Crazy rocks at Bolnuevo

We had a little cycle along the coast to the back of a car park at a town called Bolnuevo today.
I had seen a few photos on the Internet of crazy shaped rocks and decided that we needed to go and see them.
I don't know anything about geology and the notice board made it all sound very complicated, but basically, I think that after millions of years of erosion, the rocks have become almost flower shaped, with stalks sticking out of the ground.
There was no one else around so we looked at them from all angles, then climbed everywhere, just enjoying the view and taking it all in.
As we were getting ready to leave a car pulled up and an English couple got out. They kept the car engine running and the lady ran to pose in front of the nearest rock, the man took a photo then jumped back into the car and drove over to pick the lady up and off they shot.
Sightseeing and photo took less then two minutes - speed tourism in action.

La Panadera hiking trail

I consulted Viewranger today and found a hiking route that started from the fishing village about 5kms from our campsite.
It all looked nice and easy on the map. We just needed to start off close to the coast and walk in an almost straight line along it, apart from one very zig zaggy section that even I realised would be hilly. At the furthest point we would reach a small road that we had to follow for a short distance, then head off left and then another almost straight journey back.
I have got the hang of contours on a map, but I didn't check them today as I got a bit misled by the straight looking paths. I was surprised then that our outward journey was very similar to a roller coaster, except much slower as we had to walk the crazy route.
The only other people we saw all day were three fell runners making good progress in the opposite direction. The land was very dry with spikey plants that cut Darren's bare legs, but at one point we walked through a valley with loads of unusual greenery. I said to Daz that it looked like Jurassic Park, and that I wouldn't be surprised to see a dinosaur heading towards us. Daz said that if one really did appear then he thought that I would actually be very surprised, and after thinking about it, he was probably right.
As you can guess from the lack of photos, the T Rex's stayed hidden from sight as we passed through.
Once we turned around at the half way point, and much to my relief, the path stayed quite flat for most of our journey home, with just a very long downhill bit towards the end.
My step counter registered 27,703 steps today and we climbed about 700 metres, making it a much more energetic day than I was expecting.

Isla Plana

We have driven further along the coast and are now about 30 kms from Cartagena - the first place that I have heard of for ages.
Our campsite is top of the range - £15 per night for a massive pitch on a huge, modern site.
It has two swimming pools, one outdoors and one indoors. So far I have dipped my toe in and the water is really warm, so I need to take the plunge tomorrow.
We are thinking of settling down here and just relaxing for a few days......

Bellavista, Aguilas

Yesterday, it was really misty and our new campsite, called Bellavista, seemed mis-named. 
We walked into the town of Aguilas for the afternoon and I had read that there was a castle on the top of a hill. However,  although we knew where it was, we just couldn't see it through the haze.
Today was so different, the sun was shining, we could see where we were and we were back in business. 
We set off on our bikes and went to the castle. We had the place to ourselves and stood next to huge cannons taking in the view. Picture two is of one of the bays at Aguilas with a huge rock in the distance - our main destination for the day.
We then cycled along the coast to the rock, and found a very sleepy town called Calabardina at its base. There was only one bar open and it was right on the beach. All of the four tables were full so the owner dragged out a couple more and we sat down for lunch.
It was a very fishy restaurant - they didn't even serve chips - but the wine was good. I know that I should be a more adventurous eater, but Spanish seafood can be very scary.
After lunch, my plan was for us to climb to the top of the rock. We set off uphill and it got really, really steep. Eventually we lost the path and climbed on all fours over the rocks to get to the very top. It was difficult, but the views were fantastic, and in pic 4 you can see the beach way down below where we had lunch.
Very good day out yet again.

La Mena to Macenas

I stopped by at the local Tourist Information office yesterday and the lady gave me a photocopied sheet of paper with the La Mena to Macenas trail on it.
The translation to English was very poor and it took us three attempts before we found the start.
However, once we were on it the route was easy to follow and was amazing. We enjoyed 'the opportunity to observe this part of litoral Almería with views alerting us to the beauty of the Pedestrian Route, '
We walked over rocky cliffs then reached Macenas Castle, which looked very exotic and is built on sand right on the beach.
Up until this point we had seen a few other walkers but after this we were on our own for the rest of the journey.
We reached the Perulico Tower and climbed a ladder to the top of it. The views in both directions were brilliant and we could see another similar tower in the distance, so I guess that they used to signal to each other.
To make it even more amazing, right next to it was a rock bridge with little waves washing through it.
We carried on up to the top of a hill with an observatory on the top and then back down to sea level.
Just over 10kms of glorious sea views, with a bit of history thrown in.

Mojacar

We drove along the coast today to a little village on the top of a hill called Mojacar. We had a look around and it was very nice, but I couldn't get a good distance shot of it without a helicopter.  However, there was good views from it and in it, and it appeared that the whole village was full of bars, restaurants and cafes.
Our campsite is pretty lovely today and we are perched in the bottom right hand corner of pic 3. The weather is also at its best and we have made a start on the sun tan.
We are having a great time in Spain, there is so much to see and do and we have only covered one small corner of the country.
In a rare departure for this blog, I will try to give some useful information that may inspire you to visit either us, or the country.
Firstly accommodation - campsites usually cost around £12 per night, although most offer discounts if you stay for a week or longer. For that you get electricity, showers and toilets, water, sometimes wifi and the security of being with other, very friendly people.
Transport - we never move very far as there is so much to see.  We average about 10 miles per day by campervan, although we do it in hops every few days. It costs an average of £2 per day in petrol, £3 including insurance.
Food, drink and excursions - we visit a cafe or restaurant nearly every day and go on an outing every day. We easily get by on around £20 per day and that includes all meals and some very tasty drinks.
That totals £35 per day which is much less than we expected, but that doesn't include new clothes, shoes, phones, repairs, etc.
Obviously, that also doesn't include costs for the campervan. We have seen every type and price range imaginable, from ancient rust buckets to enormous top of the range monsters. Ours falls somewhere in the middle although it is shorter than the average, which is handy when trying to park in tight spaces.
Maybe you could try this amazing lifestyle too.......