San José – Eurovelo 1

by Chris Riches - 23rd September 2018

Las Negras to San José

There wasn’t a definite destination planned when I set off from Las Negras, I just decided to head in the direction of Los Escullos then San José, and perhaps further south west.

Still within the Cabo de Gata national park, Los Escullos was a small village with a few hotels and restaurants alongside the long beach.

It wasn’t much further to San José, the largest town in the national park. With it’s white buildings, harbour area and pleasant beach it was instantly likeable and I decided to stop for the lunch there, and booked a room for the evening. Architecturally it was amongst the most stylish of the towns that I had visited in Spain. Perhaps owing to the dry climate, cacti weren’t just a feature of the natural landscape, some residents also grew several varieties in their gardens.

The main beach in the town was nice but busy so I walked firstly to Playa de los Genoveses then to a small beach further along the coast only accessible by walking down a steep rocky path or by boat. It was much quieter than the other beaches and had nice clear water which made swimming there very enjoyable.

Walking back I noticed that the features of the terrain of the national park such as the rugged hills, volcanic looking rocks and the various plant species were quite unique and unlike any other region that I’d visited.

Distance: 14 miles

Maximum temperature: 30 degrees C

Cabo de Gata National Park

San José

Cabo de Gata National Park

Playa de Los Genoveses

by Chris Riches - 24th September 2018

San José to Roquetas de Mar

After breakfast in San José, I checked out of the good value hostal just before midday and took the main road north out of the Cabo de Gata National Park.

The solar panel proved to be useful in the strong Andalucian sun for charging my phone for navigation and the tailwind made the ascent out of San José, and much of the journey, feel fairly effortless. Travelling east about 5 miles outside of San José the landscape slowly became redder as it flattened out.

Just outside Almería I heard the sound of some birds in the trees in a park area and saw several noisy green birds which looked like monk parakeets.

The most direct route towards Roquetas de Mar took me thorough the centre of Almería which I knew very little about but stopped to have a look at the Cathedral and the Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress founded in the 10th century.

It wasn’t until taking the N-340a road out of Almería that it’s situation in the desert became so striking with the orange rocks rising up on the right hand side of the road. There were a couple of tunnels. The sun was behind me for most of the day which reduced the effect of the heat but I’d cycled past several illuminated signs saying it was 35 degrees. Looking at the weather on my phone I wasn’t convinced about their accuracy but I was continuing to enjoy the abundance of petrol stations in Spain which sold cold drinks and ice creams, which mitigated the heat.

The last stage of the ride was mostly right next to the sea passing through Aguadulce with a good view of it’s harbour. Once I reached the campsite at Roquetas de Mar it was unsurprising to find the ground was rock hard. I didn’t have a hammer – it would be heavy to transport – and eventually located a rock to hammer in the tent pegs. A neighbour at the campsite kindly lent me a hammer which was a big help.

Distance: 35 miles

Maximum temperature: 31 degrees C