Graham met me at Murcia airport in his rented Polo and it took around an hour to drive to the small village of Los Lobos where Myriam was waiting in their Los Llanos apartment.
On first impressions the scenery in this part of Spain is sandy and barren with very little greenery, which results in a rather scruffy appearance. In parts the soft rock is home to people living in caves which have the frontage of a "normal house" and then extend back into the hillside.
Despite the apparent dryness there are fields of melons and artichokes and plastic tunnels sheltering crops such as tomatoes. Regular "explosions" in the fields chase away marauding birds, rabbits and wild boar day and night.
This area lying in the provinces of Andalusia and Almeria has a huge, if migratory, English presence. So much so that there is even a branch of Iceland supermarkets which is staffed by imported workers from England. I wonder if it's a performance incentive back in the UK? Excel at your till and earn a 3 month stint in sunny Spain? Luckily for us many of the Spanish in the area also speak excellent English.
A very obvious feature of the landscape is the large number of partly built housing developments. Apparently some have been standing for 3 or 4 years, now owned by the banks and waiting patiently for an upturn in the economy. It lures one into thinking that there could be bargain buys around every corner but the banks appear to be hanging on for better prices.
We played golf at San Juan where an entire development appears to have been completed and never put on the market.
It is protected around the clock by patrolling security guards, the swimming pools are maintained and the golf course is pristine. A vivid streak of green in the dry landscape.
The long evenings meant that we could start to play at 16h30 when it was a little cooler. Although it was still a pleasant 31 degrees after 21h00 when we finished. The €35 per person include a golf cart a bottomless free beer or Tintoretto Di Varona (a mixture of red wine and summer fruits that disappears like cool drink) from 2 pumps outside the pro shop after the round.
On the back nine a swirling fierce wind suddenly reared up from the dusty land and started to move twister-like carrying the grey dust towards us. Steve shouted for us to get into the carts but just as suddenly it veered away and went in a different direction.
The golf was fiercely contested with many balls being lost in scrubby ravines or half empty artificial lakes, however Graham excelled on the last few holes to give us a win. The free drinks were on Steve and Ron and a return match was planned for Friday before we leave for Alicante airport. Graham and Myriam to fly to Barcelona en route to inspect their new house in Argeles sur la Mer and myself to Bologna, one step closer to the Dolomites.
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Location:Andalusia
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