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Camino Argar
  • Gerard De Witt
  • Debi Brock
  • Gerard De Witt
  • Debi Brock

Camino Argar

From Almeria to Lorca Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 2, 2026
    Camino Argar
    2

    Prepping to leave

    January 31 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    In two days we leave for Spain.
    Flying from Eindhoven with Transavia to Malaga.
    We plan to stay in Malaga for two nights, then to Almeria by Alsa bus on Wednesday and starting to walk on Thursday.
    After weeks of planning we look very much forward to start our walk and see where the path takes us.

    Where ever you go… Buen Camino    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Arrived in Málaga

    Feb 2–4 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our schedule made with the help of the forum members: Islandwalker (Elaine and Ned), Damien Reynolds, Bachibouzouk and Perigrina2000 (Laurie) and Bjorgts. We owe you an awfull lot of thanks, we are very much looking forward stepping into your footsteps. Thank you !!

    And we arrived in Malaga today, happy and excited as two teenagers going to their prom.
    ~G    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Almería

    February 4 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Moved from Málaga to Almería with the Alsa bus. In Almería we stayed with Nely Pascual. We have been in her place before, starting the Mozerabe. She was a terrific guidance and information source to us then.

    During the bus drive we got to see a lot of water coming from the mountains and running into big puddles and pools. I am quite impressed, we will have to see how this develops the coming days.

    At Nely’s , she told us that this time of year it can be difficult to find accommodation along the first part of the track to Lorca and she was very helpful to organize that for us. In no time she had phoned 11 end stage locations to confirm that we could sleep there. You will see the details the upcoming days. She also tipped us for a very good menu del dia restaurant almost downstairs from where she lives. We can highly recommend cafeteria Óscar.

    When we returned she had bad news. Pension Navas in Cabo de Gata canceled our reservation. A stormy wind damaged their windows and they had to close down. We could not afford to wait another day. We were booked for ten days ahead… not what we normally do, just for situations like this. We decided to skip Cabo de Gata and stay for 2 nights in San Jose. Tomorrow we will drive by bus to San Jose and do a day walk in the park and part of the coastal route to Cabo de Gata the next day but then heading south. We had to improvise. Good thing is that we can experience how strong the winds are tomorrow (gust winds up to 80km are predicted, that is serious) and adapt our plans accordingly. Also skipping the first km’s out of Almeria and past the airport is not that bad either.

    Further camino news is saying that the Mozerabe and the Argar on places are impossible to walk due to high waters. The today’s downpour in Almeria itself was minimal but the wind is definitely picking up.
    ~G

    Accomodation news Cabo de Gata.
    The sports center in Cabo de Gata is with minimal service. Just a toilet , no shower, no blankets. And this time we had left our sleeping bags at home because there were so few Albergues! Pension Navas is still an option when the windows are fixed.    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Almería to San José

    February 5 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Despite the weather drama in most of Spain, today we had only light rain, but heavy wind. It is not possible to walk along the coast in this wind, so we proceeded with our plan to take the bus ahead two stages to San Jose. We didn’t mind missing the city/hard surface part of the walk, or the endless agribusinesses growing fruit and veg under massive expanses of plastic. We see lots of migrant workers from Africa, and are glad that the Spanish government has recently decided to regularized almost 500,000 of them. They are a crucial part of the Spanish economy and bring food to people’s tables. Plus it is the right thing to do on humanitarian grounds.

    We arrived in San Jose to find an almost deserted holiday town, but there are a couple of places open to feed and ‘water’ us. We are staying at one of the few albergues on the Argar (pictured). The wind has been fierce, but not nearly as fierce as the wind in Iceland last June. At its worst, we could stand up without a struggle, and it has considerably eased since then. We even had patches of sunshine, and a rainbow. ~Debi

    Tomorrow we will go south to Cabo de Gata, doing part of the route we skipped today.

    Accomodation
    Albergue San José: reel sheets, blankets and showers. 17 euro pp ; phone: 950 380 353. If no reaction try 650 280 356 (owner).    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    San José to Cabo de Gata; 19 km

    February 6 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    We started with a nice breakfast, ofcourse with the orange juice coming from the local produce.

