In the wild west...

The time has come on January 2nd, 2023. We say byby to our friends in Motril and start our Andalusian adventure again. Since we have now spent 4 weeks on the beach, we are heading to the mountains.

We come to Tabernas and park in little Hollywood right on the edge of a canyon in a mountainous desert-like landscape. The view is spectacular and so is the hike through the canyon. Films like Lawrence of Arabia, A Handful of Dollars and much more were filmed here. The landscape is dry and rocky. We can park our truck right on the edge of the canyon. You can't get a better view from bed. Rugged rocks rise into the sky and palm meadows can often be found in the canyon. The dogs are also enthusiastic and Lucy goes hunting for rabbits. The sky is (as always) bright blue and the thermometer shows 23°. We are excited and wander around for a long time. The next day we visit the western town with the adjacent zoo. The city is magnificent and there are performances with lots of shooting and horses and villains. In the saloon we drink a beer as we should. Everything a western town needs is there. We enthusiastically walk through the world of the Wild West. We get sad in the neighboring zoo. Many animals such as lions, tigers, bears and leopards are kept in solitary confinement in enclosures that are far too small. It is clean and the animals are well fed, but they show behavioral problems and we feel incredibly sorry for them. The park itself is beautifully laid out and spotlessly clean. Despite everything, the 26 euro entrance fee per person was worth it.

We continue to Nija to the crater del Hoyazo and hike the steep path up to the entrance to the crater. You can search for grenades here. Some of the ground glitters red from garnet dust. We also cast what we were looking for and found a whole bag full of red, glittering stones. Back at the parking lot we meet the German Sonja and the Viennese Gerald with his great old fire engine. Together we drive to a remote dream beach near Cabo del Gata. It's over 7km on a bumpy track through no man's land. When we reach the bottom, we are amazed at the lonely, beautiful beach. Surrounded by white rocks, the waves rush into the sandy bay. What a contrast to the last few days in the barren mountains. We spend two great days there, hiking around the mountains and again finding a great secluded beach. The Carbo del Gata National Park is truly worth a visit with its barren mountain landscape and secluded beaches.

We check in with Sonja at a nearby parking space. We all need a long shower, the laundry needs to be washed and we have to take care of and dispose of things. The next few days we will be driving to the Murcia area to visit our friends Ben and Jess on their campo and help them with their water damage in the van. We're looking forward to it :)