Babley Babble: Cartagena and Isla Plana Days 28-31

It was a long, hot drive to Isla Plana, with temperatures hitting 34c. The rapid transit we’d hoped for came to a halt just outside Murcia when we hit gridlocked traffic on the motorway just outside the city.

So, we took a breath, crossed fingers and peeled off onto the inner ring road and as much by luck as map reading, ended up on the A30, driving through some beautiful mountain scenery down towards Cartagena, rejoining the motorway closer to the coast and then heading for Mazarrón. Passing by what looked like some spectacular abandoned tin mines, we reached the coast road and headed for our destination campsite, Los Madriles.

First impressions were good with a choice of terraced pitches and a lovely saltwater pool. We chose a pitch about halfway up and lucked out with the neighbours.

Our road was very friendly! Not so some of the other campers. This was one of the biggest concentrations of long-stay campers we’ve seen in Spain so far and there was something of a sense of entitlement and arrogance in the behaviour of some. There was also a sense of claustrophobia for us, with mountains looming immediately behind and a distinct lack of air circulation! The whole place felt stuffy in every sense of the word. With a minimum stay of three nights and lots of other ‘rules’, we decided to keep our stay short but sweet and spend as much time as we could off site.

Day one we walked into Isla Plana along the beach. We freecamped here on the promontory about 25 years ago, just along from the old church. Now there’s a promenade, palm trees and low rise condos. It was nice to see that although it’s developed, it’s not spoiled.

Day two was a cycle ride in the other direction, out to Azohía and Cabo Tiñoso, along a track that began at the back of the beach. No beauty prizes for the first leg, hemmed in by polytunnels, but about a third of the way in it gave onto a palm lined path and then a beach. Azohía itsself turned out to be a pretty little resort, and very popular with freecampers as well as walkers, heading for the cape. We’d definitely stop here in future as a freecamp spot. It’s lovely.

For our final day’s adventure we caught the bus into Cartagena, an oft passed-by city on previous trips, sharing the journey with Barbara and Hagen, two of our friendly campsite neighbours.

We loved Cartagena! There are so many layers of history and so much to see. Cartagena was Hannibal’s city on the Iberian Peninsula, named after Carthage in North Africa, as well as a port and administrative centre for the Romans and is overflowing with historical sights. It was also the last city held by the Republicans before surrender to Franco’s Nationalists.

With the bus times only giving us a scant 5 hours to explore, we crammed in as much as we could, including a visit to the Roman Theatre and even a barco turistico trip around the bay to learn about the city’s military and trade history. It’s still the base for the Spanish navy now and a centre for trade, as well as a destination city for cruise ships.