Bare earth beauty

San José, free aire, 1 night.
San José to Los Escullos, 7.5 miles, €17 per night, 2 nights.

Los Escullos to Aqua Amarga, 19 miles free aire, 1 night 

Aqua Amarga to La Fabriquilla, 40 miles, free aire, I night. 

Perhaps the Cabo de Gata feels extra special because Tomatoland's sea of plastic washes right up to the national park's margins; the contrast is stark between the adjacent landscapes, one shrink wrapped and commodified, the other an empty desert of bare vulcanised rock. 

Some places are memorable because the elements of the landscape combine to create a kind of bucolic perfection - the Lake District or the Tuscan hills are like that. The Cabo de Gata is more elemental,; here you stand among the remnants of the earth's raw power, extinct volcanoes, petrified lava flows, multi-coloured strata rich with mineral deposits. Add to this Spain's most pristine stretch of Mediterranean coast, sparsely inhabited, much of it accessible only on foot, with dramatic headlands and remote beaches; given its proximity to Almeria's industry and the plasticulture sprawl, the Capo de Gata  manages to retain a remarkable sense of the remote and other worldly. 

We loved it, staying for five nights in all, using a mixture of free wild camping and one site. Each place was quite different, and in late autumn, uncrowded and peaceful. After being followed from Donostia to Lisbon by our own personal rain clouds, we were blessed with four sunny days, calm and pleasantly warm. 

So, a few words and a lot of pictures of each place: 

San José 

San José oozes charm. A classic arabic influenced white washed village with a stunning backdrop of bare mountains, a small harbour full of fishing boats and a big sandy bay. Perfecto! It reminded us of the south coast of Crete. The village has a laid back, slightly alternative feel. In fact, it is all a bit idyllic.

The Campincar Info. app directs you to this large mixed parking on the edge of the village - no services point, however.

In fact other people simply found a quiet spot near the beach and parked there - out of season it seems its tolerated.

Fabulous setting,

A fishing harbour that looks distinctly Greek

Fish restraunts abound - not particularly cheap, but then fish isn't.

big beach

Bougainvillea draped walls....

Los Escullos 

Los Escullos is little more than a posh beach side hotel, a few villas and an old ruined fort.The campsite is about a kilometre inland with a dusty track through the desert to the beach. For someone interested in geology, like Gill, the landscape hereabouts is a treasure trove, extinct volcanoes tower above the bay, a walk to a nearby caldera brings you to a hidden valley in the mountains full of lush vegetation in an otherwise arid scene, and the lower slopes of the mountains are littered with mineral streaked rocks and boulders, pyroclast from an eruption millions of years ago.

The beach itself has some wind-sculpted rocks that form dramatic overhangs. While were at the beach the nearby hotel was hosting a quite posh looking wedding. The photographer was busy getting romantic shots of the happy couple looking wild and windswept on the most precipitous overhang. Given the amount of billowing white fabric flapping around the plucky bride, there seemed to be a distinct possibility that the groom was about to become the fastest widower ever. We have no idea how it ended as they were still clicking away when we headed back to the campsite for lunch.

A  wild empty landscape

Boards giving details of  geological history of the area  can be found throughout the National  Park.

The track to the beach

The pirate figure commemorates a battle here between local;s and Barbary pirates 1n 1720. Odd the figure seems to depict Long John Silver - clearly  R L Stevenson must own the Oh Arrrgh, franchise.

Dramatic erosion

Hazardous nuptials

The road to Aqua Amarga. 

