Day No. 160 - Tabernas Desert

Today we're leaving the hot springs near Santa Fe - we're heading further east, into the Tabernas desert. - We say goodbye to Dirk from Spich. We had noticed Dirk two days ago. Or was it his Defender first? In any case, Dirk was born in Spich. So he's almost a former neighbor. Dirk was self-employed in the advertising industry for several years. Kind of the go-to guy for everything - also himself and all the time. "I somehow slipped into it. I didn't actually want to do it. I ended up working 16 hours a day and was just afraid of collapsing with a heart attack at the end." So he sold his advertising agency at the age of 37 and has lived near Cadiz for 17 years - "I also made a living for a while. People used to call me the hippie estate agent. But in the end, it's trust that counts" - Dirk is a nice guy. But like most people here, he also seems a little crazy.

But first we need a big wash. And we also need gas - via the Campingaz website, we find the Minioil filling station in Cúllar Vega - 37°09'30.6″N 3°40'26.2″W - this not only has our R 907 gas, but also a small launderette and a washing station with a Kärcher. - So we can do several things at once. Torgit does the laundry, I do Hector's, we also have gas and when we discover a supermarket opposite, we can hardly believe our luck. It's great!

From here to our destination for today, Tabernas, it is about 1 ½ hours' drive to the east. We drive north past Granada on the A-92, with the snow-capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada on our right, through a barren landscape. It's uphill and downhill. Caution is the order of the day here, as some of the trucks only drive forty kilometers per hour. The olive groves alternate with almond trees, but then the terrain becomes rockier. You can feel that we are approaching a desert. There's supposed to be a real truck stop north of Tabernas, Route 66. I read somewhere that it's supposed to be cool there. I should have checked Tripadvisor. The truck stop is like the American pick-up in front of the door, the air is out. The burger and fries were so bad that I had to return both after the first bite. - I was glad I hadn't ordered the spare ribs, I would certainly have been annoyed if I'd had them on the bill. The place is supposed to have good live music at the weekend. - So it's better to just have a beer.

We look for a spot on the edge of the desert - from here you have an exciting view. - 37°03'27.9″N 2°24'58.7″W - The Tabernas desert lies between the Sierra Alhamilla to the south-southeast, the Sierra de los Filabres to the north and the Sierra Nevada to the west. According to climatic criteria and vegetation, this region is considered semi-desert. But the desert has a lot more to offer. But more on that tomorrow. - For now, it's time to cook. - If not burgers, then spaghetti. 

"...You say yes, I say no. - You say stop and I say go, go, go..." - The Beatles

Accordingly, we're busy with an idea from Jochen Gippert, the admin of the Facebook group Winter Camping in Spain & Portugal. "Have a look at what the No. 1 song was on your 18th birthday". - We don't just look, we listen to it. - 18th birthday: Torgit: La Isla Bonita - Madonna and Marc - Jeanny - Falco. - Because the whole thing is fun, we start very early and learn what connected us at birth. - It's the Beatles, Torgit with Get Back and Marc with Hello, Goodbye. - Tenth birthday - I stay true to Paul McCartney, Mull of Kintyre. Torgit is already doing a bit of disco with Born to Be Alive by Patrick Hernandez. Thirtieth birthday: While I go for romantic, My Heart Will Go On - by Céline Dion, Torgit stops being romantic. I'll just say Mambo No. 5, Lou Begas. Fortieth: I stay true to romance, Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis. With Torgit, the romance takes a turn for the corny, Anything but Love, Daniel Schuhmann with Bohlen. - After that, we left our evening hit parade. 

"Get back to where you once belonged"

When we step out of the van again later, we are sure that this is not a semi-desert. The moon has not yet risen. So the desert lies in deep black. But the stars sparkle all the more. We only know something like this from the sea or the real deserts. Woowwhh, happy!!! - Then suddenly the moon rises. - Almost still a full moon, the individual craters can be seen with the naked eye. Our very own planetarium.