Picture review DIY Cabo de Gata from Almeria

Hello everbody,

The following is a very picture heavy review of our experiences while spending a day in the port of Almeria, Spain. Our docking times were 7am to 4pm. Hopefully the report will help some fellow cruisers in planning their own excursions.

We rented a car from a local company called Kisacar to explore parts of a National Park called Cabo de Gata. A representative from Kisacar picked us up at the port arrival gate around 8am and took us to their offices about a 10 min drive away. Within 30 minutes we were on our way to the Andalusian National Park with beautiful beaches and hiking paths.

After about an hour we arrived at the main fishing village on the southern coastline called San Miguel de Cabo de Gata.

Lots of colorful fishing boats are stored on the beach right next to the road.

We followed the road to the lighthouse, which occupies the most southeastern point of the Iberian Peninsular.

We stopped several times at scenic outlooks...

...and beaches

The cliff formation right below the lighthouse is called Las Sirenas Reef

White cliffs called La Vella Blanca on a beach nearby.

We hiked up to an 18th century watchtower on the highest coastal outlook of the southern tip of Spain. The views were absolutely stunning and worth the strenious hike.

This is the path leading up to the tower. Notice that we are the only visitors there that day.

On our drive back towards the lighthouse we encountered 1 single car on the very narrow and winding road.

We used our horn a lot to alert potential oncoming traffic.

Viewpoint looking towards San Miguel de Cabo de Gata

The beaches were filling up a little more in the very early afternoon.

We stopped to check out the saltwater lagoons and salt flats on our way back to Almeria

There were several hides for bird watching in the area and we saw lots of pretty flamingos

We also encountered this forest of wild Yucca plants

Back in Almeria we decided to visit the Alcazaba, the 2nd largest moorish castle in Spain. The grounds have been beautifully restored and landscaped.

View of the "Connie" from the wall of the fort.

Lots of ongoing construction around the Alcazaba made it difficult to find parking, but Ben's great parking karma helped us to find a spot in the shade.

Colorful, old neighborhood around the castle

We returned our rental car at their offices and were promptly taken back to the ship.

We are waving "Goodbye" to Andalusia and are hoping to return soon

So pleased you had a good day at the Cabo and Almeria, If I'd known you were doing that I could have given you some info on the area as we live there. The geology of the area is fascinating as the whole area used to be under the sea with many volcanos whose remains you can see in the Cabo area, there is also a gold mine (not working now). The fields of Aloes were used at one time to make a version of Tequila. The Cabo itself is one of the few places you can find ancient coral on the top ridges (you can also see this in the Andes) and many scientists visit the area. On the Eastern side of the lighthouse there are 2 stunning sand beaches(Monsul) with dunes. The area is used for many films incl Lawrence of Arabia and most recently Exodus. Around the Alcazaba the terraces were introduced by the Moors and were used to grow Mulberry bushes for the silk worms to eat as Almeria was a major silk producing area. You may also have seen come caves being used as warehouses, a few miles away they are still being used as houses. Hope you can come back soon to this relatively unknown part of Spain

Sandy in Spain