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Naturally Vera
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| Regional informationAndalucia/Almeria:The region has the highest incidence of sunshine and the lowest rainfall in Spain. Some areas are classified as "Semi-desert". Many scenes from the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone were shot here, due to the similarities with parts of the desert scrubland in America.Many parts of the region are mountainous and indeed, the Sierra Nevada area near Granada is famous for it's skiing facilities in the winter. Granada itself of course has the Alhambra Palace, a magnificent Moorish Citadel with stunning views in all directions. If you are staying in the region, this is a "must do" visit and I would advise you to book tickets in advance, as during peak season, the queues are horrendous. Good, reasonable accommodation can be booked at the Hotel Alixares, which has limited parking (and a discount arrangement with the Alhambra palace parking office) and is directly opposite the Palace itself. Many of the villages in this area have the typical Andalucian features of terracotta tiled roofs and white walls, giving them a beautiful appearance when seen in the mountains, set amongst the almond and olive trees. The Almeria area itself is the main growing region of Spain for citrus crops, almonds and olive grove as well as salad crops. Garrucha is a large town where the local fishing fleet sails from. You can watch the boats come in and observe the local restaurant owners bidding for the catch. It is quite an experience to see the squid in particular still alive and trying to escape from the baskets they are transported in to shore. Vera is a very old town which has expanded rapidly over the last few years but which retains much of it's original charm and contains some extremely old buildings of historical interest that are being restored by the council. Mojacar Pueblo is an original town of the area and has remnants of it's Moorish history still. These can be seen in some of the architectural features in both the old and new buildings there. It occupies a commanding position on a steep hill and can be approached by a new footpath for the really fit or adventurous! Villaricos is a small fishing port north of Vera Playa and has several small bars and a nice restaurant (La Esperanza). The name comes from the fat that they used to mine silver nearby, you can see the remains of some of the old silver mines as you drive along the coast road. San Juan de Los Terreros has a fantastic viewpoint (the old Castillo) and a very nice promenade with many new bars and some small eating places on it. The beach is lovely and very safe for swimming. The coast road from here will take you to Aguilas in the Murcia province and from there, you can drive to Lorca, a large town with many shops, bars, a hypermarket and an old Moorish castle on the hill behind the town. Almeria is the provincial capital city and has a commercial port with ferries to North Africa, hundreds of shops, bars and restaurants as well as a big indoor shopping precinct, (Centro Mediterraneo) a castle and a long beach/promenade. There are lots of parking areas and green/sitting places as the city is usually quite busy most of the time. These are just a few of the places you can visit, there are dozens of small villages and towns worth looking at as well, such as Velez Blanco, Sorbas, Tabernas etc., decide for yourself!
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