Spain > La Manga
By Jessica Lloyd

The Sleeve
La Manga translated means "the sleeve", and is in fact a small arm of land comes off the mainland of south-east Spain. It separates Mar Menor (Small Sea) from the Mediterranean Sea and is 20km long, with an average width of 300m and a maximum of 1.5km. If you are looking for a tranquil and warm holiday destination, this is a good choice. You won't find a large population of actual Spanish people, more like a cocktail of all kinds of Europeans, all on holiday in beach houses and hotels. It really is a tourists town, but only in summer - in the other seasons you will find about 4,500 happy locals enjoying their little slice of paradise. It's a good place to visit if you have children, because there are always many other kids for them to play with, and activities for them. They won't get bored either. It's relatively safe, the only problems are with thieves, especially on beachfront complexes - it is easy for people to just walk in and walk out with whatever they like.

The Sunsets
The sunsets here are incredible. The pinks, oranges and all the mixes the light makes as it travels through the atmosphere are just beautiful, every night. The sun lowers itself down over Mar Menor, and the clouds glow all fluffy and pink, and it makes for a great photo. You could use up a lot of film or batteries here! The water sparkles and the gentle wind blows the heat of the day away - it really is lovely.

Nightlife
There is a good party scene, weekends are the best, but being a holiday town, there is something on every night of the week in summer. The population swells here during the weekends, and grows steadily during the week from July until the end of August, when it starts to decline as everyone goes home to prepare for 'real life' again. The busiest month is August. If you want to find some action, try the Zoco. There are a cluster of shops, bars, nightclubs and restaurants here for your convenience, and is very vibrant at night. If you don't find anything here you like, try Cabo de Palos or Los Belones.

The Weather
Summer in Spain is incredibly hot, with temperatures in the early 40's not uncommon. The nearest city to La Manga is Murcia, 80km away. The closest point of Africa is just 200km away. The sky is usually clear for 120-150 days in the year, and it is very dry. If you are travelling to Spain at any time, pack extra moisturiser - that includes you boys too! You will need it. On arrival people typically feel like an old prune. It provides the highest number of sunny days in Europe, and therefore is popular with other nationalities.

Special Places
The salt beds and the San Pedro del Pinatar National Park are on the north end, and at the south end is Calblanque National Park. Calblanque is a beautiful natural park, with 2 mountains towering high - Cabezo La Fuent and Horno. These mountains are covered with pine trees, and you get a fantastic view of the entire Mar Menor and La Manga from here. If you are into mountain biking or hiking, you will like this spot - you will find your own paths without directions. When you get hot, there is a cove to swim in. It is a very popular spot, with up to 100,000 visitors in any given summer, and sometimes 1000 cars a day. Very busy!

Things To Do
You can watch the flamingos in the salt beds, or on the fossilized sand dunes in Calblanque, these beautiful pink birds on their elegant legs. Here you can practise any kind of water sports you can imagine: kite surfing, surfing, boating, water skiing, diving, and you know the rest...! It is a seaside paradise, specially built for tourists - it's almost a floating resort. It was originally just sand - it has been developed with the 'high class' tourist in mind - big spenders - and everything is expensive because of this fact.

The Sea
The sea on each side is great, you can choose the waves of the Mediterranean Sea or the calm of Mar Menor. Mar Menor is very shallow and warm, but if you have a boat or enjoy windsurfing, you can access the cooler, deeper water. The sea here is very salty, because of the captivity of the water inside the Mar Menor. The sun glitters with the rolling of the ocean, the boats rocking peacefully on their moorings as swimmers try not to hit their knees on the shelly sand... It really is a nice place to be, so if this sort of holiday tickles your fancy, try it! You might just like it, and want to come back year after year after year.

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