    Today we first started to walk on the Camino Argar. Although in the other direction then planned. The weather was good at start but after 1,5 hour we got really wet. It didn’t look good for the next two hours and Debi decided to turn around. I wanted to try a little further. The weather changed so fast the last days, i hoped for the best. And as the photos are showing, my good weather luck returned! I got wet three times and dried four times.

    The wind is still considerable but far less then yesterday. I walked close to twenty km’s and had a high view point of Cabo de Gata. Although i didn’t reach it, i was still content with today’s walking.
    Tomorrow it is going north to las Negras. ~G

    It was all kinds of weather today, but we were treated to some beautiful views and got a sample of what we had missed yesterday. I only got a 10 km walk today, but later enjoyed lying in my lower bunk bed, reading all afternoon. Hoping all goes well for the walk tomorrow. ~debi

    Accomodation: A second night in Albergue San José. A helpful gesture from the owner because of not being able to stay in Cabo de Gata due to the storm damage.    Read more

  • Camino Argar
    3

    San José to Las Negras; 21 km

    February 7 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    It was our first fully packed day today. Carrying two liters of water felt this morning like stones in the backpack. We will adjust, giving it a couple of days and the muscle memory will do the rest i think.
    We had a high climb early in the walk, with a beautiful view up top. The ledge at the start of the walk was ok, Debi doesn’t like steep drop offs in combination with worn down paths. This ledge had plenty of room and the path was sturdy, horizontal and not worn down.

    We were glad to leave the holiday home dense coastal area with the many white housing cubicles behind. Looking back Debi said that it looked like a huge cruise ship was laid ashore.
    ~G

    The route was pleasant, very windy at times but dry all day, how lucky we are. We met some people in the road telling that the area was very green compared to other years. So the area did get their share of rain.
    The last part of the route, close to las Negras was challenging. By then you are tired and stiffed up a bit and the track was demanding. Volcanic rock, big steps in height, unclear route. However lovely views. We were glad we arrived in Las Negras where we were told to go to the supermarket Komo Komo to get the keys of the apartment. We were happy to be able to cook for ourselves and not have to go to a restaurant tonight, with the long wait for Spanish dinner time.
    ~debi

    Accommodation:
    -Hostal Acrrecife in weekend only for two days rent.
    -El Cacho apartments, basic facilities. 50 euro’s for a room for two, keys to be collected at the Komo Komo Supermarket.
    Phone 950 388 107,
    cellphone 629 363 708    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Las Negras to Agua Amarga 12,5 km (+ Carboneras)

    February 8 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    What a day.

    We started early, and were surprised by the sun rising just above the horizon when we walked out. A quick coffee and then on the go.

    A first uphill part to get awake, sun shining full in our eyes which made it hard to see where we were walking.

    Up toward San Pedro. Just before the going down to beach level we ran into a steep ledge secured with ropes, but it felt safe. In San Pedro, an old castle ruin, and little improvised living spaces making use of caves (as one inhabitant called her place) and any available materials. Further up in the valley away from the beach we saw even more improvised homes. They were hard to see from high above, and mostly the black roofs gave them away. The village has no roads connection, all has to come in by boat or on foot.

    We read information that it was a steep climb up out of San Pedro. And it was, some steps up were high and hard on the knees with the pack on your back. But overall it was ok. We were still fresh. Just before the top we both realized that there also must be a going down… And we both experienced that the down part was much tougher. A lot of unevenous, loose stones, narrow places to put your boot.
    And then up again, less high this time, walking highup along the seashore. And then a second going down with lots of volcanic rock slabs on a 35? degree angle facing down. Hardly any flat surface where your feet could have a bit of a rest. At the end of that descent we were done. If you have any wrong footwear, you will definitely know by the end of this walk. It was the most challenging day for the feet i have ever had. The walk up to the lighthouse on the last stage of the Fishermen’s trail was something, but this doubled that.

