Give me the higher ground...Faro de Cabo de Gata

 Having learned that we are maybe a wee bit old to transform into mountain goats from our last mountain hike we decided on Sunday to combine hills and coastline for our excursion. 

We headed along the coast to the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Parc, the largest protected coastal area in Andalusia, with its rugged coastline and some lovely stretches of beach. We were heading for the high ground you see in the pic. above that is home to the 'Faro de Cabo de Gata' lighthouse. Inaugurated in1863, it is the oldest lighthouse in the province of Almería.

As you drive along the coastline you are met with a few surprises like the restaurant that from the roadside looks like a bit of a shack but sea side is a lively little beach bar/restaurant 'Chiringuito Restaurante Chiri-Bus'. We didn't try it but location on 'Playa del, Carr/ seemed good if a little untidy!

 It sits beside the Tower San Miguel de Cabo de Gata an old abandoned watchtower.

Further along the road you come across a church which appears to sit in the middle of nowhere.

Opposite the Playa de las Salinas and now abandoned, the 19th century church of Las Salinas, or Iglesia de la Almadraba, served as church to the small community of Almadraba de Monteleva which housed the salt collectors who worked on the salt plains nearby.

It now houses only a handful of inhabitants and gives the impression of a shanty town.  

A bit further along you catch a view of the hamlet of La Fabriquilla (the 'Small Factory') which appears to now only have six residents . It owes its name to the existence of a now defunct lead foundry. 

After driving the 18km flat coast road you are presented with the winding and wee bit scary road, that takes you around the mountain towards the lighthouse.

On reaching the lighthouse we climbed to the high ground to take the inevitable photos from a fabulous vantage point.

We then headed back down to head out on the marked walk to see some of the sites we'd seen from above.

There are a number of little coves with sandy beaches along the coast, this one was fairly easy to reach and it also had its own minature version of the 'Giants Causeway'.

We decide not to be as adventurous as our last climb in the mountains, even though the high watchtower was a tempting target.

It was a good walk and we got back unscathed and in time to catch yhe sun going down behind the lighthouse. 

Then it was back up and down the winding road again and back to Almeria.