April 24th: Big Guns Part 2

This time our walking party managed to get right into the chambers underneath the abandoned shore batteries. Here we have Mavis looking dead guilty, caught red-handed stealing a 100- ton cannon. These areas contain the operating gear and shell storage. Despite the peeling paint, the mechanical parts were well greased and you could imagine it wouldn’t take too much work to get it all functioning again.

The guns are basically 15-inch battleship guns, supplied by Vickers in 1929. The picture above illustrates how much being in the gun emplacement was like being on board ship, with ladders, catwalks and hatches everywhere. It was pitch dark inside, so needed the combined light from all 4 of our torches to illuminate these metal caverns.


Here we’re in the generator room. John & Rudi are trying to work out what they were generating the power for, given they hadn’t got TV in 1929.

April 22nd: Phantom Hornblower

The hill at the back of the campsite has been the source of an unusual sound this past couple of weeks: a kind of horn noise, just a few minutes each day at around teatime. First impressions were that it was a didgeridoo, fine for a short while but after that like a swarm of bees in your head. We know, because in Market Harborough we had a guy who played a didgeridoo for hours, and after a few minutes all you wanted was to stuff his didgeridoo up his didgeridoo. But, great relief, we are reliably informed it’s an alpine horn.

April 9th to 16th Organised Walks

There are many regular organised activities here, like boules, line dancing, table tennis, yoga, keepfit, & walking. They are all on an informal basis, so you turn up when you feel like it.

The first walk, last week was in the hills overlooking the sea behind the campsite.The highest point was a mast from where there was a huge panorama of the bay. The walk was over unmade roads and footpaths, but reasonably surfaced, and lasted 4 hours, including a packed lunch stop. It was all very sociable, so seemed to pass more quickly than the time suggests.

The photo above is of the group who took part in the second walk. This time we climbed the highest point in the Cartagena area and were rewarded by another immense view. The track this time was steeper and more uneven. Jane, below, was not persuaded to hang-glide down into the valley.

April 8th: The Guns

In 1926 Spain decided to modernise its’ coastal defences. The armaments for this were largely contracted to the British firm of Vickers, and one such battery was located on a headland 10 miles from the campsite to defend Cartagena harbour, headquarters of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet. The site was abandoned in 1993, leaving the hardware mostly intact (but no live ammo!), and some serious hardware it was, the biggest being the 15-inch guns, which Jane and a friend are propping up.

There are some lovely views from the headland, which I’m sure the Spanish servicemen stationed there hated with a vengeance as it’s located miles from anywhere.

April 6th: Mazarron Mines

The ores here bear mainly lead, zinc and silver, and have been worked since pre-Roman times, right up to 1966. Peak production was during the 1860 to 1940 period with more than 2,000 people employed.

In 2005 the mining area was designated a historical site, which doesn’t mean they’ve done any conservation or safety work: it’s perfectly possible to fall down an unfenced mineshaft or fall off crumbling steps. The ramshackle nature of the site makes it all the more interesting though, and reminds you that ultimately you are responsible for your own safety rather than assuming it’s always guaranteed by some official umbrella.

p.s. I thought the winding gear photo seemed more dramatic in black & white.

April 1st to April 5th:Spain Again

Stayed at Granada en route from Morocco to our favourite site near Mazarron, in the province of Murcia. From Granada to Mazarron is about 4 hours drive, through some lovely mountain scenery.

Los Madriles campsite has about 200 pitches in terraced rows, so most have good sea and mountain views. The pitches are individual and separated by shrubs or trees, so are fairly private, with gravel surfaces. That’s much better than the other medium used here – beaten earth- that turns into mud after heavy rain. Grass, commonly used in the UK, doesn’t survive the summer heat. The photo shows evening sun on the hill along one of the terraces.

March 27th to 31st: Moulay Bousselham

We moved today from Marrakech 300 miles north to our last port of call in Morocco. The campsite is by a lagoon that connects with the sea at the village of Moulay Bousselham, where there is a fine sandy beach. The village takes its’ name from a 10th century holy man and is a place of pilgrimage as well as being a weekend resort favoured by wealthier Moroccans.

We did, by the way, solve the mystery of the half-finished buildings, mostly dwellings. It seems that Moroccans typically build their own houses by saving up and doing it a bit at a time, and it might take 10 or 15 years to complete. They don’t have a mortgage system as borrowing and interest are frowned on for religious reasons.

Had to include this last shot of an unfinished house, only to show the scaffolding system generally used. They obviously need to get through this stage of construction fairly quickly, at least before woodworm sets in!

Thanks, Morocco, it was wonderful!