The following links cover the original and also the Google translation 
http://abaranen7dias.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3235&Itemid=77
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fabaranen7dias.com%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D3235%26Itemid%3D77&sl=auto&tl=en
A couple of weeks ago we set out to try to find the new Murcia International Airport at Corvera to see how it is coming along. We headed down the A30 and turned off cross-country towards Corvera, which turned out to be a mistake as had we carried on a little further we’d have seen sign-posts, oh well. Not too sure of our direction we pulled over into a lay by to consult the GPS & Google only to have a Guarda Civil car drive past, turn round, come back & start to give us an inquisition. What are we doing? Why are we here? Where are we from? Bloody hell this is a parking lay by on the side of a main road and we are in a car – I thought that was what they are for!! Anyway making the most of the situation I thought it good to ask about directions to the new airport. Airport? Que? Airport…. Donde es? Airport? No!! Documents por favor. So out came every piece of paper we have about the car and ourselves and they returned to their car to radio through and do their best to find some reason to take things further. Luckily we are old hands at dealing with traffic police (if you can call it lucky) so everything was in order and they were stuck and would have to pick on some other person. However after returning to our car to bring our documents they had suddenly learned a little English and also the exact location & directions to the airport so off we went and took a couple of photos of the building site as you can see below.
As you can see it is coming along, there is the tower and terminal and a great expanse of flat areas for the runway and also car parks. We will return again to see how it is going but somehow I think the aim of passenger flights this year is a poco optimistic.
For many centuries the home of the Virgen de la Esperanza has been a natural cavern carved by the River Segura just 5km from the town of Calasparra. According to legend a shepherd seeking refuge found the small religious image inside a cave but when the religious authorities from the town of Calasparra tried to move the statue to a nearby church it became so unbelievably heavy for its size that they were forced to leave it in its grotto where it has been worshipped to this day. A much larger Baroque sculpture was later placed next to the original image, which is a small wooden bust of the Virgin Mary known as “La Pequeñica” or “The Little One” and according to records the two have been worshipped together since 1786. You can see our photographic record of our visit on Picasa.
We did eventually find out what was happening. We knew there were mud baths around here but silly us thought that they would be inside buildings and that you would have to pay to use them. Not at all, it’s all totally free and if you can bring yourself to jump into this stinking grey concoction of slime, salt and God only knows what else then good for you!! Personally I was not even going to risk the end of my little finger. The therapeutic values of mud and clay have been known for many centuries, the Chinese used mud baths for healing inflammations and other Indian and South American cultures found it to relieve rheumatic diseases. Cultures as far back as the second century had used mud and clay remedies to heal the body thanks to the calcium, magnesium, silica, iron and potassium in the mud. Due to the particular climatic conditions, the many hours of sunshine and the high salinity of the waters within the salt flats of the Mar Menor, this area has become a real player in the health world because of the healing properties attributed to the sludge through its sand and very fine silt and clay. We have often commented between ourselves that you do not very often see Spanish people being pushed around in weelchairs, and if you ever see someone zipping up the high street in an electic wheelchair then they are most likely an English tourist. Well now we know why we don’t see them around much, they all live together at Lo Pagan. This particular evening was like the Indianapolis 500 for wheelchairs. As soon as the sun lost most of its heat, they appeared at the end of the paved walkway in a heat haze of electromagnetic radiation, revving their commutators until their armatures hurt. Like they were waiting for the starting flag to fall, then they were off, Murray Walker should have been here to commentate as they sped along the path until they got to a quiet area and then jumped out of their charriots and ran to the edge of the path, clambered down over the rocks and then plunged into the mud neck high. Boy this stuff must be good.