Our original plan was to move 3km east to a wild camping spot by the small fishing village of Las Isleta. In fact that is what we did, had lunch, then took a stroll through the village. It's a very pretty, but a somewhat exposed spot. In the early afternoon a blustery wind blew-up. Parked on a small promontory overlooking an increasingly grey looking sea we decided to move to a more sheltered place for the night.. The photograph of the free aire at Aqua Amarga at the northern end of the national park showed a beach car park sheltered by cliffs, so that's we headed. Part of the reason that the coastline remains pristine is that there is no through road. Going from one coastal village to another requires a detour inland. In this case it took us through the 'ghost village' of  Rodalquilar.. This abandoned gold mining village lies in a a remote valley in the centre of the park. The place would probably have fallen to bits completely if it had not become the focal point for a hippie commune in the late 60s and early 70s. Now it is a minor tourist attraction with a small urbanisation on the outskirts. What remains the same is the wild bare earth beauty of the surroundings. There's nothing like a 12% ascent, hairpin bends and crumbling verges to concentrate the mind.

The lovely Las Isleta

A great wild camping spot

The  volcanoes los Frailes - across the bay

There;s gold in them there hills.

Aqua Amarga beach

An impromptu moho aire has emerged after the beach car park was closed to larger vans by erecting a 2m height barrier.

because the car park is prone to flash floods - in a desert...really?

Tonight is the biggest moon since 1948 - my camera could not cope with it, so here are some super-moonbeams glinting on the sea...

Great beach, warm morning, flat calm sea - moments later I jumped in.

Fabriquilla 

Though the Cabo de Gata lighthouse is the part of the national park closest to Almeria, it feels remote and forgotten. The no through road runs across a gaunt plain of garrigue made unearthly by clumps of aloe vera forest. Beyond is the god forsaken looking village of Cabo de Gata, then acres of salt flats. Between here and the lighthouse at the end of the promontory are two hamlets. The first, place, La Almaadraba de Monteleva, is a half abandoned, ramshackle collection of salt workers cottages, saved from being forgettable because they are overshadowed by the gaunt Iglesia de La Almadraba de Monteleva. It's slender tower dominates the low lying salt flats and is visible for miles.

 Iglesia de La Almadraba de Monteleva. 

The lakes attract a wide range of native and migratory birds, including a large colony of white flamingos. We walked the two kilometres from the road to the viewing point's hides. We presume the distant white dots were grazing flamingos, but without a powerful pair of binoculars it would be difficult to tell.

The track to the bird sanctuary

Somewhere, in the distance there are flamingos

The hide, and Gill 

About 2km further on you reach the remote fishing village of La Fabriquilla. When we first visited here about ten years ago the place was completely ramshackle, the houses abandoned and falling into disrepair. Since then, there has been a bit of investment in beach-side decking, most of the houses have been restored, and the restaurant, off-season, is happy for motorhomes to stop overnight in its car park. Even so, the place still has an end of the world ambiance. For now, until Lonely Planet canonises it as 'cool' and it begins to trend on trip advisor, it remains an empty, soulful spot. Long may it remain so.

 La Fabriquilla. aire

Civic improvements

As an ark, a bit underwhelming

Rusting winch - I liked the colour contrast.

Gill explained why some parts of the lava flow are cuboid, and some gloopy - its about crystal composition and rates of cooling apparently.

beautiful sunset

The windy weather arrived late yesterday, a chilly northeasterly breeze gusting from time to time up to 40kph. It's a bit waring in a moho in conditions like this, each gust rocks the van and it becomes somewhat draughty. There was a lull just before sunrise. I peeked out the bedroom window. The much hyped super moon hung above the coast beside Almeria, big, pale and ghostly. I pulled on a tee shirt and jogging bottoms, grabbed the Canon and headed out to take a few pictures.

soulful, misty dawn

Super moon in the morning

Over breakfast we consulted the forecast. Later today the winds would strengthen again, so we decided to head inland to an aire in the less frequented eastern end of the Las Alpujarras. So, goodbye to the Mediterranean who put on its deepest azure glad-rags to say farewell.

I hate turning northwards, and always feel sad leaving the Mediterranean behind. Three weeks today we will be on the ferry home. Before then we have plans to visit Cordoba and the ceramic towns near Jaen, Toledo too, and the wine country around Valdepeñas, but it is all in a northern, ever colder direction. What makes it worse is we have no further trips planned. I really am useless at being at home and at a loose end. Other than seeing the kids, what is there to look forward to?


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