Almería and Murcia Spain (Sept 23)

We spent the week exploring the remote and unspoilt eastern corners of Andalusia and its neighbouring region, Murcia. This part of Spain has much to offer, from its Moorish influence and Roman ruins to its mountains ranges and beautiful beaches, which rival any in the world.

No wonder it’s so popular amongst the Spanish. In truth, beaches here exceeded expectations; wherever we turned off the coast road we found a stunner (link to Google Maps at bottom of page).

We were based in the quiet village of Alfaix, a HPB location tucked away in a remote valley behind the Sierra Cabrera mountains, the other side of the Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata. 

The coastline blew our minds…Walking onto beaches here is like walking into a holiday brochure, turquoise seas, crystal clear waters, golden sands and rocky coves. The sea is also teaming with fish, given its natural status; I’ve never seen so many just swimming around the bays, close to shore.

Our first day saw us wandering around an old iron ore mining village at Lucainena de Las Torres where the old railway tracks have been turned into a walking route for hikers (with a kind gradient). The village, with its white painted houses, was deserted, all bar a handful of local workers and one English couple who were out for a cycle.

We stopped here for lunch before heading off for a refreshing swim in the Mediterranean and a beer in a beach bar in Playa de Mojácar. No high rise buildings along this stretch of coast, just an old style and rustic feel – a lovely way to start our holiday. This beach goes on for dozens of miles with the coast road providing many opportunities to stop. 

Day two and a late start; we headed off to try out the beaches to the north of Carboneras. We were warned about the cement factory in the south of the town and so headed off around the peninsula to avoid the eyesore. And wow what a beach this turned out to be!

Tons of elbow room on empty beaches served by rustic beach bars and quaint restaurants. Of course we stopped for lunch again,

and ate far too much (including a starter of my favourite – octopus) before heading back to our village where we had a swim and watched the sun set before heading for our local restaurant in Alfaix. We got talking to a couple called Chris and Jane who were sitting next to us and were also exploring the region by car.

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Day three and, as days go, it was as good as it gets. We headed for the Sierra Del Cabo De Gata region once more. It’s a sea-land reserve, which I guess accounts for the abundance of fish. We got up early and headed off for Playa de los Muertos, a beach that I had scouted ahead of coming here.

It was better than I had hoped for and it’s obvious why it features as one of the region’s top beaches. As we were here early (the third car in the car park) we spotted wild goats roaming on the cliff tops as we headed along the path to the beach.

We arrived at our destination, the southern extreme of the bay, where we enjoyed the isolation for a couple of hours, until the crowds arrived. It was a feast for the eyes, turquoise waters and stunning rock formations and a steep shelved bay with fish everywhere.

We stayed for a while with the early morning sun at its best and left as it started to get busy.

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Our next stop (and lunch) was Agua Amarga, a pretty village beach about 10km further south, it was Chris and Jane’s recommendation from last night….. wow, just wow. Thanks for the tip!  

After a light lunch at one of the beach bars we headed for the very edge of the bay, where we spent the rest of the day bobbing about in the water swimming amongst shoals of Mediterranean reef fish. I can’t remember seeing fish in such numbers and variety anywhere else so close to home.

Underwater visibly here is amazing, the best we experienced all week and why we returned on our penultimate day. Emma was in the water so much I thought she’d turn into a prune! We shared swimming goggles to experience the spectacle below… next time we will need to pack some proper snorkelling gear!  Emma would head out into the bay swimming everywhere without hesitation.

However, unlike her, I would wait a while until a few other snorkelers came along so I could have  “safety in numbers” with the others reducing my chance of being eaten by a stray Great White – I blame my parents for instilling this irrational fear of sharks ever since watching Jaws in the 70’s.

Sunset, and we grabbed a beer at one of the many village bars, before heading home. Agua Amarga is certainly a place I’d recommend. It feels like nothing has changed for 50 years or more. No high rise buildings, oodles of bars, shops and restaurants and mainly Spanish speakers. The wild figs growing beside the beach were just starting to ripen – we found a few but they’ll be perfect in a couple of weeks. 

