Unfortunately, we couldn't see the nature park with the great waterfalls. Too bad, because the internet pictures promised a highlight. But even if the temperatures (for us) are very pleasant, it is still winter and some attractions are closed. Tourism is probably not like it is in summer either, because many hotels or apartment houses are also closed. A bit weird for us as the outside temp is t-shirt weather. However, the water temperature is not suitable for swimming, only for die-hards. We've never been to the south, so it feels a little unreal for us to be standing in a t-shirt by the sea in November. And when we see the hotel complexes on the beach, we don't want to experience this in summer either. Everything will be super crowded there.
Elx, la Marina - Flamingo sight on the way
After 2 nights in Cala d'Or we drove on. Like all big cities, we left Alicante and continued along the coast. On our trip it is important to us to see as many animals as possible in the wild, which are typical for the respective countries. And here in Spain we hope to see Flamingo´s. Since it was time to take a shower again, we have a parking space Elx in la Marina found.
On the way there we passed many water fields that lay to the right and left of the road. Since some of them had very little water and looked whitish, we assumed that they were sea salt plantations, which was confirmed to us after a few kilometers through the salt extraction plant. And here we also saw our first flamingos. Basti got nervous right away because he wants to take a picture of her. However, he was driving and couldn't take pictures from the car. So it was on to the parking lot.
Since our gas bottles need to be refilled and we still have to buy something, we will drive the route again the next day anyway and so we have noted places where we can stop so that Basti can take photos. We were lucky at the pitch and there was still one plot free. Since fresh water is needed, that was filled up first. The weather was great so we sat outside. We were able to observe our first flocks of parrots flying over the square. It was just the little green parrots, but we hadn't seen any. The Spaniards themselves complain about it, as they come in crowds and are very loud.
The sanitary facilities were clean. There were 4 individual showers accessible from the outside and it was a treat to shower without a time limit. In the evening we walked towards the beach with Finja. There were blocks of flats that had direct access to the beach. The assumption is that they are holiday homes of locals, since all were locked with blinds and padlocks.
We slept well that night and left quite early in the morning for us. Since our large gas bottle is completely empty and it's not so easy in Spain to have German bottles filled, we drove a little way back to Elx Santa Pola. Basti found a gas station there that also fills German bottles.
After filling up and shopping I drove. The route was the same as the day before and Basti wanted to capture flamingos with the camera. So we stopped in 2 places and he walked to the salt plantations with the camera. However, the flamingos were very far away and unfortunately he could not take good photos.
So our hope lies in another sighting, otherwise these pictures will have to suffice. From the flamingos themselves you could see very well that they pick their food from the sea salt water. They were only tinged with pink and mostly white. After several attempts to get a better photo, we drove on.
Peninsula of La Manga del mar Menor – one-week, sometimes painful stay
Continuing south we stopped at Dehesa de Campoamor to see the Elephant Coast, Elephant Patas, to watch. It is so called because the coast looks like elephant feet. Before we came to the coast, we first looked for a parking lot. The GPS does not always lead you well to these vantage points and you often have the problem of finding a parking space. Since the navigation system took us to a residential or holiday area and the large parking lot was closed, we parked in the parking lane on the street. Not really our thing, but since we were hungry by now, we were able to observe the surroundings while eating and then decide whether to go to the coast.
There was hardly anything going on, both on the street and the sidewalk. Probably, as so often in the coastal region, a holiday area. So we walked to the coast. There was a path above the coast from which you couldn't see the "elephant feet" very well. So after a few meters we went down to the beach. Of course it was high tide. Bad luck for us, because unfortunately you couldn't see much of the coast itself. At low tide you can walk along the beach and have a complete view of the coast.
On a corner of the coast in front of us it looked as if there was a small bulge behind it. Of course I was curious and since the water arrived relatively calm, I wanted to check. When I then stepped on the small stone to look around the alleged corner, a larger wave came with my luck. Basti burst out laughing after my outcry and my wet look; but I had to laugh too, it was my own fault. And of course there was no bulge, how could it be otherwise. On the way back to the bus we walked a little further to the beach access. Dogs are forbidden there, so Basti is alone on the beach and took a few more pictures.
Our next stop should be a beautiful bridge that can be seen on the La Manga Peninsula finds. This is located almost at the end of the narrow and long promontory of La Manga, which is surrounded by the open sea on one side and the bay on the other side. Simply great. Again, a lot for tourism: left and right you could see hotels, apartment houses, restaurants and small shops, many of which were of course closed. Even the supermarkets were partially closed. Since it was already later, we looked straight for a place to sleep and drove almost to the end. There was a large parking lot here, which was already well frequented by mobile homes. We stood super nice with a sea view and enjoyed watching the waves.
