Cruising Along The Costas

Mainland Spain is said to have over 3000 miles of coastline, from the Cantabrian section on its northern border with France, to Portbu on its Mediterranean border in the Gulf du Lyon. In a previous post I covered our journey along the Galician Coast and the ominously named Costa de Morte (Coast of Death). 

We changed the courtesy flags as we re-entered Spanish waters after travelling about 400 miles along the Portuguese Atlantic coast and the Algarve. The Spanish coastline is split into a number of named ‘Costas’ and in southern Spain we’ve now covered six of them. From out at sea they range from rugged, arid and uninhabited to lengthy stretches of tourist developments, although, so far, they’re mostly small scale and low rise.

Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light)

This stretches the Atlantic coast of southwestern Spain from the mouth of the Guadiana River, which forms the border with Portugal, as far as Tarifa, near the Straits of Gibraltar. 

Vibrant and picturesque Ayamonte sits 3 miles inland from the coast and is reached along a navigable channel. We moored up at a very reasonably priced marina (£14 per night - a standard charge for the Puertos de Andalusia group) in the centre of the town with its white buildings, beautiful tiled plazas, lively restaurants and bars. We loved it here!  

Cádiz also sits on the Costa de la Luz. A busy city but large enough to absorb the hundreds of cruise ship passengers exploring all the sights. It has narrow pedestrianised streets, open plazas, a free archeological museum and beautifully tended gardens plus a maritime promenade stretching around the headland on which it sits.

Costa del Sol (Sunshine Coast) 

Roughly covers the area from La Línea de la Concepción (near Gibraltar) in the west to Nerja in the east stretching around 93 miles of coastline. It has a long and rich history spanning back thousands of years but it’s probably best known as one of the tourism hotspots of Andalusia. 

We squeezed stern-to into a tiny space in another of the very affordable Puertos de Andalusia groups municipal ports in Marbella. It’s pot luck if there’s a space in these small popularharbours, even out of season, and we were lucky on this occasion. Away from the noisy bars on the seafront there is a lovely old centre to Marbella, cobbled streets, cafe filled plazas lined with orange trees and a number of churches. We sat ‘people watching’ whilst having a drink in one of the squares. Back at the boat we were the subject of ‘people watching’ as we were moored on the busy public quay that leads down to the departure point for the tour boats.

Fuengirola was the first place my sisters Sue, Helen and I went in our teens in the mid-70’s without a responsible adult with us! Mum and Dad probably knew full well that Fuengirola in December would be dead and we couldn’t get up to much trouble. I remember the tour rep checking we were getting off at the right hotel, which turned out to be full of ‘old fogeys’ and us being the only ones in the hotel’s disco. 

We anchored off in Fuengirola, the beach was busy and young kids were circling us in their tiny Optimist boats. It had a lovely vibe to it.

Costa Tropical

Characterised by low rainfall, lots of sunshine and mild temperatures, even in winter, this short 60 mile stretch of coastline used to be part of the Costa del Sol. It runs from Almuñécar in the west to La Rábita in the east. We motored quite close to the coast and noticed small coves, sandy beaches and the hills behind were green and fertile. 

We stopped overnight at Motril Marina which sits half way along this Costa. It’s a large commercial hub for the area with a major port big enough to accommodate huge cruise ships. The passengers are whisked off by bus to the Alhambra in Granada, a short 50 minute drive away. We, like the cruise passengers didn’t have much time here, arriving late and leaving early. 

Costa de Almería

One of the longer ‘Costas’ stretching 135 miles from Adra in the west to Pulpi in the east can possibly be summed up in five words - Golf, Greenhouses, Geology and a Grotesque Hotel! 

With its endless sunshine it’s a popular area for golfing and we stayed at Almerimar which caters for both yachting and golfing tourism. It was here the wrecked catamaran which had drifted south down the coast luckily ended up on the outer breakwater and was winched out of the water.

Photographs from NoForeignLand

From out at sea you can’t miss the miles of plastic poly-tunnels and greenhouses known locally as the Mar de Plástico or "Sea of Plastic". The main crops, being grown predominantly for the north European market, are peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and courgettes. 

Another blot on the landscape is an abandoned unfinished hotel that has been the subject of a legal dispute for the past 20 years. Built too close to the national park  boundary and with dubious planning permission the legal wrangles as to who will pay for its demolition continue to be fought. The huge building, now covered in graffiti, dominates an otherwise beautifully unspoilt stretch of coastline in Almería's Cabo de Gata-Níjar National Park.

The park contains the only mountains of volcanic origin found on the Iberian Peninsula and are thought to date back to between 9 to 16 million years ago. 

Costa Cálida (Warm Coast)

This is the longest Costa stretching about 150 miles from El Mojón in the north to Águilas in the south. It includes Mar Menor (Europe's largest saltwater lagoon) which is separated from the Mediterranean by La Manga, a 14 mile long sandy spit. We stopped at a marina on the edge of the lagoon as well as at marinas in the towns of Cartagena and Mazarrón.

Roman theatre at Cartagena 

Mazarrón was an unusual but welcoming place and there are a number of Roman sites in the area. We almost walked straight past its interesting little museum hidden behind hoarding boards. 

Because Cartagena lies up a well protected inlet it is virtually unnoticeable when approaching by sea. Sadly the same can’t be said for La Manga, which suffered from uncontrolled urban development leading to the disappearance of beaches and disastrous environmental consequences for the lagoon, which now has legal protection.

Costa Blanca

Santa Pola is probably the only town we’ll stop at on this particular Costa. We arrived here after a long day bashing into strong headwinds and an uncomfortable sea, whilst avoiding a number of fish farms. 

The town boasts Roman ruins and mosaics, a 16th-century castle, two large marinas and a fishing port as well as vast salt-extraction wetlands, home to large colonies of pink flamingos, all within easy walking distance. There’s a Salt Museum and a Maritime Museum - we visited both, Dave knows how to treat a girl! 

We’re leaving the mainland coast now and heading east towards the Balearics - Ibiza, Mallorca & Menorca. We haven’t decided  yet where to aim for on our return to the mainland and whether we will have missed out on any of the remaining Costas!