Whale sand dolphins a wait off Spain’ s enticing‘ Warm Coast’
AFTER fruitless trips to Canada and the Azores, I’d almost given up on whale watching. But finally, off Murcia, on Spain’s south coast, I was rewarded.
A spurt of water pierced the horizon. We watched the three diving fin whales, rapt. They tired before we did and, once they were out of sight, we reluctantly returned to shore. Around 50 leaping striped dolphins accompanied us, as a sunfish splashed nearby.
This is the Costa Calida, the ‘Warm Coast’, and it lives up to its name, with summer temperatures in the low-30s (around 86f) and autumn in the mid-20s (77f). And it’s far quieter than the Costa del Sol.
My road trip started in Cartagena, which has old Roman baths, a castle, cathedral and museums. But the star attraction is the Roman theatre, which dates back to the 1st century BC.
I made stops in more pretty cities: Aguilas (Playa Amarilla and Playa La Carolina are among the loveliest beaches here); Lorca, with its hilltop castle; and Caravaca de la Cruz, which claims to have a piece of Christ’s cross in its basilica. In Cabo de Palos, I went with Naranjito Diving Centre to the Cala Escalerica (‘Ladder Creek’) dive site. There’s a shipwreck nearby for seasoned pros. Later, I peeled off my wetsuit for a swim — the instructor laughed, saying it was too cold. Maybe for the Spanish, but not for us British. This is the Warm Coast, after all. TRAVEL FACTS EASYJET ( easyjet.com) flies to Alicante from around £70 return. Doubles at the Hotel NH Cartagena ( nh-hotels.com) from £67. Car hire with Holiday Extras ( holidayextras.co.uk) at Alicante costs from £57 a week. Whale watching costs from £45 ( rutasdetierraymar.com) and dives from £38 ( naranjitobuceo.com).