The mud from the Mar Menor:
The particular climatic conditions with many hours of sunshine and warm waters with high salinity have created around the north end of the lake many areas where centuries of mineral of deposits have created a slugde which has become famous for its therapeutic values. The latest analysis by the University of Murcia (1995 study) found that these sediments contain a high percentage of calcium, magnesium, potassium, fluorine, chlorine and sulphates much higher than would normally be expected in waters of this salinity. Moreover, the particle size of the silt and sludge in this area is very fine which increases the absorbtion and therefore the healing properties attributed to the sludge. The pH is between 7.12 and 8.45 and its use is highly recommended for many types of skin conditions such as abscesses, ulcers, boils, sores, acne and boils. A layer of mud applied to the skin absorbs all the toxins of the peripheral system tissue and eliminates toxic nodes in the dermis, acting as a skin blotter. The high power of mud is also appropriate as an anti-inflammatory in cases of rheumatism, arthritis, gout and for rehabilitation after a bone fracture. At least that’s what I read somewhere
Although some of the tourist books for the area state that Molino Charrara produced olive oil, this is incorrect. It is in fact an antique flour mill and as such most of it is listed and cannot be altered. Because of this we were a little worried about our inspection by the authority for our Hospederia upgrade as a couple of the rooms and bathrooms are a little smaller than would otherwise be allowed in modern hotels. We need not have worried, in an historic building such as this it doesn’t matter and we can bypass some requirements. So we do apologise in advance if you bang your elbows in the shower or are unable to jump off the top of the wardrobe onto the bed without banging your head on the wall. You are staying in a living museum and can enjoy the peace and tranquility of your countryside surroundings in a place where generations of people have struggled to work throughout history. The Moors first built a mill on this site around 1000 years ago and they didn’t have wardrobes or beds, so count yourselves lucky. You have a private bathroom too but please consider the environment as we are not on mains sewage, anything you throw down the toilet other than toilet paper can block the septic tank causing it to overflow across the lower patio where you will be eating, into the water supply for the olive growers further down the Rambla who will not be too happy if they try to have a drink or a wash.
We also apologise that disabled access is very limited but again due to regulations and our cliff side situation this is beyond our control. We have provided ramps where ever we can but these are a little steep in places.
We have been inspected, we passed, we are fully insured and we are 100% legal to offer you accommodation, food and drinks in this beautiful area.
Registration No. ATE.MU.287.
Enjoy your stay.
About a week ago we had to get our hands on more cash than we had in our pockets so the best idea was to change some UK Pounds that we still had knocking around. Could we change them? Could we buggery. We have a bank account here yes, but our bank is about the only bank in Spain without a branch in our nearest town and no bank at all would change our money unless we had a bank account. Okay, so lets see, Banco Santander, they are all over England too so let’s go open an account and get this waste paper changed – So we did. Now today we thought that as we still has just £100 to remind us of home we had better get rid of it too so orft we jolly well went to Ferrari’s favourite bank and slapped a hundred quid on the counter. Well the look on the blokes face could have sunk more ships than my old Grandmas Yorkshire Puddings. He poked it, prodded it, held it to the light, crinkled it, stretched it, then took it to his manager and exchanged a few words and then came back to the counter. He played with his computer, obviously “Googling” Pounds then kept hold of the money and asked us to go and take a seat. In that seat we sat for over 20 minutes until finally the manager came back over to him and they locked themselves away in their little cell for a while and had a chinwag and the out popped the manager and asked us back to the desk. Finally we got our hands on 116 Euros and 65 Cents – That was hard work, we could have robbed the place faster than that. The moral of this story is, if you are coming to Rural Spain bring your Euros with you – The Spanish do not want to see your Pounds, they are totally useless and worthless and now our poor little bank stuck out in the middle of nowhere has got to go to loads of trouble and through loads of paperwork & red tape just to get rid of those five scraps of paper we handed over. Benidorm & Marbella may take your English paperwork but the rest of Spain will tell you to stick it where the sun don’t shine.
In the northern area of our region is the wine town of Jumilla and the surrounding area is now becoming a recognised producer of fine wines on a national and international level which can be seen from the variety of accolades awarded in recent years. Each year the region produces some 24 million litres of wine so don’t miss the chance to explore the attractive wine route if you stay at Molino Charrara.