    I looked at the map, still 3,5 km to Agua Amarga! At 15.30 we arrived there. 11km done in 6,5 hours…. We only had 1 rest and could not have done it any faster. We didnot see how we could walk to Carboneras before dark without paying a penalty for that the next day. We decided to call a taxi to take us the last 10 km.
    Another day at the races tomorrow!
    ~Gerard

    Accomodation:
    - Hotel Felipe, ask for keys at bar Felipe. 50 euro for a room for two. Water takes 10 minutes to get lukewarm. Lovely soft towels…

    We went to the very basic Felipe restaurant for dinner and paid by far the most we have ever paid for food in Spain. Always ask for the menu, with prices!    Read more

  • Camino Argar
    1

    Carboneras to Garrucha; 27,5 km

    February 9 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today was a much easier day than yesterday, although long (27 km). We had an easy flat start. We were puzzled by a gigantic hotel looking old, partly spray painted, with cranes and “demolition ya” behind the windows.
    Then climbing to a path along the perimeter of the mountain (or was it simply a massive rock formation?) beside the sea. There was some erosion at parts. Very likely two spots will erode completely soon, and the Argar will have to be re-routed.

    We then turned inland, walking along a Rambla (dry waterway) until we reached an old mining tunnel with a low entrance. Once we had crawled in we could stand, and easily walk the 400 metre length using our headlamps. The tunnel has a reputation as dangerous due to potentially falling rocks, but it seemed quite sound to us.

    Our walk then took us back toward the sea, we missed a turn and ended up on a dry river bed. We decided to follow it for 4 km as it was easy and nice soft for the feet (like walking on rubber tiles). There we saw our first and up till now only blossoming almond tree.

    We got back on the Camino just before reaching the coast. Then another path cut into the face of the mountain. Again there was a steep drop to the sea, but this path was wide and even and mostly had a fence between walkers and the sea, appearing to be a recent construction. This path was very close to the beginning of a series of beaches and was used as a recreation trail.
    When we got down to sea level we cooled our feet. By then the temperature was round 20 degrees.

    The next 10-12 km were flat and on hard surfaces, following promenades along an endless series of holiday resorts. It was very unappealing and changed my perception of the Mediterranean Sea, which I had previously thought of as a desirable place to go. We missed the natural environment and for the first time put in our headphones to listen to music.

    We have sore feet from the long walk on tarmac, but have a very pleasant hotel room with great beds and a little patio where we enjoyed our picnic dinner. No need to go anywhere until morning. ~Debi

    Accomodation:
    Hostal Manolo, 1 km from the Camino, 50 euro for a room for two, clean and very hot (yeah!) water.    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Garrucha to Cuevas de Almanzora; 20 km

    February 10 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today was a not so interesting day. It was all on tarmac or sidewalk, mainly through agricultural land (with lots of plastic and other litter), or along a huge canal. We had expected to walk beside a winding river! The canal had no water in it. We did see cars driving through it from one side to the other. To make that possible special openings are made in the sides of the canal.

    And of course (we missed them already) two dogs in FRONT of a gate instead of behind them, viciously barking and coming at us. We tried to find some stones to throw at them but there were not any! We did as if and the dogs cowardly stopped but when we raised ourself, they came at us again. While slowly walking on and keeping an eye on them, a car driver helped us, he positioned his car between us and the dogs and honked his horn, that gave us time to make some distance. So all ends well.

    We walked through Vera village halfway the day, where they still had a bull ring with a matador statue in front of it. It was warm today, 22 degrees. The wind picked up again in the afternoon and was stronger than yesterday. Because we changed direction the wind was now in our face where up till now the wind was in our back. And that makes a difference i must confess…

    I didn’t make much pictures during the walk, not much to be seen. Most of the pictures i made today are from the roof of the place we stayed, which is apparently a former palace that is 200 years old and has a lot of interesting details. The views from the rooftop were magnificent.

    We started at 8.30 sharp this morning and at 15.30 we arrived in Cuevas del Almanzora. It is nice to have some time to relax and wash some clothes. We departed from the coast and are now going inland.
    ~G

    Accomodation:
    El Palacete, beautiful old building, 50 euro for a room for two. Although we did like the matrasses of Hostal Manolo more!    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Cuevas de Almanzora to Huércal-Overa; 21,5 km

    February 11 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Early start 7.45, not many coffee places open. We had to go downtown to find a place, adding 1,5 km to our day. Lovely breakfast though.

    We started walking at 8.30, and we got out of town in the direction of the caves in the mountain. And there something strange happened. One decision leading to another.
    We didnot see the path, and asked for directions. I suppose we asked the wrong question and were guided to the left. There we found a tunnel through the mountain, but that road led us back to where we came from. We decided not to try it again and take a detour that led us to a parallel road to what we should have walked. We were a bit disappointed that we didnot got close to the caves in the mountain but sometimes things take their own course. Later i looked at google maps and it looked quite simple, how could we have missed the road at the right hand side! We saw people on the left side of the road, asked them for guidance and that took us more to the left and that was it.