It's early December and we've been here for 2 nights. You can sleep really well with the noise in your ears. The place here is also really crowded with mobile homes and some seem to be wintering here as they have set up. And we will probably stand here a little longer. I've had gum pain for a few days and it feels like inflammation. Even an anti-inflammatory mouthwash isn't bringing much relief right now and the gums are swollen too. So we picked out a dentist and we are lucky that there is one here on La Manga. Since siestas are held at noon in Spain, even in winter, I got an appointment in the late afternoon. On the way there I got the English words for z. B. Root inflammation picked out so I could explain what I'm missing.
The doctor was really nice, but I broke off trying to explain everything in English. I seemed to have done well though as he X-rayed me right away. Afterwards, when he sat at the computer to look at the pictures, he asked where we were from. After I explained that we are from Germany, he said that we could then talk in German. Great, and I'll break one off in English!!!! He explained to me that I have a very deep paradontosis pocket and a decent inflammation in there. So I should take antibiotics for 1 week, then come back and undergo periodontosis prophylaxis. Then you have to see if it's enough or if it still needs to be scraped out.
Back on the bus I explained to Basti that our stay on La Manga would be extended by 1 week. Of course it was again shortly before the weekend and Monday doesn't seem to have everything open either. So it was really good that I went to the doctor straight away and didn't have to wait. We use the week that we are still here for the homepage, for sleeping in and for the bus. And we haven't seen the bridge yet. The stupid thing is that I'm supposed to take the antibiotics every 8 hours. So get up early in the morning and take a pill. So back to the large parking lot and set up there. It's actually quite nice to stand somewhere for a week and let the impressions of the last few weeks sink in.
Because I got up early because of the antibiotics, I was even able to watch a sunrise. That was really very nice! We enjoyed the week, even Finja thought it was great just to lie down and sleep. The bus was cleaned, slept as well as possible, walked a lot and watched the sunsets and lazed around a bit. the Puente de la Risa bridge we also looked at it. Since we also had to shower and wash, we went to the campsite in La Manga for 1 night. It was really big and had many weekend houses on the square. We also did water and sewage and then after one night we drove back to our beautiful pitch. On the way there we quickly stopped at a supermarket.
After a week we went back to the dentist. The prophylaxis was done and the doctor said after the check-up that it would be fine and nothing else needed to be done. I should only take antibiotics for the next 4 days and if there is nothing more then everything will be fine. Since it was already very late and we had decided to continue driving, we drove to a new place. It was on the Bay of La Manga. We were hungry and it was already quite dark, so we stopped at the beginning of the bay. We didn't sleep that well that night because we had problems with mosquitoes for the first time. We were constantly waking up and chasing the critters, but didn't help us. I've been stung 6 times and 3 of them in the face. Wasn't that funny. Since we had only slept 3 to 4 hours, we looked for a place on La Manga so as not to drive so far.
When we woke up, we saw that there were several mobile homes ahead and we could have gone further. But I heard that people there were up half the night because of the mosquitoes. After a little shopping we drove to the other place, a parking lot at the lighthouse Faro Carbo de Palos.
The parking lot was slightly sloping so we had to figure out where to park. Since there were already several mobile homes there, it didn't seem to be a problem to stay there overnight. You had a great view while walking. On the left side of the lighthouse you could walk along a promenade towards La Manga. From the promenade you had a wonderful view over the peninsula. Just beautiful. And even better with sunset. We also walked up to the lighthouse and enjoyed the view.
Since we stood there for 2 nights, we walked a lot. To the right of the lighthouse, a coastal path went around the top and there was plenty to see here too. We were able to sleep through the night as it was only a little windy and there were no mosquitoes. During the day there was also quite a bit of through traffic, lots of people for walking and lighthouses.
Otherwise we were still working, homepage and insta. Marco, who we met in Lofoten last summer, got in touch via Insta and said he had also been to La Manga a few days ago. He was on a finca Cartagena and since Basti had them on our list, we arranged to meet there.
We wanted to wash the bus in Cartagena, because Basti had found a car wash where he can get upstairs. Then we went to the football stadium, where we actually wanted to spend the night to see the city the next day. When we got to the stadium we walked around it. Basti didn't feel comfortable there and didn't want to spend the night there either. After a short deliberation, we went straight to the finca, which is located just above Cartagena.
You can find more pictures in the Photo gallery Spain.
