The coast of Almeria - lunch in Las Negras

After a somewhat stressful number of months of packing up our lives and moving home (hence the absence from here) we needed a break to get away from it all and escape the endless big-time decision making, work-life, money worries, paperwork and bureaucracy. Spain has always been my escape and this time, the mountains of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park hooked me with their siren call.  Catching a way-to-early flight from Gatwick (up at 2.30am....ouch) we were thankfully met at Almeria by Ricardo (one of the many advantages of booking the trip through slow travel specialists Inntravel), who drove us to our first base in Las Negras, a small former fishing village, at the north end of the Cabo de Gata.

Despite our early arrival, there was only a short wait before our room was ready, time enough to relax on the terrace of Hotel Bitácora, a small set of self-catering apartments set on a hill overlooking the village. Tension and stress melted in the Mediterranean sunshine, all the more welcome after leaving rain soaked England. Paqui, our friendly host, showed us our apartment after coffee and cake. Large and spacious, with a separate living room and kitchen, all tastefully decorated in Spanish style, we swung open the doors to the balcony to soak up the views of the sea. Time to shed our heavy travelling clothes for shorts and t-shirts before heading out to explore Las Negras in search of lunch.

Out of season Las Negras is wonderfully quiet and peaceful and small enough to explore in minutes. Tired after our early start we avoided the complicated menu boards of the restaurants on the main square and headed up into the back streets to discover Casa Diego*, a tiny place perched high up on a terrace in the shade of several tall eucalyptus trees and covered in pots of scarlet geraniums. 

Just the sort of place for a cheap menu del dia. Being far too keen (and English) and therefore too early, it took a few minutes for the rapidly spoken 'uno y media' to translate in our travel weary minds. The kitchen opened at 1.30pm, an hour to wait....oh well, we ordered cerveza and settled in to wait. Minutes later a small earthenware dish of garlicky slow cooked pork with a couple of slices of bread arrived, tapas to pass the time, perfect.

An hour of people watching in the sunshine, accompanied by a glass of beer passes surprisingly quickly and before long a plate of the ubiquitous but excellent ensalada mixta appeared  along with olive oil and salt. Immediately following , the cook appeared with two overflowing bowls of estofado, a soupy stew of lamb and potatoes richly golden with saffron. 

We were hungry, breakfast at 3am seemed days ago, so silence ensued as we slurped the hot stew with another basket of bread. Sleepy from beer and carbs, we sat back, sated, watching the arrival of groups of workmen in high-vis jackets for their midday meal. Much to our surprise a second plate arrived of chips, fried eggs and empanadas, it was too much, I couldn't do it justice and was told off by the cook as she returned to collect our plates.  I rubbed my stomach apologetically and made her laugh, some communication is international. 

Somehow we still managed to squeeze in a postre, a small dish of flan queso, covered in a squirt of Chantilly cream....oh and a couple coffees (and we may well have had a few more beers too). The total for this humble feast was €25, including drinks. The uphill return to Hotel Bitácora felt significantly harder (and was definitely slower), an afternoon siesta was calling, all good preparation for the week of walking ahead.

*Casa Diego, calle Congrio S/N, Las Negras