Los Vélez, Almería
Los Vélez, Almería, isn’t too far from the Spain Buddy office and this week, Alan surprised me with an overnight stay in the area that incorporates several municipalities. So off we trotted to spend a couple of hours in Chirivel and Velez-Rubio before heading up to Velez-Blanco and our hotel.
Chirivel
Chirivel is a lovely little village just off the A-92N. Sleepy and quiet, it bursts to life on Fridays when it opens up for the market. It is then that you will see the inhabitants emerge for games of dominoes and chats. There is a real buzz about the place unlike the other days of the week when silence descends and the village goes back to being a haven of tranquility. Do not be deceived by its quiet demeanour, however; there is a multitude of activities on throughout the year and the Chirivel residents do like a fiesta!
The town hall staff were extremely helpful when I popped in, and even made a couple of phone calls on my behalf. Take your phrase book – the English language won’t get you very far here.
The town has a couple of banks and small supermarkets but it is its location to the A-92N that gives it even more appeal. Within an hour you can be in Granada City to the west, or in Murcia city to the northeast. It’s the best of all worlds. The only downside would possibly be how cold it gets in the winter. Expect snow.
While we were there. work was being carried out on the social centre and it looked like the sports centre may have been worked upon too. There is a park for the little ones in the centre (part of Parque Chiribello) and a number of bars for tapas and drinks.
Chirivel honours siesta, so if you’re planning a trip there – time it carefully. I’d probably recommend you visit on Market Day and soak up the sights, smells and sounds of this typically Spanish village. Head into Chirivel from either direction, park on the main road, and follow on foot the signs for the Ayuntamiento.
Spain Buddy Tip:
Find Ca La Olga, a great cafeteria that looked new, although it was our first time, so we can’t be sure. It is bright, airy and spotlessly clean. It has a modern interior and the service is excellent.
We stopped for a cafe con leche and a Cola Cao.
Vélez-Rubio
After a short stop in Chirivel, we headed up the A-92N to Vélez-Rubio. The trip up is a stunning one, with the road bedecked both sides by dramatic mountains and pine forests. Vélez-Rubio is located just a few short kilometres from the Almería / Murcia border and very much a town of contrasts.
You first enter through an industrial area with an ITV station and more mechanic workshops than you could shake a spanner at. We headed up to the roundabout and turned right, then immediately left, for some free parking. This served as a great base from which to explore.
The historic part of the town was by far our favourite. Head to the church and the ayuntamiento in Plaza Encarnacion that contains a couple of bar/restaurants. Do pop into the church and marvel at the architecture. Regardless of your religious feelings, the building is pretty spectacular.
We stopped at Pepin Liria, a cafe bar that plays host to a bullfighting museum. The decor is traditional and the service, although formal, was professional and friendly. I had a cheeky vino (which was excellent) and Alan had a cafe con leche. There is a restaurant at the rear of the restaurant and some seating out in the square. We opted for some people watching outside.
Vélez-Blanco
After wandering the historic quarter and the urban areas, we headed to Vélez-Blanco, just six kilometres up the road via a good road running through very pretty rural areas dotted with cortijos.
Vélez-Blanco is a small town, with a little over 2000 residents, but one that is full of personality. Not a single person passed us in the street, or while we were sat, without a friendly greeting. As you turn into the town, the most amazing vista awaits you on the right. Vélez-Blanco is on the side of a mountain overlooking a valley and has a dramatic mountain range ahead of it. Above the town is the castle. We walked up there (that was tough work) but you can also drive to the entrance from the other side.
Hotel Velad Al-Abyadh
We stayed at the Hotel Velad Al-Abyadh, which is on the left as you enter the town. The hotel is decorated in homage to the old farming community with a forest of dark wood and historical features.
We stayed in room 205 which, like a large number of rooms, had amazing views from the window.
The service was excellent (all in Spanish) and the bar/restaurant area was lovely. Everything was clean. Breakfast was great. A cup of something warm and tostadas (Alan had cheese, I had tomato).
We did have a couple of issues with the hotel. The heating didn’t work in our room, there was no wi-fi in our room and I was pushed to buy a bottle of wine in the evening instead of just a glass.
But… the room wasn’t cold despite the heating and time of year… the lack of wifi in the room is no bad thing – I really need to get a life offline and there was a strong signal in the bar as well as a roaring log fire that I hogged… and the bottle of wine was excellent.
However, regarding our gripes – we found out the following day that contracts were being exchanged that very day to sell to its new owners so the existing lady owner could retire. Therefore, we feel it would be unfair to judge its failings on a visit that was timed as it was. We wish the new owner, Grace, all the best of luck with the hotel and hope that she and her team can restore it to its former glory.
