Following the Sun Diary: Tues 8 March

We have moved on after five very enjoyable weeks at Cabo de Gata. The weather had been on the whole very good, we had warm days under cloudless cobalt blue skies, but over the last few days it has been like a return to winter. The wind has been cold and blowing strongly, this made it unpleasant walking in the hills and not at all conducive to cycling. When the weather was good we were out every other day for long walks taking a flask of coffee and sandwiches for our lunch. We had covered most of the regular routes listed in the leaflet from the tourist board and some of our own. When we arrived we had a couple of days of rain followed by nice warm conditions, this resulted in a profusion of beautiful blossoming wild spring flowers. As we walked through the countryside we were delighted with the yellow, blues and whites that carpeted the landscape, much like the daisies that attract so many people, in spring, to Namaqualand in South Africa.

Spring flowers of Cabo de Gata

One interesting walk we had was to the town of Los Albaricoques. This was the location for a lot of western movies; in particular the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns like ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ and ‘A Fist Full of Dollars’. When we get home we are going to get the DVD of these films to see if we recognise the scenery from them. Another fascinating area was around the town of Rodalquilar with the remains of the now defunct mining industry. Gold mining here goes back to Roman times and the many scars on the beautiful mountain landscape bare witness to this. We had a good day out at the salt pans near the Cabo de Gata point. This area was once famous for salt mining and the resulting salt pans are a favourite spot for birdlife. From a bird hide we saw large numbers of outstanding pink flamingos and  also spotted herons, coots and avocets, the later the bird with a long curved beak which it swishes around under the surface of the water searching for food in the sand and silt.

'Clint Eastwood' protecting Los Albaricoques

I have a few good cycled rides, having found myself some interesting circular routes. A couple of rides have had sections off road resulting in some frightening steep descents on rough rocky tracks from mountain passes. I generally take these down hills very easily with my hands on the brakes all the time; I’ve had enough bicycle accidents and broken bones over the years, so I don’t take any risks.

The area does seem to attract film makers, not only for westerns but adverts as well. One morning when leaving the campsite we had to make our way along the main road to pick up the path for our hill walk only to be stopped by the police who said that there would be a truck coming along shortly, very fast and dangerous. All the traffic was held up as well, as we waited to watch the proceedings. It turned out to be an advert for Mercedes trucks and this vehicle was racing along this stretch of road behind a pick-up truck with a camera on a long boom. We got started on our walk eventually but when we returned some seven hours later they were still there filming the same sequence with the truck, the technicians all look bored and fed up.

Pretty flamingo ao the saltpan

During our stay here I have had trouble with an ear infection. I was practically deaf in my left ear, hearing only continuous ringing and buzzing sounds. Moira tried warm olive oil to remove any wax which we thought at first was the problem but it didn’t help, I had to go to a doctor. We found one in San Jose a small town nearby but he wouldn’t treat me until I was properly registered and this involved filling in a form then travelling to another town, San Isidro de Nijar, 20 km away for authorisation. Once this was all done it was too late that day to go back to the doctor so I returned the next day. There was the usual long queue to wait for my turn but it all worked out satisfactorily. He quickly examined my ear and made out a prescription for drops which I then collected from the pharmacy. This was all done in Spanish and sign language, the form we took to the tourist information for the lady there to help me complete, she spoke English. All this was free of charge and the other good news is that the drops worked wonders; my hearing was soon back to normal again.

 The site is very good but we don’t have any activities like whist or quiz nights. They do have bingo on a Friday but they call out the numbers in Spanish. I don’t know the Spanish for ‘two fat ladies’ of ‘legs eleven’. On Thursday evenings at the restaurant they do a special three course meal for 6 Euro. The food is very good though the helpings are small; this suits us as we want to keep our weight under control. I’ve been going to the gym on site to keep fit but it isn’t very good, not a great selection of equipment or very well maintained. I am the only one who seems to use the facilities and its not very enjoyable working out by oneself.

Glorious bay at Cabo de Gata

We left on Monday and made our way north to the Costa Blanca to the town of Guardamar del Segura and a campsite called Marjal. A few months ago we had met some woman who told us about this site but it was very expensive, though when we got our new campsite book in January it was listed and we could get a pitch for 15 Euro with our ACSI card that comes with the book. This card allows us into many campsites throughout the continent at discount rates. Unfortunately when we got here the reduced rate didn’t get us all the facilities, like TV and Wi-Fi straight to your pitch. We have to go to a room near the restaurant for the internet and attempt to pick up the UK satellite on our dish. We played about with the dish but could only manage to pick up BBC News and the radio stations.

The site does have an excellent gym of which I am taking full advantage. This one is new with modern equipment, a heated indoor swimming pool and saunas. The gym is well attended as it is used by the local people as well as the residence of the campsite. I will be working out a lot if the bad weather continues, as is being forecast, so much for following the sun.

We will stay here for at least a week before moving further north. We want to get to France by about mid April when I will cycle the Canal Midi, and then we will hike the Robert Louis Stevenson walking route in central France.