Almeria

Our last day in Spain was spent in the city of Almeria. Almeria was founded in 955 by the Moors. It was a hot day and not many of the shops were open during the siesta but we still had a wonderful last day in Spain.

The main boardwalk 

A Cathedral

The biggest highlights for Almeria was visiting the Alcazaba of Almeria. It was a Mulsim fortress built to defend the city.

They have recreated the gardens to look like how they would have when the Moors used the fortress.

The wall of defense

Inside one of the many buildings

Prickly Pear Cactus

Views of city 

The water system

We found some cats hanging out in the shade

The Christians took over the city in 1489 and used built a Christian castle on the sight.

Views of the Mediterranean

Almeria also had some Gypsy caves but it was unclear on whether or not you could visit them so we just took some pictures from afar.

It was a very hot day- 102

lime trees growing in the city

We were a bit disappointed that some of the stuff we wanted to see was closed. We searched and searched for the Museum of Olive Oil (hoping that it would have some air conditioning) but after asking two different people and finally finding it, it was closed. We ended up finding a restaurant that was air conditioned and open and spent about an hour and half hanging out in there.

We made it to the beach for one last look 

We flew home that night sad to be leaving Spain but excited that we had had a wonderful trip in Spain. We talked about extending our trip for another couple of days and seeing more of Spain but in the end we stayed with the original plan.

One last jumping picture

We loved that you borded the plane right next to the ocean.

If you ever get the chance to go to Spain, do it. We loved it there and would return in a second!

Beaches

We had heard that some of the beaches that in the Cabo de Gata National Park are amazing. So we went on a tour of the ones closest to us. We drove out of the town onto a gravel path to the nearest beach.

The walk to the car park to the beach was filled with the sounds of cicadas. We haven't heard cicadas since we moved from Southern Illinois. It was a wonderful sound.

The name of the beach was playa de los genoveses. The description on the area website claims "Here is practised nudism area"

Driving to the next beach through the national park

The next beach, playa monsul, was smaller and more secluded but still as beautiful

the rocks were perfect for rock climbing and we actually saw a lot of people doing just that.

We saw these bushes everywhere in Spain. The loved the warm dry climate

This picture was taken to remind me of what a blue sky looks like in the dark cloudy days in the UK.

There were cactus fields everywhere

An old working wind mill

We really enjoyed San Jose. It was a chance to slow down and enjoy life in a small seaside Spanish town. It had a nice authentic feel to it and everything moved at a relaxed pace. The whitewashed adobe houses perched on the hillsides overlooking the sea was an idyllic setting for our beach vacation. It was a great way to end our time in Spain and we would definitely visit again.