Restaurante El Meson el Molino Casa Porches
For lunch we headed up to El Meson el Molino Casa Porches, a super restaurant located along the side of a stream and just a short walk uphill from the centre. Although there is seating inside, in a beautifully decorated restaurant, we chose to sit out in the courtyard, which was beautifully adorned with a waterfall, fountain and greenery.
We were the only visitors at the time and were treated extremely well. The service was friendly and attentive. We ordered a glass of wine and a beer before perusing the menu, and received a large plate of crisps as a tapa.
The menu is not for cheap eats. It’s somewhere a bit special. But even so, we felt it was great value for money for the quality of food, standard of service and because we were certainly full by the time we finished.
We ordered a couple of starters as tapas rather than a full meal – ham croquettes, king prawns cooked in olive oil with chilli, garlic and bay, plus garlic bread. There was plenty there! Our only disappointments were that they had run out of octopus and they had not de-veined the prawns. These were minimal gripes though, and we’d definitely recommend a visit. According to the restaurant, they have been listed in the Michelin guide since 2007.
- 2 glasses of white wine
- 2 cruzcampo beers
- Prawns in chilli and garlic (12 pcs)
- Croquettes (4pcs plus salad)
- Garlic bread (6 pcs)
- Total – slightly over €26 including tax
- Website
Vélez-Blanco at night
After our lazy lunch, we want for a wander before camping out at Bar La Sociedad for some more wine for me and beer for Alan (are you spotting a pattern here?) and some people watching, before returning to the hotel to freshen up. A bottle of wine (€14 a bottle and very champagne-like but not as fizzy as cava) and a check-in on Facebook later, we headed back into the village centre for some tapas and more wine.
On the way in though, we spotted Tejidos, a shop that seemed to sell all manner of goodies. What really caught our eye though was a stunning huge map of Europe in the window. We haggled from €40 down to €20 (eyelash fluttering really does work) and we are thrilled with our new purchase. It has been stored away safely for when we buy a property with a bigger wall. Big thanks to the business owner who I think was a little taken aback by my enthusiasm.
After that we gave Bar El Rinconcillo a go before returning to Bar Sociedad where we had some tapas and, yes you’ve guessed it, more wine. The riñones (kidneys) were the best I have had in Spain. Unfortunately we were also served some horrific croquettes which had been microwaved to oblivion. When we complained however, the barman gave us a free replacement (albondigas) and some freshly fried croquettes. We were not charged for these. Judging from the noise coming from the kitchen – the barmen had some harsh words for abuela. He was certainly mortified that we’d been served such rubbish and made his feelings known. You can judge a business by how it deals with complaints and he handled it perfectly.
Up to the castle
The following morning, Alan marched me up the steep hill through the winding streets to the castle that overlooks the town.
Although it was hell of a hike, the views from the top are spectacular. The castle was opened formally to the public in 2005 and since that date it has been undergoing restoration. A lot of the castle is still inaccessible, but it’s still worth the trek.
You can drive up to the entrance, but if you do that you will miss the cave where you can see wall paintings of the Indalo man (famous in Almeria) and a figure with horns. Entry is free to the castle and there is a small gift shop where you can buy the obligatory postcards, books and fridge magnets.
Hearty lunch in Cúllar
After saying goodbye to Vélez-Blanco, Alan was keen to try out a roadside restaurant he had briefly stopped at a few months ago. Restaurant Venta Quemada, located just off junction 25 of the A-92, close to Cúllar.
Although he hadn’t eaten there at the time, he was impressed with how popular it was with the locals and that the speciality was meat – flame grilled over kick-ass wood fires.
All I can say is “Wow!” We were a little confused by the prices when we saw the menu contained such items as beef for €3.40 and lamb or quail for €1.60. But we went ahead and ordered 2 portions of beef and two portions of quail to share, plus chips. To say that a mountain was delivered to our table may be exaggerating a touch, but it wasn’t far off.
The meat was cooked beautifully and was served draped over a roasted pepper and a hill of fries. I prefer chunkier chips to fries and they did get a bit soggy with the meat and pepper juices, but the meal was excellent. We were relieved that we hadn’t ordered a mixed grill each as that would have intimidated us.
We had 2 Cola Caos, the food as described, plus bread and a large bottle of water – €14.50. Cheap isn’t always good but in this case it really was. Now we know how the menu works, we’ll be heading back for a major meat feast and to try the roasted asparagus that a nearby table had.
If going – we would recommend you avoid the 2pm rush when the place gets packed out.
Goodbye Los Vélez – until next time
So that’s it – our little jaunt away from the office for two days and a night in Los Vélez in Almería. Here’s to the next one.
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Elle, along with Alan, is the owner of Spain Buddy and the busy web design business – Spain Web Design by Gandy-Draper.
Born a “Norverner”, she then spent most of her life “Dann Saff” before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle’s loves are Alan, the internet, dogs, good food, and dry white wine – although not necessarily in that order.
