In six days time we are going to be parking our van up and spending five nights in an Airbnb apartment in Puerto Banus. What luxury! We are planning on simply relaxing for five days when we get there as a sort of mini half term break for the kids. So that we don’t have to interrupt the fun for five days, the plan is to get ahead on the school work slightly before we get there. That’s the great thing about home schooling I guess, you can do the work whenever suits you, as long as it gets done. So the plan is to knuckle down and double up on our lessons this week so that we can have a well earned (by the kids at least) break next week. To that end we are planning on hunkering down somewhere warm with a decent pool somewhere around the Costa Calida this week, but on our way down there we have a chance to call in and check out a pretty cool cave system we have heard about in La Vall d’Uixo.
Coves de Sant Josep is a limestone cave system hidden below the hills near Valencia. It is home to the longest navigable underground river in Europe, and you can buy tickets aboard one of the little rowing boats which ferry you along the 800m route. The temperature inside the cave system is a constant twenty degrees all year round, and the water is crystal clear. I think it’s possible to book a kayak tour along the river if you have time, which might even allow you to experience this water first hand, but we weren’t that organised so the boat tour will have to do. For some reason you aren’t allowed to take pictures along the first part of the route, but I of course ignored this rule and took a few cheeky snaps, risking the stern admonishment of José, our monosyllabic guide for the day. At a certain point you reach an impressive chamber where you are treated to a beautiful light show as the undulating walls of the cave are lit up to a classical music soundtrack. The boat then returns you to your starting point, where you have a chance to explore the handful of local souvenir shops. This is a very small town in a very localised part of Spain, and it seems their gift shop prices are firmly stuck in the 1980s. The kids are thrilled with their necklaces costing just two and a half euros each, and so am I as the same necklaces are at least 10 euros anywhere else! There are also some dirt cheap examples of coral and sea shells which would look great on a shelf at home, and I can’t resist at these prices!
Back at the campsite, we have an evening swim in the saltwater swimming pool, but it seems we have made the grave error of underestimating the ferocity of the local mosquito population once again. As dusk looms over the swimming pool, any and every exposed patch of skin is fair game to these mini vampires. Poor Bam takes the prize for worst bites with three painful welts appearing on her delicate little cheek!
Our next stop for three days is a cosy little campsite on the Costa Calida just to the west of Cartagena, nestled beneath the hills of the national park Sierra de la Muela, Cabo Tiñoso Y Roldan. The drive downwards to the campsite is pretty epic as you wind your way along the alpine-like pass with vistas through the valley to the sea. This is where we are going to catch up with schoolwork, and as such we don’t really plan on having many adventures here. The campsite has a fantastic salt water pool which is filled from an underground thermal spring. This pool remains at a constant 22 degrees and is, amazingly, drained and refilled every single night. As we are swimming on our first evening, we noticed the groundskeeper fishing about in a corner of the pool with a long hooked pole, followed by firm instructions in Spanish to avoid that area. At least that’s what I think he said, although my Spanish is fairly rusty. It turns out what he was doing was actually pulling out the plug, just like a giant bathtub! Schoolwork over the next few days is punctuated by ping pong matches and swimming in the pool, as well as snorkelling down on the beach. The water here is warm (hence Costa Calida I suppose), and I easily spend hours snorkelling about picking “treasures” from the rocks. Treasures include many urchin shells and an old pair of sunglasses which Bam immediately claimed as her own. Hunter and I had a lucky escape at one point as he noticed an enormous octopus camouflaged against a rock no more than two feet below us. As much as I would have liked to observe him, I didn’t particularly fancy the possibility of angering him, as I’ve seen videos of this going very wrong for divers. I had images of heaving myself to shore across the sea urchin minefield whilst trying to wrestle this parrot-beaked cephalopod from my face, or even worse from the face of my son! It must have traumatised Hunter slightly as well as that night he had an octopus themed nightmare.
We have one more night to kill before hitting Marbs, and on the suggestion of my good friend Alberto (Squirto that’s you by the way if you’re reading this) we check into the only campsite within the Cabo De Gata national park in Almeria. This is the only true desert in Europe, and is a fantastic landscape of sharp volcanic peaks cascading down to the Mediterranean forming hidden coves and pristine beaches. We have booked a boat ride from the main town of San Jose to explore this amazing coastline from the water, right after a quick squid-ink black paella in the harbour. Jorge, our skipper for the trip, is a local boy and knows everything there is to know about every peak and every cove. This is definitely the best way to explore this park, as you can witness the true nature of these ancient lava flows, and marvel at all of the hidden coves from the sea. The most famous beach here, in fact one of the most famous in all of Spain apparently is Playa de Monsul. This sandy beach with its enormous dune and central lava formation has appeared in many films over the years, including The NeverEnding Story (one of my childhood favourites) and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade to name a few. We even have time to stop in one of these coves for a bit of a snorkel and some beach time on the way back. It blows me away how blue the water is here, and the sand is powdery soft under your feet.
As you leave this area, keep your eyes peeled for one of the many shanty towns in the hills near Nijar. These polythene sheeted conurbations house the many illegal immigrants and migrant workers who have escaped here and seek work in the endless sea of polytunnel fruit farms which litter this part of the country. The remnants of landing crafts are visible on the nearby beaches. It is only 200km to Africa across the water, and this is a popular landing point due to its sparse population.
Next stop, Puerto Banus, and our first night not spent in the van for months! Our first thought, as we park Discorama in between the Lamborghinis and Porsches, is that this really is the playground for the rich and famous. Everyone has heard of Marbella, but to be honest the nearby marina of Puerto Banus situated around four miles to the west is far more exclusive. Marbella is party central, and destination number one for glamour seeking tourists, but Puerto Banus is the more classy neighbour where the well heeled locals choose to moor their yachts and parade their supercars down the bar lined harbour. Indeed they seem to thrive on the attention, doing constant circuits to parade their (apparent) wealth to anyone who cares to look. I suspect the truly wealthy among them are actually much more subtle and instead choose to blend into their surroundings, leaving the ambitious peacocks to claim the glory.
We spend several days simply enjoying the beaches and local restaurants, of which there are many. So many in fact that I suspect you could spend several months here and never eat in the same place twice. There is also a fantastic branch of the Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles for groceries if you want to eat at home. This department store literally stocks everything from groceries to high end sporting goods and everything in between. But despite its exclusive feel, the goods available here are very keenly priced. I even manage to bag myself a new snorkel, and at a lower price than the rubbish seaside shops would sell one for. Bam also enjoyed her very first manicure in one of the local nail bars, i think she could get used to this lifestyle!
The highlight for the kids (and probably me to be fair) is a trip out into the harbour on some ridiculously fast jet skis. The sea here was like a millpond, allowing an hour of flat out full-throttle antics!
We also caught the catamaran from Puerto Banus into Marbella for a day to see what all the fuss is about. The old town is perfectly charming, full of narrow and winding cobbled streets lined with fabulous boutiques selling all manner of items. You can find the typical tourist tat available in all these Mediterranean resorts, but you can also find exclusive bespoke items catering for the more discerning shoppers. There is a plethora of eateries to choose from when you get peckish, not least among the orange trees surrounding the famous main square, Plaza de los Naranjos. We chose to eat in the ancient courtyard of a beautiful little restaurant called The Farm, serving a host of locally sourced produce, and finely crafted cocktails to boot.
Feeling well rested, well fed, and suitably refreshed, we are done with the East coast of Spain, and ready to get back into our van and head off to our next destination – Gibraltar.