Porto Magno Hotel Aguadulce

... someone had been waiting behind a rock near us. I couldnt have left faster if i tried. Very stressful moment.

So we cycled to the other side of Almeria but our journey was cut short due to a coastal windy road with no lights. We had no choice but to sleep where we were. which happened to be up some steps near a light house in the view of hookers. Seriously no other choice. Also, where we slept the happened to be 1cm by 1 inch orange woodlice crawling everywhere. Lovely.

Returned to San Jose. Next day drove around to the town of Cabo de Gata, saw the salt-pans, went up the the "Cape", saw the incredible beach of Cabo de Gata, had great lunch there, then went around to the beach at Monsul. Eventually decided I HAD to leave!! 

... The terrain became more and more barren. This is the area where all the "spaghetti westerns" (Good Bad & Ugly, etc) were filmed in the 60's and 70's. Allegedly because it looks just like Arizona, but I wouldn't know because I've never been there. Reputedly, it's the driest part of Europe.  I headed off the motorway towards Tavernas, spotting a couple of "Wild West" towns along the way, and went to "Mini-Hollywood" which is basically a theme park. Having ...

... 20 bornes en rebroussant chemin vers cabo de gata....magnifiaue endroit, on arrive en 4x4 carrement sur la plage, on trouve une petite epicerie qu on a devalisem pates, saucisson, courgettes, lard au bord e l eau, etla, surprise, une bande de chats loubards nous barre la route et essqient de nous manger notre repas...il faisait un peu frais et beaucoup de vent SAMEDI 02 ...

... a trouver ce cyber cafe par hasard... il vaut le detour : couple avec un vrai bar (match de foot a fond en espagnol en fond sonore), et PC prehistorique que j ai bien failli faire planter en ouvrant la page facebook... pas de port usb en vue, pour les photos va falloir attendre !

... of Arabia). It's supposed to be the driest area of Europe, and is quite desert-like which is why they chose it as a cheaper location for cowboy films. But it's not as spectacular as the Copper Canyon which we visited in Mexico last year. I visited one of the "Wild West towns" and saw a shoot-em-up show there. Very expensive and not really worth the drive...The next day I went around to the town of Cabo de Gata, and beyond it ...

... its corner towers once held canons. Situated in the centre is the great altar with its wealth of priceless art work including a tabernacle dating from the 18th century, designed by Ventura Rodriguez, paintings by Alonso Cañón; a typical Andalucian altar piece made by Araoz; and the statue of St. Indaletius, the patron saint of Almeria, sculpted by Saizillo. The spacious interior has a Gothic ribbed ...

... we zo vroeg mogelijk naar Almerimar. We hebben nog een dag met westen wind en dan zal het dagen achtereen tegen worden met windkrachten tussen 5 en 6 beaufort en dat betekent in de haven blijven als we oostwaarts willen. Maar we hebben wel even 62 mijl te gaan en dat betekent met een kruissnelheid van 5 knopen 12 uur aan een stuk door en dan moet er niets tegen zitten. We starten met een klein windje uit het noorden, maar te weinig om het alleen zeilend te ...

... and better balance. My arm, burning from contact with the snow, was testament to this error. At the point were our route met the river we took a good half hour to rest, long enough for the ache in my legs to lessen and allowing me to enjoy the scenery uninterrupted for a while. Our location was beautiful, we were resting at the bottom of a small 'v' shaped valley, the river had cut clefts out of the rock and sharp buttresses rose on both sides. Everything gentle enough to hold snow ...

... dans un super endroit sous un grand arbre. On manger super bien avec apéro (et la salade de riz de Christine !) Arrivée à Almería à 16h15. Il n'y a pas trop de monde et on prend les billets sans problème. On attend une heure sur le quai avant de partir. A 19h00, le bateau démarre, et papa filme. Je ressens son excitation de loin, de très loin ! Sur le bateau, on commence à se sentir ailleurs. On entend du raï partout avec un m ...