    Then we walked along the canal again which we followed and then went up to the water basin behind the big Olympic like structure ( a ski jumping slope) which was part of the water works.

    From there it was zig zag thru the hills in the direction of our destination. Impressive long uphill walking tired us out. Especially the concrete path that was laid out to support the steepest part up hill. We were happy when that ended, it was the highest point for today. We paused at the top but were too tired to have a big lunch. Digesting cheese bread and tomato seemed like too much.

    The next stage in the walk was through the rambla del Saltador. It was hard to navigate and at times we wondered are we still on the right track? There were rough parts.

    We did made it and close to five o’clock we walked into Huércal-Overa. We had a picknick again in our very basic bedroom. We do wonder though how much hard walking we still like to do. You want to enjoy the walking, but today felt a bit too much as work.
    ~G

    Accomodation:
    Hostal Las Vegas, 50 euro for a room for two, very basic but hot water!    Read more

  • Camino Argar
    1

    Huércal-Overa to Almendricos; 23 km

    February 12 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Maybe we had the blues yesterday, because of our bodies feeling so tired.
    This morning i felt resentful to pick up my backpack, carrying it. But the pack felt light, i checked it to see if the water bottle maybe was not in it yet, but it was… i suppose my muscle memory was kicking into place. Good morning Gerard!

    Last night the wind was howling around las Vegas Hostal and it was still fierce this morning, The predictions were that the wind would lie down in the afternoon, which it did. Luckily the wind was at our back, we would not have been able to walk if it had been in our face.

    Today despite the wind, was a walk in the park. Totally horizontal walking over an old railway track where the rails had been removed. I had a deja vu of the Via de la Plata, especially the walk to Salamanca. Long straight paths where you walk on for hours on end.
    It was good for recuperating our bodies and feet. Also it meant we would be early on our habitation location, which is always nice and relaxed.
    In the beginning it was through agricultural land, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce? And huge pig farms. The second part went through orange and lemon groves. I personally liked the landscape. A green flat valley surrounded on all sides by mountain and hills. Today we walked across the valley straight into the opposite hill side. The expression: you cannot see the forest for the trees, applies here. You cannot see the mountains well if you are fully in between them. I could see them today, and i liked it. ~G

    Accomodation:
    - The albergue on the association spreadsheet (polideportivo municipal) in Almendricos does have showers, but no beds….
    - El Oasis Morado, 93 euro for a room for two incl breakfast. Breakfast was not spec. The only option it seems being close to Almendricos.    Read more

  • Camino Argar
    1

    Almendricos to Estacion; 13 km (+ Lorca, 11 km)

    February 13 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    What a day again. This trip is eventful.

    We started off at 8.45 after a little tour from the Dutch owner of the Oasis Morado. Spain has a lot of rules for entrepreneurs which makes it sometimes hard to move on. Interestingly he told us that there is an effort of the Spanish government to support women to start their own business. It was more profitable for them to have the business on his wife’s name then on his.

    We are still walking in the basin Valle del Almanzora. The wind was strong but still walkable. It was a morning with many rainbows and taking off and putting on our rain gear. On one point we got wet and after some time i looked up, clear sky, no rain clouds to be seen and i took off my jacket. Less then 5 minutes later the sky above us had turned grey and the rain started. I have never seen the weather turn that quick.
    Every time that it rained, the wind mysteriously also picked up and laid down when the rain was over.

    The road we were walking on turned into slippery clay, but never to a point that it started to annoy us. The road was used for traffic and it had a lot of little stones on it which made it manageable.

    The walk and the views were not interesting today. A lot of the agricultural produce was just sown in, the color of the landscape therefore was mainly brown. A lot of plastic debris every where, on fences, in trees. The agricultural growth activities make use of a lot of cheap plastic and you can guess when torn where that goes in high winds.

    At twelve o’clock the wind picked up further. Workers in the field were hiding from the gusts of wind behind the large crates for their produce. When we wanted to have a break we dragged a crate behind another stack of crates to be able to sit out of the wind. It was getting a bit crazy.

