So, after finally tearing ourselves away from
Cabo de Gata, we headed north with the intention of trying out some new motorhome spots on the east coast of Spain. So many people we’d met during our travels had given us tips and coordinates and recommendations about the various “wonderful” places they had stayed, yet we always seemed to gravitate towards Cabo de Gata, mostly because we knew we liked it. This time, however, with at least a couple of weeks in hand before planned to reach France, we decided to try something new. Here’s how it went.
Read part 2 here....
Our first port of call was Garrucha, literally. We stayed in the car park of the port for 3 nights (37.183716, -1.819978), which allows motorhomes to overnight although there are no services. Most people come and go after one or two nights, but one Dutch camper we spoke to had been there 3 weeks with no problem. Garrucha is a pleasant town with lots of shops and restaurants if you like that sort of thing. Generally, we don’t, although we did find the cycle ride north towards Aguilas to be a wonderful coastal route. We cycled for about 60km out and back and it was stunning. We also did some very nice jogs along the coast south towards nearby Mojacar, with Esther taking a couple of the dogs on the waist hearness. One evening we had a lovely time when we bumped into George’s doppeldog, Poco, owned by a Scottish couple who live in Garrucha. You could hardly tell them apart.
We didn’t actually plan to stay in Garrucha as long as we did, but a few days earlier Bella had gone over on her leg and was limping badly. We had taken her to a friendly vet in Mojacar and she had suggested a few days of observation, which is what we were doing in Garrucha. Sadly the leg didn’t improve so we headed back to Mojacar where Bella was put under anesthetic and a cruciate ligament injury diagnosed. The vet was happy to support us in a non-surgical approach and strapped it up heavily. Hopefully she won’t need surgery because she is a small dog, and it will heal naturally. Fingers crossed.
Mojacar, which is very close to Garrucha, also has plenty of places where people seem to be overnighting close to the beach, although we didn’t stay in Mojacar ourselves. I doubt the police are so tolerant in high season, but each morning we saw a dozen or so campers dotted around some quiet laybys. There is a huge ex-pat community in Mojacar and I heard far more English, German and Dutch being spoken when we were there than Spanish. There are also loads of shops and restaurants here as well. Mostly we went here for the vets, but still spent long periods of time parked by the beach, running along the promenade and popping to the shops for supplies ourselves. It really is very nice. When the sun is out, which is often I gather, it has a nice relaxed feel and I know a lot of people fall in love with it. I’ve often felt a but turned off by such busy places in the past, but after a few days going in and out of Mojacar I softened and can see why people stay as long as they do. The coast is stunning, and there is plenty of nice walking in the hills just inland.
After Bella was strapped up we moved a small distance north to a beach parking in Villaricos (37.243272, -1.775503). There were a few campers here in a very nice and quiet spot, and we saw a few other similar clusters of motorhomes on other beach parkings a little further south as well. We stayed two nights. We planned to stay longer because it was so quiet, although with shops just a few kilometres up the road, but then the dogs swallowed fish hooks and we had to emergency revisit the vets in Mojacar. I’ll write about this separately because it was so terrifying, but needless to say we did not feel like going back to that beach afterwards. The hooks have been so prolific on all the beaches we’ve been on in Spain, so it’s always been a risk, but this is the first time they’ve actually swallowed any. It was awful.
After our emergency x-rays etc. in Mojacar, we headed north again, this time going to Aguilas. Now, this is a place we’ve been told about by dozens of people. The coordinates of our particular parking place were 37.376561, -1.630598, but we later found out we had parked on the Murcia side of the parking and had therefore risked a 3000 euro fine. We didn’t get one, and there were a dozen or so other campers near us and a van delivering bread in the morning, but it turned out that just a couple of hundred metres away was another beach parking on the Andalucia side with lots more campers and no risk of a fine. We only found out when we walked past the campers and a Scottish chap said “Oh, so you’re parked on the posh side then”. Something to bear in mind if you visit. The coordinates of the not-fined side are 37.375198, -1.637209.
Getting onto the pitches can be tricky, especially if you have a big overhang. A Dutch motorhome pretty much identical to ours almost took his back end of when his front wheels went over a lump and his rear end buried itself in the dirt. Basically, go carefully and it’s worth it. The beaches are lovely, and again we found some great jogging routes along the coast in both directions. The highlight was probably meditating with the sunrise each morning, or maybe it was watching the dogs playing in the sand. (Oh, and there is also a very nearby petrol station with service for just 2 euros). It was a very lovely place, just as we had been told, but we wanted to start moving north after 3 days and try somewhere new….
No comments
Post a Comment