Al Andalus Thalassa and surrounding area

 Granada has an edge over other Andalucian cities. Many visitors don’t get past the allure of the Alhambra, with its woods and the Sierra Nevada as magnificent backdrops, and the mystery of the winding streets of the Albayzín. But what you’ll find if you stick around is Andalucía’s hippest, youthful city, with a free-tapas culture, innovative bars, tiny flamenco holes and thumping clubs. Here, the Islamic past feels recent as a growing North African population has filled the Albayzín with kebab and cake shops and slipper and tea nooks and even a newly-constructed mosque. 

Granada is only a 2 hour drive from our apartment and surrounding area

 Mojacar Pueblo is the kind of vacation spot that you would expect to see on a postcard. A fairytale village, with its cluster of white sugar cubed buildings clinging to the side of the hilltop. For visitors the village is a delightful place to explore, you will find charming trinket shops, restaurants, bars and terraces. The village is a browsers delight. Arty shops beckon with their bits and pieces hanging from walls and make shift stalls. The winding streets lead you past smartly renovated houses decked out with potted plants and flowers and hole-in-the-wall shops selling everything from trendy clothing to locally made souvenirs.
Look out for the great value hand woven rugs, jarapas and the famous Indalo Man. At the heart of the mountaintop village is the Plaza Nueva where you stand on what appears to be a marble dance floor overhanging the side of the mountain. The views of the unexpected green carpet of agriculture land surrounding the village, Sierra Cabrera Mountains and coast line are magnificent. For those with the energy, further spectacular views await at the Mirador Castillo, which is Mojacar Pueblo's highest point. 

Villaricos is a small, unspoilt fishing village, both charming and tranquil, which maintains a typical Spanish feel. The village is located at the foot of the Sierra Almagrera Mountains. Villaricos (rich village) derives its name from ancient silver mines, which have their place in history, as it’s from here that Hannibal paid his mercenaries when he besieged Rome.

There is a good selection of restaurants and bars with food at very reasonable prices and cuisine ranging from native Spanish to British pub food. There is a small market every Sunday morning in the village square. 

 Located in the Almeria province , some 24 km west of Almeria itself along the N340 you will find one of the best tourist attractions in the province.  Mini Hollywood has been used to film scenes in more than 100 famous films including the westerns A Fistful of Dollars, The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  At Mini Hollywood you can enjoy a daily mock bank hold-up and shootout staged at noon and 5pm daily.  
There is also a pool area with slides and a mini zoo.  www.hvsl.es/lei/hojas/leio0002 

  If you are travelling with children, you must spend a day at the Water Park (Parque Aquatico Vera). This water park is packed with water slides, flumes, and wave pools. The slides range from the thrilling kamikaze to the less challenging kiddies slides. The water park is open  from May to September.  Overall there are 21 attractions at the park including 5 slides, 3 pools, a bar, mini golf & a picnic area. There is also a special area set aside for the younger ones. 
The park is right next to the Consum supermarket and is just 3 minutes away by car or a 30 minute walk, alternatively you can catch the bus from the bus stop near to the south pedestrian gate.   www.aquavera.com 

  Vera is a typically Spanish town with a smallish population of around 14,000 and has many streets, plazas and interesting historical buildings including its own bullring.  If you happen to be in Vera in the month of September, you will not want to miss the nine-day Celebration of San Cleofás. The celebration dates back to the 1500's when the Moors and Christians finally ended their battles. Today, the nine-day event offers parades, games, races, culinary delights, bonfires, and more! 

The Vera Bullring Plaza de Toros is located at the Calle Mayor roundabout to the south of the town. It is the oldest bullring in the province and was built in 1879 using money generated by the local mining industry. Its Mudejar style has suffered slightly through several restorations during the years, but nowadays, it can be seen and enjoyed during the bullfighting season or by just visiting the ring and its small museum of memorabilia. It has a capacity of some 6,500 spectators and still holds many bullfights each year. 

 This 8 km stretch of the coast offers great beaches and facilities with numerous bars, restaurants, chiringuitos, shops, hotels and alike. Free parking is readily available right on the beach.  Mojacar Playa

There are three ports in Garrucha 
the fishing port  commercial port and a  brand new sports port with many new bars and restaurants, Jet ski and other boating trips.

 Should you wish to test your driving skills you have come to the right place. Garrucha, under 10 mins drive from the apartment has a superb Go -kart track. There are karts with speeds up to 120 kph as well as slower ones. 

 It is possible to walk along the shoreline all the way from Vera Playa to the attractive small harbour of Villaricos to the north or the larger fishing harbour and town of Garrucha to the south. The beach is predominantly sandy, though on the shoreline it can sometimes be pebbly.

The beach stretches approximately 7 kilometres, from just south of Villaricos down through Vera Playa itself, and on to Puerto Rey and Garrucha.

The sea is swimmable all year (even in the depths of winter it is warmer than the seas in northern Europe in summer!). Less hardy souls, which probably includes most Spanish people who are acclimatised to Spanish weather conditions, would probably say that the sea is swimmable from about May to late October. At the height of summer (mid June until mid Sepember) it is wonderfully warm.