    After our lunch we left the protection of the wind blocker formed by the crates to experience that things were getting worse. Yesterday the wind lied down in the afternoon but today it was the other way around. The wind got stronger and stronger. And in that huge basin the wind has a free way to blow.

    Debi had still sensitive feet from the walking down part after las Negras and the constant pressure of the wind on her side made her foot hurt bad. She could not go on. For myself i was also doubting if we could make it to Lorca, it was still 15 km to our hostel and the winds were still building.

    We decided to stop at an old bar ( seemed to be abandoned ) and try to get a taxi to bring us to Lorca. We were at a point located in between two village centers. One village was 2 km against the wind, another option was 7 km down the wind. Both not options to look forward to.
    The wind was now howling around the building we sat at. Trees were bending under the force of the wind. The soil on the roads was swirling up into the air. We were stuck there, with the wall of the closed bar to shelter us. We had to find a location where we could tell a taxi driver to come to pick us up ( in our terrible Spanish…). The old bar we sat against had no identification.

    Then i heard some noise in the building, there was an old woman coming to the door. She opened the door and i asked if she could help us call a taxi.
    ~G

    We struggled with communication for a while, and then she signalled us to wait, until she appeared again with her handbag and car keys. We were shocked that she wanted to drive us as she seemed to be in such poor physical condition. She lead us to an Audi car that was was mainly used for hauling oranges out of the fields. With oranges, branches and soil everywhere. Crumbling interior. Plus some dresser drawers in the back seat that G had to remove to make room for our backpacks. She drove us ( in the second gear) two km to a town with an estacion, but neither the buses nor trains were running. Then she insisted on driving us to Lorca. She gestured that the Señor upstairs (pointing to the sky) would approve. G didn’t want to have her risk driving in busier traffic as she seemed so frail…and also communicated a lot with both hands while driving (letting go of the wheel). But she insisted on taking us close to our Habitacion. We thanked her profusely and gave her some money. She gave us many hugs and kisses. We are sorry that we did not find out her name or get a selfie of her and us together. G worried about her driving home safely. She was a treat, and we will not forget her.
    ~Debi

    Accomodation:
    El 34, Calle de la Cava. 54 euro’s for a room for two.    Read more

  • Camino Argar

    Lorca planning

    February 14 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Today we had a break to wait for the wind to lay down before making a start again in the direction of Zarcilla de Ramos.

    We made use of the time to have a late breakfast. We had to move to another location as EL34 could not extend our stay. We are in hotel Felix now. There were far less places in Lorca available then we would have thought which seemed to have been the forebode of our further planning.

    We spent the whole afternoon finding places to stay for our next few days. Nothing in Zarcilla, no where in Doña Inés, nothing in Coy. We tried alternatives, skipping the whole stage to Caravaca and starting in Moratalla. We already had alternatives with taxis in place, now starting adding even more? What about bus options, the train… long story short, we just could not make it work.

    Brainstorming: Going back to camino’s we did before then? Doing the Mozerabe from Malaga we thought of doing earlier. Going to Italy…?
    We decided to go to Valencia where we will start (part of) the Levante and maybe we will end up in Toledo still.

    I feel a bit disappointed that we had come to a stop. We did a lot of preparation, but i never had anticipated that the accommodation planning would be our biggest problem.

    We still want to keep walking, in the south, away from the problem areas so hit by the last storms. And if this also is not going to work, at least we tried.

    For now thanks for everybody’s input. Also speaking for Debi, we really wanted to add to the available documentation, to make this part of Spain more accessible for other peregrino’s. All we can say, February is not a good time for the inland part of the Argar.
    ~G

    We were determined that the weather not defeat us and were laying low in Lorca until the winds died down. But we had not anticipated that we would not find places to sleep, moving forward. It's too early in the year for tourism in the interior, it seems. Too bad, because other than being on the outskirts of this year's severe storms throughout Spain, the weather at this time of year can be ideal.
    Not too hot and not too cold.
    Very little precipitation. We had two crazy weather days
    (yesterday and the day we left Almeria), but that is not bad at all given the weather drama in the rest of the country. Fingers crossed for the Levante!
    ~debi

    Accommodation:
    Hotel Felix, Basic, 73 euro for a room for two.

    Total walk 8 days on the Camino Argar - total distance 157 km    Read more

  • Trip end
    February 15, 2026
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