A Quiet Way of Life - Villaricos, Spain

In the two tiny harbours of Villaricos, working fishermen go out every day and return to sell their catch along the front. Elderly men sit in the shade playing dominos.

Old ladies take a very long time to tell you how many different kinds of ice cream their shop sells and how there was just one shop here twenty years ago, with no ice cream at all.

 

A walk through the village brings you to a sandy beach with an old fashioned, reed mat shaded snack bar. Villaricos, apart from addition of ice cream, is the sort of Spanish coastal village you imagined had disappeared from the Mediterranean.

 

Recent developments here have actually embellished what was a rather run down stretch of coast, with abandoned industrial facilities and farms. Imaginative, tasteful architecture has placed atmospheric new townhouses and courtyard apartments carefully through the old fishing cottages. Villaricos has the sort of tranquil balconies you dream of sitting on with a good book, watching a gentle way of life pass by.

 

There are small restaurants and a street market selling fresh produce along with local arts and crafts. On holiday here, you feel you’re visiting a place where people really live quietly.

 

A short cab ride away is the lively town of Mojacar with bright lights, topless bathing, dancing in the streets… So you can break the mood any time you feel like it. There’s jet skiing, paragliding and a lot of all night sea front partying in Mojacar, as well as the breathtaking Moorish inland section of the town, with its maze of shops and cafes. Jump in a cab, go crazy - and then retreat to an older Spain to recover.

 

Further information:

• Apartments, villas and more information about Villaricos available through www.almazora.com
• Villaricos is 40 minutes from Almeria airport, 70 mins from Murcia. Scheduled and budget flights abounding.

 

Annie Caulfield

www.anniecaulfield.com

Annie's book Travel Writing: A Guide is out now. Visit www.localbookshops.co.uk to buy a copy from your nearest independent bookshop.