Day 17: Sierra Nevada to Almeria

Today I travelled through Las Alpujarras, home to 'Driving Over Lemons'.

I had to temporarily rejoin the Granada 'ring road' and then south towards Motril. After about 15 miles I turned onto the A348 through Lanjaron and Orgiva. These were familiar names in Chris Stewart's book as well as Gerald Brenan's 'South from Granada'.

I stopped on a road above Los Tablones to take a photo of Pico Veleta from the south side. What a difference a day makes! The peak is where I had been sitting in cloud yesterday, just a few feet from the edge! I'd walked up from the other side. What a view would have been possible today!

'El Valero', the small farm featured in 'Driving over Lemons', is just in sight where the Rio Guadalfeo divides into Rio Trevelez and Rio Cadiar. There's a winding track visible above it:

I stopped for lunch at a delightful restaurant/bar the Restaurante Rincón de Almócita, a little way before Alhama de Almeria, just off the A348 opposite Beires:

I thoroughly enjoyed my plate of 'langostinos con gabardina' and 'espárrago con tomates'. This was one of my favourite restaurants of the whole trip. Very friendly staff. Excellent and beautifully prepared Spanish food. Lovely location. The family restaurant had recently been rebuilt offering panoramic views of the nearby mountains.

Here also marked the start of the Tabernas semi-desert. It was very hot at 43°C.

I drove through Almeria. It was quite arab in flavour with the port noticeably pointing to North Africa, destinations such as Ghazaouet, Melilla, Nador and Oran. I continued round the coast to Cabo de Gato. The long beach was sprinkled with bathers with plenty of access and parking.

 

 The bay view from Faro de Gata:

Retemar was an unspoilt fishing village with very low key apartments and other individual properties:

I needed to find a place to stay. The site indicated at San Jose was too full to contemplate, so I continued on to Vera and then Cuevas del Almazora, with nothing available at either. The holidays had started with a vengeance!  

Turning towards the mountains I headed for Nijar, where I found that the site there had closed. I continued all the way up to Velez Blanco and discovered a very peaceful place in the middle of a remote pine forest. 

Seek and ye shall find!

300 miles.