Middle-aged flash packers

So far 2024 has seen us visit zero countries. You read right, zero. Zilch. Nada. Well maybe one if you count Wales. Which I don’t.

How can this have possibly occurred you ask? Has there been another lockdown? Has another virus been released upon the world? Have the middle aged flash packers finally hung up their boots and ensconced themselves in cosy slippers, contentedly digging the garden and spurning any sort of foreign travel?

No, no and no. (Although I do have comfy slippers and have been known to potter in the garden.)

It turns out that 2024 is the year of the grandchild. In fact the year of the grandchildren. Both of our offspring have decided to reproduce and a combination of not wanting to go too far away while pregnancies proceed and a lack of inspiring places to visit in the winter months has meant that S and I have stayed close to home.

Little Henry (now known as Hank) appeared on 7 March and little Frank will appear early July. Being a Nana is surprisingly lovely and cuddles from a very obliging Hank are decidedly life-affirming,but it wouldn’t be us if the hankering (see what I did there?) for some travel and sunshine became too much to resist and so after ensuring everyone is happy and doing well, 5 nights in the Cabo de Gata have been booked.

Where the heck is Cabo de Gata I hear you ask? Far too many questions but if you must know it’s a National Park in the South of Spain. Basically a desert, the area is incredibly dry and was once famed for the filming of spaghetti westerns. It is on the coast and apparently has some nice walking and unspoilt coastline. It becomes touristy in high summer but out of season it is said to be very quiet. 

It’s been on our agenda for a while now but other places have taken precedence. I’m not expecting anything too amazing but the weather is due to be sunny and warm, it’s a shortish flight and 5 nights will probably be long enough.

It’s been a long time since we flew from Gatwick and we were quite surprised at all the roadworks on the journey to the airport. Having said that there were no holdups and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. 

Again, it’s been ages since we’ve flown with easyJet but we were impressed with the efficiency of everything. A great example of technology that actually works for the customer. 

The clientele on the flight were refreshingly relaxed and well behaved. Even the stag group were polite and respectful. What has happened to the world? 

The easy vibe continued through passport control. Our luggage was waiting for us on the carousel and we sailed through the process of picking up the hire car.

Not so good was the car being  a manual and not the automatic we’d requested. Still, after a few kangaroo hops, all was fine.

The drive was a long one broken up by a quick supermarket sweep 30 mins outside of Malaga.

It has to be said that this is not a pretty area. In fact, it is most unattractive, having the sort of visage only a mother could love as they say. The main reason for its ugly sister look is the many, many fabric greenhouses that swamp the land from Malaga to Almeria. I thought I was prepared for this as Turkey has dedicated areas where fruit and veg is grown under plastic, but that is nothing compared to the sore that  covers the South of Spain. It is hideous.

I am also curious and have two questions – how is the vegetation watered in such an arid area and who picks it all? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I do know that if you are expecting your Spanish tomatoes to be lovingly tended by traditional farmers , think again.

We eventually reached San Jose and as we drove into the town, the tents were replaced with tasteful small urbanisations that the Spanish love so much.

I like them too: they are neat and practical – well laid out so everyone can wander down to the beach and restaurants and then return to their holiday homes at midnight and keep their neighbours awake with their continual chatter until the early hours. Hopefully there will be none of that as this is out of season and hardly anyone should be here.

Our wander  into town for dinner confirmed this fact although there were more people about than I expected. As we ate our respective paella and calamari, we watched a huge family group consume an amazing amount of food (and alcohol) while their children fought, fell over and generally created mayhem of which their guardians appeared not to notice. 

Our home for 5 days is super with a huge range of terraces and balconies – 5 in fact, one for each day. We are both looking forward to a recharge and putting aside our daily agendas.  Kindle reading is at the top of my list along with the occasional local potter. Having said that, we always set out with good intent but then end up racing around like mad things.

Let’s see what happens.

Hank

our villa for the week

various terraces