it perfectly.  As we arrived, one of the beach-facing spots opened up and we pulled straight in to see the fishing boats returning with their catches.  The locals all arrived to buy whatever the catch was, not sure if it is fish or shellfish, pretty small scale. 

We took a walk through the village to see the lay of the land and to find an open supermarket for some essentials.  We managed to find one, packed to the rafters, and we had to practice our non-existent Spanish to get some cheese, eggs and yogurt.  Mission accomplished.

We had lunch and were feeling quite flat, probably still recovering from yesterday's hike up the mountain.  Nothing for it, bikes off and a cycle to the reserve.  According to Google Maps (and what we could see) it was quite flat for most of the ride with a few 'bumps at the end.

Google makes it look quite manageable

It turned out to be quite a dramatic climb up followed by a steep drop to the lighthouse but the view made it worth it, although we weren't looking forward to the sharp climb back out.

Church of the Almadraba

Climbing and climbing

On the way back we passed the saline lakes where sea salt is harvested, and there are some flamingos on some of them.  Unfortunately they were too far to pick up in the phone's camera but it was lovely sitting in the hide for a while, pretending we were in Kruger Park, bird-watching!

We spent the rest of the afternoon taking some pics and people watching, it's quite a busy aire with around 30 motor-homes.  Had to wrap up with obligatory sunset photo as well.  We will never get tired of the privilege of seeing these sunsets from such a prime spot!

Leaving Los Escullos

Wednesday 26/12/18

Tomorrow we are leaving Los Escullos, detaching Bokkie's electric umbilical cord, riding off the chocks and getting on the move again.  Not too far, I don't think, as we still want to see more of the Cabo de Gata park area.

The dynamic of the campsite changed after Christmas with quite a few motorhomes leaving (some of the quiet couples around us) and a few families with young kids have arrived.  It adds a different buzz to the campsite but it was certainly a lovely spot to spend Christmas.  We spent the rest of our time cycling, walking, hiking and reading.  We also have all our laundry up to date, ready for being on the road again.

We went to watch the sun rise on Christmas morning, the colour of the sky told us it would be good

Fantastic, if non-traditional, Christmas meal of Spanish Sirloin, accidentally roast potatoes veg and salad.

Hiking in the mountains over Los Escullos

The campsite is the green triangle in the middle

Bokkie's been well-rested, hopefully she can remember how this travelling thing works...

Merry Christmas

Tuesday 25/12/2018

To all our family, friends and followers;

Merry Christmas!

Geseënde Kersfees

Felize Navidad

Feliz Natal

Los Escullos

Monday 24/12/2018
https://goo.gl/maps/fHVKPv6U4Jp
36°48'10.2"N 2°04'43.6"W

We've been enjoying the hikes, walks, beach and generally chilling in the area as the campsite gradually fills up.  The weather has been great, it's not warm unless you get out of the wind and bake in the sun a bit, but the sun has been shining every day (which is an unheard of Christmas season phenomenon for us = after 13 years in the UK!)

We were intrigued by the rock formations at Playa del Arco, the local beach.  I read up on it and it turns out it is a series of fossilised dunes, very interesting.

Today we cycled into San Jose and explored the village, riding up every steep road (and there were plenty) and ending up at the marina, watching a myriad of fish in the water.  The sea life here seems fairly prolific, probably due to being on the edge of a marine reserve - which gives the fish and sea-life some chance of survival.

We headed back later and had festive Christmas-eve lunch in the sun - complete with our tiny little Christmas tree - thanks Ettienne & Debbi.  The campsite got quite noisy for the first time with some of the Brits and some of the Dutch getting together in separate groups for a boozy afternoon 'kuier' (no, we did not join the British group.....or the Dutch one.  The SA group of 2 had a quiet game of Scrabble instead 😊)