#41 Hotel Cotijo Bravo, Velez Malaga

A rare treat made possible by the grandparents: marble baths; champagne at breakfast; gardens full of the scent of jasmine, lemon blossom and lavender along with helpful and patient staff made this an oasis of calm, comfort and cleanliness in the midst of our otherwise chaotic, cramped and crusty existence. All hail the splendour of Pam and Colin’s generosity!

#42 Dave and Annie’s land – Posada Edith, Espino, Andalucia

Yes it was a bit cold and grey while we were there but, as I said in this post, when you’ve got gin, movies, a log burner and fantastic folk, you’ve got the ingredients for a good stay anywhere. We were able to plug in Colin and the land was level, which made for perfect camping conditions. With Vera the Airstream for a neighbour, a misty view down the valley and a gang of waggy dogs to greet us each morning we could want for little else. Thanks Dave and Annie!

#43 Camping Cabo de Gata, Almeria

This place is one of the big, very well equipped, campsites that attracts lots of Northern European overwinterers. I wouldn’t say it had a whole lot of character but the facilities were top notch and it was well positioned for wildlife watching, being set amongst lagoons and only a kilometre from the sea. There was a pool but it was too cold to use it while we were there, a bar, shop and restaurant. It wasn’t particularly cheap but nor was it overly expensive at out-of-season prices. My favourite thing about staying here were the flocks of flamingoes which flew regularly overhead.

#44 Car Park, La Isleta

Still one of the prettiest places we’ve parked; La Isleta is a fishing village surrounded by empty hills and small, quiet beaches. There’s a car park right on the beach which is free and allows overnight parking. In good weather this place must be like paradise, but we were not to experience it at its best. The wind howled the whole time we were there making the sand fly up and sting our legs but we bravely jumped in the waves, walked up a hill or two and ate in the little friendly pizza shop. We were content.

#45 Dried up river bed on the beach, Agua Amarga

Another fantastic free camp! And again, we saw it in some pretty awful weather. We parked up with about twenty other vans on the dried up riverbed and then went into town for a mooch about. While we were out the heavens opened and the streets became streams; we returned to the free camp to find everyone had gone! We were one of only two vans that braved the storms and the possibility that our camping spot may return to being a river. We were rewarded after a couple of days with a prime spot on the beach and beautiful weather to enjoy it by. We swam in the sea, drank coffee and bought some gifts in the pleasant little town and enjoyed a couple of beach bars that were a mere minute or two from the van. The only price we had to pay was a couple of leaky windows and increasingly pongy armpits.

#46 Los Madriles, Isla Plana

After a week or so of wild camping, we thought we felt that we really should have a wash and clean our filthy clothes so off we toddled to another campsite popular with winter sun seekers. Fairly unremarkable in most areas it did however have a great swimming pool filled with seawater and warmed. Here we really started to see the boys growing in confidence in the water, so we stayed on a couple of days to make the most of this leap in learning to swim.

#47 Free Park, La Azoha

We’d been told about a free camp here on the edge of a natural park near the sea but we couldn’t discover much to keep us there; so we walked up another hill, had a drink in a bar and just stayed one night. There were lots of places advertising diving schools which I was feeling tempted by but none of them appeared to be open. I assume that in high season this place may have more to offer the tourist or traveller but there didn’t seem to be much going on when we passed through.

#48 Camping Fuente, Los Banos de Fortuna, Murcia, Spain

I wasn’t crazy about this campsite, and again, it wasn’t cheap, but you did get your own little bathroom with each pitch which was a novelty. The real draw for this campsite is the pool which is partially fed by surplus spa water from the town’s bubbling source but only after the big hotels have used all they want. The pool is heated to body temperature which the boys loved but it left Rob and I feeling a bit weird and wiped out. You can find out more about Banos de Fortuna in this post.

#49 Bicorp Camperstop

Brilliant little town, brilliant little camperstop. There’s a play park and a bar nearby, and the centre of town is only a short pleasant walk away. We only came to Bicorp for the five-euro-a-night camperstop but ended up falling in love with the place. There’s more about Bicorp in this post.

#50 Camping Playa Tropicana, Alcossebre

Another big, largely characterless place in the resort of Alcossebre. There are some great beaches in Alcossebre and out of season, we enjoyed ourselves. The development here doesn’t feel too overwhelming and there are natural parks within easy cycling distance. In mid-summer, I could see it being less attractive.