This sky's on fire!

After a beautiful day yesterday, it was disappointing to wake up this morning to cloud. However it soon cleared, so Ben and Dave set off to investigate Mojacar, and I went in the opposite direction to San Juan. As I drove back home I noticed that the sky was geting rather black, and I just made it indoors before we had a violent thunder storm. We watched out of the side window as the rain bounced off the road amid a cloud of steam from the hot tarmac. It didn't rain for long but the rest of the day was overcast and colder, but it ended with a lovely surprise when we were treated to this spectacular sunset behind the mountains, which was reflected as a ribbon of pink silk in the sea and sky in front of us. Of course I had to get the camera out. These pictures have been touched up slightly to remove the blemish from my camera lens, but I thought they still deserved to be shown.

Last night I took the boys into San Juan to have a look around and find themselves a meal, which they did. But when they asked the bar-tender to call them a taxi, they were told that there aren't any. The nearest company apparently work from Mojacar, over half an hour away in the opposite direction, and of course, they wanted a small fortune to come over for them. So we drove to collect them, and learned an important lesson on the way! It didn't matter. It is only a ten minute drive each way, but at least we know about the taxi for future reference. San Juan is an odd place. I guess it was a very small village at one time, but like most places along this coast, it has quadrupled in size at least, with row upon row of houses and apartments. There is a lovely long beach with golden sand and a very tidy and pleasant promenade, and a big fountain in the centre. But there doesn't seem to be anything else in the centre, and I have always assumed that the town is somewhere just off the main road. So today I went back to explore some more, and I discovered that that is in fact all there is. Apart from the supermarket where I go to refill our water carriers, and a row of bars and restaurants, I didn't find any shops, or anything else for that matter. I can't believe that one fairly average supermarket can meet the needs of so many people, but maybe they go somewhere else for their shopping. In the summer it is a very busy place and the beach is well used, but everything has closed for the winter now so it is very quiet. We like it there, but I think it is very short sighted of the developers to build so much housing without providing any amenities for the residents. But that's sort of how it is in many places out here. The boys drove themselves out this evening so they'll have to have an alcohol free dinner! Last night we all sat up on the roof terrace until midnight and it was lovely and warm, but I don't think we'll be doing that tonight.

Let's explore

I am pleased to say that Ben and Dave arrived safely late last night. They had a few hiccups on the way from the airport, but we used our mobiles and managed to direct them for the last bit. Then, of course, we sat and talked until very late at night, or early this morning to be more accurate, After breakfast this morning, they decided to set off along the coast to do a bit of exploring. Although Chris is much better today, he didn't want to go out yet, so I drove to a place called Puerta Rey, where I had been told there was a recycling centre, and I wanted to get rid of all the bottles and cans that had accumulated under the sink. Well, I found it easily enough, but once there I became completely lost in a maze of narrow, one-way streets, flanked by newish, and very posh villas. One road came to an end on the beach which was a huge empty expanse of flat sand. I stood on it and had a chat with a couple who were visiting the area and had also come upon it 'by mistake' while navigating the streets. Then I did a three point turn and headed back to the main road. A bit further along I turned towards the coast again and this time I found some very attractive, but too huge, blocks of apartments, with big areas of grass and trees in front of them, and then an even wider, flatter expanse of sand, which I realised must be Vera Playa. On our previous visit we must have just touched on the edge of it, because we were not at all impressed and wondered what everyone made such fuss about it for. It was actually a vast stretch of beach, with plenty of space for all the summer visitors. I shouldn't think it ever gets crowded. But like most of the beaches around here, there were little or no facilities. There were a few chiringuitas, beach bar/cafés, along the sand, which open for a few weeks in July and August, but they are all closed now even though there were quite a few holiday makers on the beach. I then turned for home, but being in an exploratory mood, I made one final turn towards the coast just before Villaricos. I knew this would be Palomares beach, and it turned out to be the nicest of the three. It was the end of the long stretch of sand at Vera, and it curved round to make a nice cove, with a barrier of shrubs, separating it from the road. There was a cross wind bringing in diagonal waves that broke along the beach in a froth of white foam. I stood there enjoying watching it for ages, before I at last made my way home. Soon after I got home, the boys returned too, and we discovered that they had been to all the same places as me, but in the reverse order!