This day turned out to be one of the most beautiful of our trip so far, a scenic route that took us first along the sea, then up some challenging hills and into the Cabo de Gata park where we were surrounded by mountains and views across the sea. A day which reminded us that, for all of Spain’s ugly coastal resorts, the country also has some gorgeous treasures where it chooses to preserve them. It was hard working tackling some of the climbs, at least one of which was signed at a 10 percent grade, but the views made it worth our while – a route we would heartily recommend to fellow cycle tourists. Earlier in the day we thought we might have some backtracking to do as we struggled to find a road marked on our map, but somehow we eventually stumbled across the right path and enjoyed a desert-like scenery of barren hills and the odd olive tree, before we entered the greener park area. More and more the dry landscape of Spain, along with the southern architecture, reminds us of what we saw in Morocco.