Another Supermarket car park

We don't actively seek out supermarket car parks to sleep in, on the other hand neither do we deliberately avoid them. They have their advantages, no need to think about finding a bakery for bread in the morning, as an urban stop-over surprisingly peaceful once the store closes and reasonably safe. Most places have security guards on site 24/7. Some Eroski stores have even provided water, a service point and designated bays. I can't see that happening at a Tesco's Extra any time soon.

After weeks of following the coast we have decided to hop inland for a change. Here we are in Lorca, not only inland, but in Murcia, a new region. This is a milestone, we entered Andalucia at Isla Cristina on November 16th and only exited it today. Lorca is a large town by Spanish standards in the middle of a big circular valley which is surprisingly industrialised. Lots of plastic sheeting factories. This is hardly surprising considering how much of the coast of Southern Spain is shrink wrapped. The modern part of Lorca is not unpleasant, but quite ordinary.

Like in Almeria, a large Moorish castle sprawls along a craggy outcrop overlooking the town. The old Moorish part of Lorca clings to the cliffs below the ramparts.

Below here is the part of the city built in the Christian era, complete with large Baroque churches built to overwhelm. 

It was these two older areas which suffered the most damage in the deadly earthquake which struck the town in 2011. The malign effects are still plain to see. Some of the ancient buildings have been reduced to gaunt facades, supported by steel frames.

Other lots are desolate where buildings have been demolished, damaged beyond repair. Some boarded up lots are decorated with murals, and more generally buildings have been painted to give neighbourhoods a lift.

You sense the town is doing it's utmost to put the effects of the disaster behind it, though I suspect it will take decades to fully restore the historic centre.

We liked Lorca, it has a pleasant atmosphere, not exactly vibrant but purposeful, industrious - if that's not too old fashioned a term. 

From here we plan to revisit the Golfo de Mazarron and Cartegena. Then really we need to think about stepping up the pace a bit and heading northwards. The entire trip has been all about transgressing our original 'mission' which was all about visiting new places. Since September the majority of places we have stayed have been return visits. It would be all too easy simply to follow a familiar route home, we need to resist that I think. So we are looking at new places to visit - Alicante and Murcia cities are two possibilities. 

In Murcia you can overnight in the IKEA car-park, that tops a supermarket stay, what more could we wish for - free lodging with nearby meatballs...