We left Almeria yesterday about 1:30pm to travel north a short distance to Lubrin, a rural Spanish village, only an hour away. I proclaimed to the kids that I knew where I was going and that there was no way I could get lost today! So confident I decided not to use google directions as I had it sorted. I did turn on the gps map on my phone and left it for Karen to occasionally monitor. I had to add here that Karen was responsible for monitoring our journey because after about an hour I thought we better check the gps as the road signs didn’t look right. We had been so busy taking photos along the way and enjoying the stress-free drive that I had taken the wrong lane on the autobarn and that lane sent us on a scenic journey to the east of where we wanted to be. In fact to my surprise the sign ahead said Lubrin 30km ahead.

By this time google decided that we should travel this route but I decided to check at the gas station we had passed not long ago. I drove back to the gas station and discussed directions with our station service person who only spoke Spanish. I must say the local Spanish are very helpful, if only I could understand them! He suggested I head south and take the route we originally intended to take. Looking at google maps it showed the roads were almost a circle and the last sector would take the road ahead and approach Lubrin from the North whereas going back the way the gentleman suggested would mean we have to back travel three sectors again. Sorry if I lost you with that description! After further discussion, mainly sign language, he went and consulted with three truck drivers and they seemed to have a rather exciting conversation over the best way to go. The verdict was to continue on the wrong way we were going and do the fourth sector of the circle. In order to do that I had to drive south a km to crossover the autoban so I could resume our wrong trip. In the process we came across yet another road to Lubrin, a sign which suggested Lubrin was much closer. We were tempted and starting out on this route but after the road became narrower I decided it was better to listen to the truck drivers so we back tracked. About 15 minutes further , driving through very rural land a little like the Desert Road in New Zealand (down Waiorou way) I came to a sign saying Rambla Honda which was the road to take for our accommodation. I wasn’t so thrilled it was a Honda as Rambla Audi would be more authentically European.

Rambla Honda is about 2.5 km north of Lubrin and the house is about 2.5 km down this road. Evidently it’s a two-way road however it’s one of those road wide enough just for one vehicle at a time. As we drove along toward our home I kept thinking “wow, this is amazing”, this is really the out-backs. The road wound around corners up the hill, past the remains of old homes and then finally to a little white letter box which was my queue to turn up the driveway. We drove up, needed a bit of power as it became steeper and narrower and then I turned into a parking area. Wow, this is a really nice place. We began looking for the key which was left for us but after much hunting we wondered if we had the correct house. Then noticing the house below us we realised that the owner’s main house was where we were searching but the house for us was just down the steps (about 50 of them). I had thought we were staying just on the ground floor of the main house not in our own house! We found the key and went in to explore our new home. Another wow, it’s beautiful. I had thought it would be a 1970’s style Spanish home, a little dated and dark but it looks new and certainly could not be more modern – it even has a kettle much to Karen’s delight. We are very blessed to be here.

The view overlooks the houses in the Rambla Honda, evidently about 70 people live in this valley. The weather is still a little cooler and the houses are built for summer.

 

We have since driven into the Lubrin village which is supposed to have a population of 700 however so far we have only seen about 20 people. It’s a very quant Spanish village, quite delightful, rich in character, narrow streets, a few restaurants, a bar, a baker, a tourist centre, a post office, a butcher, and a small grocery store. The only downside to this place is I can’t get internet even on my Vodafone, on the bright side my cell phone data is still going but for how long I don’t know. Here is a photo of Lubrin:

This place is amazing! I will post some further photos later.