Las Negras and beyond

One of the hardest things for me to decide when we're at the beach in Spain is whether we venture out for something new and unproven or we stick with what we know. We've done pretty well over the years with the little beach finds and fortunately Nacho and I like the same kind of places--smaller, more secluded or private areas without a ton of people. It doesn't matter so much to us if there aren't amenities as long as the water is nice and not too rough. Knowing our demands aren't easy to meet, it's easy to want to keep hitting the same places all the time. But on this trip, I had made it a goal to get to a new town called Las Negras which we had passed nearby many times before. José and Irene had great things to say about it having been there for New Year's many times, but I wasn't sure what the summer beach vibe was like. With one day left in our stay, I thought it might be a mistake if we got there and didn't like it, but we saw there were a few other playas nearby so at least we had a Plan B. Turns out we didn't need one.

Within minutes of making it to the town and finding prime parking, I felt like we were onto something good. Rounding the corner to see the beach laid out before us, I knew this was going to be a good choice even if the pebbles and stones were a little more challenging. Turns out there were plenty of sandy spots to enter the water from and we plunked down our stuff near one and got right in. And oh my, the water was nice. There was a kind of rocky shelf a few dozen feet out in the sea and that keep the waves from breaking anywhere near us. The girls needed a little help to navigate the rocks in the water (and Elisa some coaxing about the stupid fish) but the reward was a beautiful, clear spot for great swimming. Yes, the fish were nibbling again. And yes, Elisa eventually saw them and busted a move so fast to get out of the water that Nacho and I were left practically in tears laughing so hard. I have never seen her move that quickly. But gosh, the water was delightful. We scoped out a restaurant overlooking the bay just above us and I was already picturing lunch up there. By the time we got out and wandered over we found out we missed the chance to order a rice dish which was disappointing. We had promised Elisa paella for lunch and they were making some beautiful ones. But not for us. We should have called ahead (had we known). Oh well. You live and you learn. We ordered fish and the girls had another breaded meat with fries and for dessert, Elisa finally got to try her frozen lemon sorbet. It was all worth it. Our original plan was to move on to another beach after lunch but Nacho and I decided to scrap that after thinking it might not be as nice as the beach we were already at. Why tempt fate? So we dipped ourselves back in the water after lunch and swam until just before sunset. It was a perfect last beach day. After grabbing some granizados and sitting on the boardwalk, we walked over to hear some live music drifting out of a small white washed calle on the edge of the village. A typical Andalusian singer was giving the crowd the best concert outside a bar and everyone was swaying and enjoying their drinks. It was such a purely relaxing moment. I wanted to stay there forever. Instead we tried to soak it all up and carry it with us. We made a quick pit stop at the top of the hill on our drive back to Agua Amarga and the rest of the night was getting ready to pack up and leave in the morning. 

Good bye, Agua Amarga! Hasta la próxima

Our next stop was hitting Calnegre on our drive back to Madrid. It's amazing what a memory of a fabulous meal can do to your driving route. Instead of just hightailing it back home, we opted to take a slightly longer route and venture back up the coast to this little village to indulge ourselves with a caldero from the same beachside restaurant we hit last year. Sometimes you just have to prove it was that good. It was. Carolina on the other hand was not so impressed. By this point in our beach vacation the girl was over having breaded chicken cutlets and giant, soggy fried potatoes. Oh well. She didn't want to try anything else. But she did want ice cream. Yes, there was more crying. No, I was not amused. She just couldn't make herself look any more pathetic. Fortunately, I was in a good mood and relented. But really, look at that face. The kid was milking it. 

The drive back was uneventful and we made a new discovery of melon gum at one of the gas stations. It was a big hit, as was the coffee we grabbed on the other stop. Another 5+ hour drive and we were almost back to Encinar. The beach trips in Spain aren't without their downsides and the long car rides are the biggest ones. But in the end, it was such a good week in Almeria that I think it was all well worth it. The girls had their new tablets to play with in the car on the way back and Nacho and I enjoyed chatting and talking about the rest of the trip to come. Including our planned getaway to Paris next week. So yes, it was good to go and good to be home. And now for a little more time with the family!