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Day four and a compete change of scene; we headed off to Cartagena in Murcia to see the remains of the 1st century Roman theatre that was hidden from view until only quite recently – a massive archaeological find.

There is an interesting story behind how this huge Roman structure came to be forgotten over multiple centuries, with it being almost completely built over by successive occupations and city dwellers.

Hats off to the locals for tearing down the buildings that sat on top of the ancient theatre and putting together a restoration program over three decades to give visitors an experience that is truly wonderful – the restoration continues today. It was better than I expected and something that I think will look even better in years to come as it is expanded. Well worth a visit!

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On the way back we headed for a couple of beaches that I had put in my list of places to see.

The first was at Calabardina, where we stopped for a light lunch before waking it off on a gentle hike up and around the headland.

There was a kind of trig point at the top that also had a map of the coastline to highlight the sights you could see to the north and south. It was sticky and hot, so after an hour or so we headed back to a rocky area to the south of the cove for a dip.

We rounded our time here with a walk to the other side of the cove before heading for the picturesque Amarilla Beach overlooking the uninhabited Islas e Islotes. We swam most of the way across but there are signs asking the public not to enter the island. The water here was only a few feet deep, with lovely soft sand but with a strong current that keeps you on your toes. It was nearing the end of the day, and a lot of day trippers had headed home, too so it was starting to empty out which was nice for us.  

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After grabbing some food in Aguilas we returned home for an early night. Oh and a quick observation, the fresh fruit on offer here, even at the local Spar supermarket was unlike what we are used to back home. Everything here looks and taste so fresh, tomatoes actually taste like they should and even things like cucumbers look like they’ve been grown in a local allotment without the wonky cucumber police banning their sale, and a bonus, my favourite Faustino Rioja wine was on sale for under €5 too. 

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Saturday, and a lay in before heading off to the the Sierra Del Cabo De Gata region in Andalusia once more.

The beach we headed for was the rustic Playazo de Rodalquilar. Golden sands and sandstone rock with oodles of space to find a quiet corner.

We took an umbrella with us which doubles up as a sun shade and windbreak, which was very much needed today. This beach is completely under- developed with lots of space to find a quiet corner. We headed for a rocky outpost amongst the sandstone cliffs and spent the afternoon jumping in and out of a small inlet of water, occasionally being joined by others, including dog walkers. The swell was quite strong here so we didn’t venture far into the cove. 

Our day ended with a sunset walk along the cliff top paths in the nearby Playa de las Negras.

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Our final “full” day and we got up early to head to a beach we’d seen earlier in the week but wanted to catch empty before the day trippers arrived.

It didn’t disappoint. The beach was called Cala Cerrada (literal translation = closed cove).

It was perfect! Shallow water meant safe swimming and lots of fish once again.

We arrived at about 8am and we had the entire bay to ourselves for at least two hours, but even then it was remarkably empty for the rest of the morning.

We headed off for lunch at the next beach, about a ten minute drive further south at Vilaricos, and stayed there longer than planned walking up to Punta del Rio where the beach has successions of small pools carved out by the sea for us to enjoy alone.

Beyond the breakwaters are huge waves that surfers enjoy. We then headed off to Agua Amargo for the evening via the coast road and watched the sun set.

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Our last day before the flight home and we decided on a lazy swim at the HPB complex where we are staying.

It’s only the second day we’ve used the pools here, so it was nice to relax by the pool bar and have the place largely to ourselves.

We then headed off for lunch at  La Fábrica de Genoveses, the only restaurant in the natural park just beyond San José, before a final dip in the ocean at Playa de los Genoveses.

We wished we could stay longer but the car had to be returned to the airport rental office at Almeria. 

So all in all an amazing trip. I’d highly recommend this for those who like beaches that are out of the way. But from what I’ve heard, don’t come in high season. The first few weeks in September are ideal. 

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Click on the Google Maps link for details of each location visited

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cx0Ix19yjM7J09jH4X4vTDeJxfal04Q&usp=sharing