Christmas in Andalucia

Cabrera village from Casa del Mar

We first met Chantal and David a couple of years ago in Tunisia when our boats were neighbours on the hard standing in Monastir. They split their time between their yacht, Seaclusion, and their lovely traditional Moorish style villa in the Sierra Cabrera mountains, southern Spain. They very kindly invited us to stay over the Christmas period. It was great to see them again and also meant we had an excuse to hire a car and explore more of Andalucia.

Orange groves in the Sierra Cabrera

                                            Christmas day walk in the orange groves

Orange groves in the Sierra Cabrera

High up in the Sierra de los Filabres

Cabo de Gata

Isleta del Moro

We picked up our little white Fiat sugar cube from Almeria airport and set off north on the 90 minute drive to Casa del Mar in the village of Cabrera, set high up in the mountains and offering spectacular mountain vistas and panoramic seascapes. Chantal and David share their home with Daisy the dog who loves long walks which meant we also got lots of exercise between consuming the delicious gourmet food and drink. The weather and the countryside were glorious and we enjoyed stunning walks through orange groves with trees dripping with fruit. We ventured further inland too, high up in the Sierra de los Filabres. We parked the car in Serena before embarking on a walk in old mining country and ending up in Bedar for a well earned refreshment. We were treated to a fabulous coastal drive exploring the eastern side of Cabo de Gata natural park. Our first coffee stop was the sleepy whitewashed fishing village of Aqua Amarga. By the time we reached the lovely traditional Isleta del Moro it was time for something stronger.

Isleta del Moro

Isleta del Moro

Isleta del Moro

Mojacar Pueblo

Mojacar Pueblo

Our few days on terra firma went by in a flash and sadly it was soon time for us to wend our way south again. Before setting off home we visited the neighbouring Moorish hilltop village, Mojacar Pueblo, which overlooks the coast. We had had our fill of "white villages" when we first explored southern Spain thirteen years ago but clearly there was one more to see. It has been populated since 2000 BC but it was the north African Moors, having first established themselves in Spain in the 8th century, who left their lasting mark on Mojacar with its jumble of narrow cobbled streets and distinctive Moroccan style architecture.

Mojacar Pueblo

Fort Bravo, Tabernas desert

We took the inland road back to Aguadulce via the Tabernas desert and the wild west! It is one of the least known deserts of the world yet it has been seen by millions of people albeit unknowingly. It has been used as a film location in many well known movies such as the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, Indiana Jones, Cleopatra and Lawrence of Arabia. The parched inhospitable landscape with desert ravines is quite extraordinary.

Tabernas desert

Tabernas desert

Almeria oranges

We continued to use the car to explore south of Aguadulce which is pretty much an unsightly sea of plastic. This shimmering sea of polythene, which can clearly be seen from space, consumes the land and covers up to 450 square kilometers of Almeria province, the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world. Over 2.7 million tonnes of fruit and vegetabless are produced here annually, more than half for the single European market.

San Miguel, Cabo de Gata

San Miguel, Cabo de Gata

Ashore for repairs

Our final trip took us north again to the western side of the Cabo de Gato natural park. The scenery is spectacular with more traditional fishing villages and protected wet lands which are home to a wealth of wildlife and many rare plants. We stopped for a coffee in San Miguel known for its long stretch of beach littered with colourful fishing boats. The landscape between here and the tip of Cabo de Gata is dominated by the Las Salinas salt lake.

Name that bird!

Beside their salt production, the marshy habitats provide a feeding ground for many bird species. We couldn't resist popping into a special viewing hide but our ornithological skills have a lot to be desired. However, we did see lots of white, black and pink birds with long and short legs!

The beach at San Miguel

Preparing lunch

Coffee stop, San Miguel

The beach at San Miguel

Playtime is over and we are now busy taking off the sails and packing up the boat ready for a lift out and a few months of drying out on the hard standing. We are very grateful that we are still basking in warm sunshine while much of Europe is freezing and covered in snow....

Las Salinas de Cabo de Gata