Part of the Alcazaba a Moorish military fort overlooking the city of Almeria.

We've been getting great weather since we arrived here in Camping Cabo de Gata spending time checking out the local lakes and Salinas, villages along the coast and a day visit to the city of Almeria. Our bird count is 33 so far!! (no, I'm not a "twitcher" really). There are lots of flamingos in the nearby lake (about 60 today) and others in the Salinas which is further north along the coast near the village of Cabo de Gata. The main attractions in Almeria were the cathedral and Acazaba along with the wide ramblas and promenades. We have visited San Jose and the some of the park beaches such as Los Genoveses along a gravel track and south of San Jose, very picturesque and a wild looking spot but so close to civilisation. We have also been doing a few bike rides in the area to Retamar and El Barranquete where we got a good view over the Michelin test track (which is near Cabo) and also wild boar crossing the road infront of us.
We also did a "cycle route" from San Jose to  Los Escullos (returning by road to San Jose) with a friend we've met here and that proved quite demanding and led my bike to object by breaking a spoke (I've adjusted the wobbly wheel and await the next break!). It was fantastic scenery overlooking the cliffs and small bays. We also passed a disused bentonite  (white clay) quarry together with a building that had fallen into ruin and obviously connected with the open cast mining. Apparently, bentonite is still mined in the park, the only mining activity continuing to this day.

Part of the steep "cycle track" from San Jose, the photo taken after we'd lifted the bikes up! The Sierras del Cabo de Gata is in the background.

The park area to the north is more pleasant compared to here as there are less greenhouses or "plastico" where they grow acres of tomatoes under cover. We had a pleasant day at a Botanical Garden: "El Albardinal" in Rodalquillar (again to the north). Also in this village there is a Geological Information Centre that was very good, explaining the history of the local geology, volcanoes and about the gold mine at the northern end of the village. This closed in 1966 and just the shell remains but there is a good exhibition of the local mining history in the Geological Centre. San Jose and La Isleta del Morro are scenic fishing villages with apartments and white washed houses set on the hillsides, both not far away from here. We're planning another walk from Rodalquillar northwards along the coast and also a bike ride from here to San Jose, so more of that later I hope. Perhaps we'll go in search of gold too, who knows, maybe a better chance of finding some than doing the lottery!