And that is what we are doing at the moment during our first week in Los Alcazares, Murcia.
We have been here many times, including in pre-motorhome life as David’s Aunt and Uncle have a place here and with the old Murcia airport literally no more than five minutes away we have been able to take advantage of their generosity and hospitality a good few times.
On our travels around Spain in 2016, we again came here in our first beloved Elddis Encore Nikki, first to visit them and to take advantage of the newly opened campervan area Los Narejos, just minutes from the beach, shops and local community, plus a very decent golf course- Roda. In that year, we had a couple of repeats with them, not just for their company but to assist with a few dilemma’s we had on our travels- replacement bank cards and also the removal of a plaster cast for my wrist, being a couple that spring to mind.
During those times we would as ever tend to do the same thing, go the same places as we are nothing if not creatures of habit and those places we visited were of course based on their local knowledge. So, you’re not going to go to an unknown restaurant or bar when they have already done the leg work on the good places.
This time around it’s again a second visit here, the first being in 2020 when we were making our way down to the Cadiz region under various Covid rules and an eventual second lock down in Barbate. This time it is to spend the last few weeks of our travels before we head back to the UK and the end of this journey, with Buster heading back up to Durham to his home town.
Unfortunately, on both of these occasions, due to the dreaded we have not had the pleasure of Aunt and Uncle’s company and it has put a different complexion on the visits for us, as of course has Covid on the area and the community.
But that said we are still doing our re-visits to those places from 2016 and we have been living in hope that they have all been as good as they were back then.
The local beach is still as lovely, with kite surfers in abundance. A few less bars along the prom perhaps and certainly a few less English voices. Our parking spot is still run by the same family and is as good as ever, the restaurant is in fact busier to our mind than what it was back in 2016, and according to the same waiter as back then, it’s very much more a Spanish hang out. The Spanish red arrows still blast us every morning with their flyovers and training from what was Murcia airport, the new passenger Murcia airport now up and operational in believe it or not, Murcia.
The market just around the corner has taken a hit and is now just once a week on a Saturday and when we visited yesterday, it was much quieter than what it use to be, a huge shame for the local traders who rely upon both the locals and tourists for their income. We did our bit for the economy and brought a few bits, including my favourite- Malaga mango’s. Plus we also got three beautiful honeydew melons for the huge price of €1. Unfortunately, we both had to say that if all the rubbish stalls got rid of their plastic crap, then the planet would be saved for another month at least!
On the Thursday we went to one of our favourite repeats, with fingers crossed that it was still as good as before and that was the Venezuela fish restaurant near the famed mud baths of San Pedro del Pinatar. It was thankfully delightful and as good as ever- phew!.
We are yet to make a repeat to the pizza/pasta place in Santiago de la Ribera, but that will happen within the next week or so.
Today saw our first repeat visit to Roda golf club, where I coached David with his swing on the driving range there. Of course, the club house had to be taken in, all in the name of research, having just re-opened after a change of management there. The staff were friendly and the food we saw looked decent, but we might just leave that as a drinking hole until we have further intel on the food there.
As the next week approaches on our chill out time, we are going to have to venture out on our own a bit more, missing the guiding hands of Auntie and Uncle and do a few ‘that’s a first’. One we have in mind is the new very popular craze of paddle boarding, which the local kite, surf school are giving lessons in. Thankfully, the Mar Menor is very shallow, so hopefully we will survive to tell the tale!
There are a couple of more untested restaurants that we are going to give a try to as well, and of course we are both hoping for a first of a hole in one for David!
But other than that folks our time here in Los Alcazares like Only Fools and Horses will be a repeat.
Do stay with us folks, there’s nothing like a good re-run!
Katherine Clune says
Enjoy the paddle boarding …. you can pick it up from a YouTube video. I love it, especially as its the one sport I’m better at than James!
David says
I think you underestimate your sporting prowess.