Playas y playas

Agua Amarga is the kind of beach town in Spain where you can easily imagine retiring--living the quiet life near the sea and eating at the town plaza every day for a fresh meal of local seafood. It's so quaint and so low key that I have dreamed of it often in the five years we've known about it. Being back here this year with the girls in tow has been such a blessing. And I don't use that word lightly. We have had a few ups and downs in that time and this year just felt like we were finally making some progress towards a few life goals--you know, big picture stuff. The kind of progress where you stop for a minute to take stock of how good your life is and how much you appreciate what you have. And so being back in Agua Amarga makes sense somehow. It feels like this is the place I'm supposed to be in right at this very moment. How often does that happen? And yet sometimes it does and it feels very, very good. 

So forgive me for the obscene amount of photos of us smiling in the water or eating amazing things near the beach. I'm just trying to remember it all and make sense of how we got here. When Nacho and I originally found this little corner of heaven in Almeria, Spain, I wasn't sure we'd ever be back. I wanted to but then I also sometimes feel like there is still so much more to see. We made a second trip a year later (again without kids) and it was just as dreamy. So being back this year with our girls for their first time was something special. We recreated a lot of the highlights of our other visits, but of course found new things as well. Our decision to hit the beaches near San Jose on Day Two was a great idea and I was happy to grab a bit to eat in the town before making the post-lunch bus trip to the hidden calas. Our favorite little beach just to the left of Cala Carbon was still there and as beautiful as every, even if the steep, rocky path down was a bit more daunting with two kids screeching about it. They did fine and we made it onto the little cove with plenty of daylight left to enjoy. The fact that there were only 4 other people there (2 of whom were completely nude) was exactly what I had imagined. The girls were able to splash and play and enjoy the amazing water. Elisa even forgot about the tiny fish circling her for a while and we all found our beach zen in that moment. The day was slightly overcast and mild but we managed to stay until almost sunset before packing up for the drive back. We stopped at the pizzeria in Isleta del Moro and I had to keep my promise to myself to get the same jamón with arugula pizza that I had so many years ago. It was still divine. 

Agua Amarga Again

This year I took a chance on our summer vacation. By mid-June, I had Nacho's following month schedule and so I knew we would be trying to get to Spain around the 23rd of July. I figured within a week of that, we would probably take a little side trip to the beach as a family. But I wasn't sure yet of Nacho's August schedule, so planning anything was a bit tricky. After a few quick searches near Agua Amarga, I was disheartened. Agua Amarga is a special little white-washed village in Almeria that Nacho and I discovered on our first beach trip back in 2012. Most of the Airbnb type rentals were not that nice or completely booked and none of it was cheap. Fast forward a few weeks and I sat down one night to make some more inquiries in that area and check out hotels too. That's when a listing came up for a place called Arto Blanco that seemed to be a sort of hybrid apartment/hotel with availability for the week starting Aug. 30th. I was intrigued. When the price came back under $1000, I was sold. But I still didn't have Nacho's time off confirmed yet and waiting wasn't an option. I booked it and prayed we'd find out in a few days that he was free until later in August. Otherwise, the girls and I would be enjoying the beach without him (yeah, right). Luckily, by middle of July we found out that he was indeed off until August 10th and so we were all systems go for both the big trip to Madrid and our beach vacation to Agua Amarga. 

Of course, booking a place online and not having been to the village for a few summers, I was slightly nervous about pulling up to a dump. But within minutes, I could see we had lucked out and our tour of the three-story apartment with the girls oohing and ahhhing every minute proved to be quite the introduction to this perfect little getaway. The girls loved all the steps and our roof deck and I loved our washer and full kitchen. Nacho was just happy to be back in the village and we all hit the beach that afternoon without a care in the world. In previous trips to that region, Nacho and I had stayed at a small resort outside of the village. So we'd never actually spent much time at the beach in Agua Amarga. But it turned out to be a great village beach for the girls and so near to our hotel that it was really the total opposite of their first trip to the beach last year when we stayed in Lorca and drove everywhere. Not that we didn't enjoy exploring different areas every day. But something about being in one place, with a beach just a 5 minute walk away was ideal. We closed out our first evening with pizza up on the roof at sunset and the most amazing views. Yeah, I could get used to this. Happy to be here and so glad we are showing this to our girls. They love it as much as we hoped they would.