Return Update 1 of 2: Camping Cabo de Gata

I have returned from my more or less week long camping excursion over Semana Santa. Lots of good times were had, lots of pictures were taken, and there is no way to get everything down here. I’ve decided to divide up the trip into two parts, the first half which you are reading today, and the second which will be up tomorrow or the next day (depending on how long it takes to upload the rest of the pictures).

If you don’t feel like reading anything and just want to have a look at the pictures there are some below.

The trip started with me shaving my head, I was tired of dealing with my hair and felt a nice shave might be appropriate for the oncoming summer weather. After loading everything into our tiny rental car (a Hyundai Getz) we managed to squeeze the three of us (for the first half of the trip it was just me, Cesar, and Melissa) in with only minor discomfort. Once we figured out how to get on the highway going the right direction (don’t ask), we began our drive towards Almeria, which we knew was near the area in which we wanted to stay.

The drive was beautiful. We basically followed the coastline from Malaga all the way to Cabo de Gata, the water was incredibly green and clear, almost like the Caribbean. The roads were a bit steep and curvy at times but the views were worth it. We stopped once to get pictures. We eventually made it to Cabo de Gata and were dismayed to find that the only camping place was highly organized with tons of RVs and even people seemingly living there. No one had a camp fire, very few had a tent. Luckily after the first night (with a wonderful camp fire dinner of steak sandwiches and baked potatoes), thanks to an information kiosk at a nearby scenic beach to which we went, we realized that by driving a bit further we could get to a better camping place that was near an even more beautiful area. We packed up and headed out.

We arrived at our camping place in San Jose. It still wasn’t perfect, but definitely a step closer to what we were looking for from the first sight. After setting up camp we walked down to check out the local beach, which was small but relatively nice. We then noticed that there was a "semi mountain" very near our campsite. Beers in hand we set out to climb a little bit. Eventually this little bit turned into an all out trek to the top, which was definitely worth it. Got lots of great pictures of the town and coastline below, as well as the surrounding mountains. Due to the fact (that I really noticed after looking at the photos from this trip) that the photos just don’t do justice to what my eyes were seeing, I also shot a small video up at the top. Haven’t had time to upload it yet, but hopefully will soon.

After another great dinner (we are now masters of camp fire cooking) we turned in for the night, ready to go check out some more of the mountainous coastline the next day. And that’s what we did. After stopping in several places, taking some pictures, but finding none exactly to our liking, we managed to find a pull off on the road where a number of cars were parked. From here one could hike down to what we assumed was a beach. It was, and we did. The beach was nice, the sand I believe was volcanic, and everything was surrounded by little rocky cliffs. There were also a number of odd rock stacks that someone (we later assumed one of the naked homeless-looking guys at the other end of the beach) had set up. It seemed almost impossible that the rocks could be stacked in such a way, so it was pretty cool. After hanging out for a bit we decided to explore around the rocky edge of the beach. This again turned into an improvised hike (although this time in sandals) that eventually led us to another little peak with some more incredible views. Many more pictures were taken. Then it was home for dinner, beer, and sleep.

Upon waking up the next morning we noticed that it was really overcast and looked like it was going to rain. We decided to head home a day early. This actually ended up being a pretty good plan, gave us a chance to recoup a bit before the second leg, and wash all of our clothes by hand in the bathtub.

That about concludes part one. Just like the pictures, this write up doesn’t really do justice to the trip. There was so much more in between these little summaries, things I just don’t have time to put down right now, but that I’m sure will remain in my memory for quite some time.