Aguilas

May 26, 2024

Ambling to Aguilas

Garrucha is one of those coastal places with a gorgeous beach, lots of great restaurants and cafès along the waterfront, oodles of places to stay and hardly anyone here to soak it up. Waiters hang out inside their restaurants, bringing out the occasional drink or tapas to those seated outside. At least that’s how it goes until 2:30 when all h**l breaks loose and the restaurants fill with diners for the menu del dia, or lunch. The pace picks up and there’s a frenzy of activity, with waiters scurrying back and forth across the road with platters of food in one direction, then empty glasses and soiled plates in the other.

We haven’t adapted to the rhythm of the menu del dia mainly because we are nowhere near such a place when we are ready for lunch. We do, however, like to have a cafe con leche first thing in the morning and that’s how we started out in Garrucha today. We had already eaten our breakfast in the room, so after coffee we were ready to roll.

A sampling of real estate prices in this area. Want to buy a cave house for 110,000€?

Today’s ride was reasonably easy with some gentle rises along the coast that offered some good viewpoints of the crashing waves below. Along the flatter coastal sections, the land was cultivated with watermelon and zucchini.

In between, there were developments known as urbanizations. They are basically like our gated communities in North America. Each one has its own unique design and often a secure gate to allow access only to those who are living or staying there. It seems at this time of year, most are deserted.

This urbanization had an interesting arabic style.

This is the busiest beach we have seen in this area by far.

Productive fields of melons and zucchinis along the highway.

The coastal area that’s planted and irrigated is interrupted by a rugged section of coastline which used to be an active mining area back in the 1840’s, the continuing off and on until 1970. The discovery of the ores sparked a large mining operation. Millions of tons of iron ore, silver, lead and copper were extracted and shipped from the coast near Garrucha. Today, signs of the mining history come in the form of broken-down brick structures and chimneys dotting the barren desert hillsides.

While we have found the temperatures very manageable, the air quality has diminished noticeably in the last couple of days as the humidity has been building along the coastline. There has been light, high cloud and a heat haze blocking the sun, which you can clearly discern in the photos that follow. This actually works in our favour as it subdued the sun’s rays. It feels very much like there will be a thunder and lightning event coming soon but there is no mention of it in the weather forecast.

Trusty steed, showing the highway in the background.

As the opportunities arose to meander along the coastal promenades in front of the beachside condos and homes, we took them. There were almost no people on the walkways, very few in the water and none simply lounging in the sun. It made for relaxing cycling, as we both wondered when the high season is for this area.

Her is today’s video of the ride.

We easily found our hotel in the main drag of Aguilas, with its large bold sign. So often, our accommodation has no sign except for a small nameplate next to the door but this one was a no-brainer. 😜 The friendly but quirky receptionist showed us to the women’s loo where we could store the bikes. He assured us they would be secure in there. Then he proceeded to give us the key to a room that was not ready. It was quickly remedied by the cleaning lady and in no time we were in a surprisingly nice room with a 72” flat-screen TV, overlooking the side street.

David flicked on the TV and discovered that the Moto GP from Barcelona was just beginning. It is also race day for the Monaco Grand Prix but that one requires a subscription, so Moto GP it was.

We lazed and rested before heading out to see the town on foot. Our route took in the castle that sits atop the big rock at the seashore, the beach, the harbour and the botanical gardens in the Plaza d’Espagna.

Central fountain in the Plaza d’Espagna.

This video is being a stinker. It doesn’t belong here but refuses to leave the journal so here it will sit. Please ignore it. 😝

By the time we cycled in to Aguilas, we were reasonably sapped and sweaty. WHere is a sampling of the riding today, in vid

One of two giant Australian Ficus trees in the square.

Many restaurants are closed today as it is Monday, so we selected a place in the Plaza d’Espagna for dinner and returned to it for an 8pm sitting. We shared a salad and we each had cod for a main entree, then we dropped in to the heladeria next door for gelato before calling it a night.

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Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 688 km (427 miles)

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