The grey and the green of the Spanish machine

21^st November 2013

It is our anniversary today, 32 years since we married. No regrets, and a great marriage. And by now we can read each other’s thoughts and complete each other’s sentences. We are very happy together, and thank everyone for their best wishes on our anniversary, and on Carol’s birthday.

We are staying overnight in La Azohia (I think) between Puerto de Mazarro’n and Calnegre, two small towns along the coast from Cartagena. Inland from us is Murcia, which has a sizeable British presence, thanks to Jasmine and Johnny from “a place in the sun – home and away”. We were told La Azohia was a pretty place by a British bloke in the last place we stayed, who was in an enormous truck-like vehicle. And appeared to know his way around Spain.

He is right, it is a pretty place; we parked initially by the side of the road, overlooking the sea, and then walked along the beach to a large rocky overhang. We could not see a way up, so we went around and through a residential compound with four large blocks of flats and a tennis court and a few swimming pools. Then we spotted a nice place to park, behind the tennis courts. We will move the van here later for a spot of “wild camping”.

There is a campsite here, (Los Delphines) and we went to look around and use their toilets. It appears to be used as a long stay site by many, who have created little gardens with Astroturf and potted plants. It has lovely clean toilet and shower block, but the price is almost €20 a night, and we can’t see the point. So we are camping in the parking bay beside the tennis courts, just beyond the campsite. We have a view of the sea beyond the tennis courts, and we are a little way off the main road, so it is quiet and appears to be safe.

Besides Barcelona, this is the first bit of Spain that I like, and looks like it may have a real local community atmosphere.

We watched a few surfers riding rather small waves off the beach; there were about a dozen of them by the time the sun was low on the horizon. They had parked their cars and vans right on the beach, as they could get down there easily.

Spain in winter, well I guess it is winter now, well into November, is a quiet and strangely British place. In all the shops we go into for groceries, all we hear are British voices. In petrol stations, the attendant who fills the tank, and the man in the small shop accept English without any problem, and answer in reasonable English. And there seems no need to learn any Spanish.

22^nd November 2013 the Grey and the Green

Something I did not realise; there is an additional benefit camping beside a tennis court. The tennis court is perfectly flat and level ground. So the site was perfectly level, and well screened. There is no need to drive onto a levelling ramp, or to fiddle with the stabiliser legs, and check a spirit level. In the morning we empty our waste water where we parked, and let it run into the dry soil.

Everything around us is dry, the arid country gives off subdued greys and dusty browns. The hills are a kind of rugged scrubby grey rock. 

Anything green attracts our attention, lettuce growing by the road, is irrigated. A group of houses around a green site signifies not only wealth, but water. An oasis.

Before leaving we take another look over the sea. Today it is calm and very flat. Driving off west from Mazarro’n we head towards Vera, and stop atop the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The wind hits the van and we stay indoors for lunch and admire the views through the van windows.

Later we get lost between Vera and Garruch, looking for an aire that was recommended to us, but is not in our book.  The roads we drive on are not in our European map book, and the satnav does not recognize them either. The town planners and civil engineers have moved in and built these modern roads, (with tolls) and everywhere thrown up blocks of apartments, or just the concrete outlines. 

Or just empty plots, ready for a nation of retirees to move in, but they haven’t yet arrived.

This all means we have rather poor directions and no GPS to guide us in.

We stop to do a little shopping, and by mistake I drive into the car park. There is car shading, at about 2.5m height above every car parking, and this leaves a very tight corridor for us to drive between, trying to get out. We park on the road, and take a tour around the supermarket. Once again the place is full of English voices, and plenty of good produce. The prices are cheaper than France, and cheaper than England too. We decide on fish since we are by the sea.

We eventually find Oasis Al-Mar, where we are camping. We have electricity again and wifi. The site is attractive in its own way, with terracing and night lighting.

I am still not a great fan of Spain; too much grey and too dry.