Things to do besides the wine tours:
Visit the town centre and monuments of Jumilla itself, with its artistic heritage, museums, gardens, streets bearing coats of arms, archaeological remains etc…
Take a walk through the stunning countryside areas, such as the Sierra del Carche Regional Nature Reserve. Not only can you walk or ride its tracks and trails but the area is also ideal for enthusiasts of sports such as cycle touring, paragliding and hang gliding. Also in the region you can find the Sierra de Santa Ana, Sierra de la Pedrera and Sierra de la Cingla Mountains.
If you are here during the week of 15 August visit Jumilla as it celebrates its wine harvest festival. The most exciting feature is the participatory nature of activities where you can take part in collecting and treading of grapes as well as the production and wine tasting. A parade, children’s parade, wine fair and an offering of grapes and the first young wine to the “Niño de las Uvas” completes a programme where even the youngest visitors will have fun.
One of the many pools to enjoy at Fuente Caputa.
Fuente Caputa is a natral wetland located north of the reservoir of La Cierva, about 15km by car from Molino Charrara in the direction of Mula. The spring itself rises from the ground on the right hand side of the small bridge near where you will park and then filters its way through the terrain converging with the Taibilla Canal and then into the river Mula downstream from the reservoir and on its way through the valleys it forms small waterfalls and pools creating attractive landscapes and many pools form natural bathing areas for people to enjoy. Alongside the stream runs the Rambla Perea and from the car parking area you need to walk about 1km to the main bathing area by the viaduct and cliff face from which many people like to jump. There is also a Roman dam to be found here. This walk can be a little tricky in places but does have ropes fastened to the rocks in the worst places.
Sheep taking a drink as they have for hundreds of years.
This place was of importance to the shepherds and their flocks travelling along the Cañada Real de Calasparra who used it as a rest area and indeed the last time we visited there was a shepherd watering his flock by the spring. The vegetation is an abundance of oleander trees giving an attractive display in time of flowering, reed, cane, hackberry and blackberry along with of course the usual pine trees along the walks and higher up the hillsides. The fauna consists of catfish, turtles, many species of toads and common frogs, lizards, cattle egrets, owls, choughs, bonelli’s and short toed eagles amongst others – Probably a few snakes too
Young people jumping off the cliffs.
Of course we have leaflets with full information on how to find your way to Fuente Caputa available to all our guests and the drive from Molino Charrara should take around 15 minutes.
Yesterday after a trip to the airport at Alicante we decided to go for a drive into the city to see what it was like. We found a huge market which will certainly be worth a visit on another occasion and then we came across the shopping centre “Centro Comercial Puerta de Alicante” so we parked up in the huge empty underground car park and went for a look. Bit of a let down really, not a patch on Nueva Condomina here in Murcia which does after all boast to be the biggest on the Mediterranean and you can see why. So all we did was go for lunch in Fosters Hollywood (buy your first drink and all the rest come free, next time I am not driving) and then head home.
Salto de la Novia lies on the road between Ricote and Ojos.
Driving through the Ricote Valley past something we see every day I caught a glimpse of a sign saying “Salto de la Novia” & was sure I had seen this in one of our tourist information guides. Getting home I looked it up and sure enough “Salto de la Novia”, Brides Jump, is where a Christian noblewoman jumped to her death off the rocks when her Castilian Officer lover was killed in battle by Moorish troops who were trying to conquer Ulea. Quite why she picked this rock is anybody’s guess as there are a million and one places to jump from round here if you get the urge, must have been an easier climb up than the other rocks. As an anecdote, Ricote was the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain and they were expelled between 1610-1614 and their culture is a very important part of the history and character of this land and evidence of their occupancy is still to be seen throughout the area.
Anyway you can read all about this and loads of other things to do in Murcia in the new tourist information guide that we now give to all of our guests on arrival. Yes you do have to come and stay to get a copy