MEDITERRANEAN COVES AND BEACHES
CALA CORTINA
This little cove is a couple of minutes drive from Cartagena, and used by the locals, who you will see cycling up or walking up to spend the day or the afternoon.
Ideal if you spen the morning in Cartagena, followed by a 4 course "menu del dia" and then nip round here for a siesta on the beach and a dip. Below are some pictures of Cala Cortina I took on Thursday 29th July 2010.
The Cove has protection nets at its entrance.
It has disabled access, toilets, shaded areas and a great seafood bar/restaurant.
Great place for a spot of snorkelling with the kids too.
To see location, click here http://maps.google.es/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&geocode=&q=cala+cortina,+cartagena&sll=40.396764,-3.713379&sspn=8.480844,19.665527&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cala+Cortina,+30202+Cartagena,+Murcia,+Regi%C3%B3n+de+Murcia&ll=37.591927,-0.975037&spn=0.034481,0.076818&z=14
CALBLANQUE
A protected beach, which offers various coves with a stunning mountain back drop, The Regional Park of Calblanque is unspoilt, so there are no bars or retaurants, and limited lifeguard facilities, just virgen beach. This beach is one of the few you are allowed to take dogs down to, keep to the lower end, where you arrive or you may see the odd naked person, as further up is a nudist area!
Below is a picture of my dog on Calblanque so happy he is levatating.
Directions: Head towards Cartagena, then take the MU-312 to La Manga, after you have passed 2 red petrol stations either side of the road, and passed the turn off to Los Belones and La Manga Golf Resort, keep your eye out for a sign saying "Via de servicio Calblanque" take this turning and keep going, you will hit a fork on the road and the easiest for your first time is take the right hand fork, which will take you down to a parking area, for the more adventurous, take the left! the road is a little bumpy but worth it.
Great place for bird watching too!
THE MAR MENOR BEACHES
The Mar Menor, which means "Little Sea"is a salt water lagoon, which is approx 170 square km´s and offers a very safe place to bathe with 70km´s of beach, the waters are warmer and clearer than the med as they do not exceed 7 metres in depth and close to the beach are shallow. Separated from the mediterranean by the La Manga strip (not to be confused with La Manga Golf) this makes the water calm. The salinity content is quite high (so good for floating!) and is a great place to learn water sports
Throughout the summer, there are inflatable fun areas on the sea along the Mar Menor, it varies year from year, great fun for kids (there are inflatable rock climbing walls on the sea) and bumpy castles.
The Mar Menor is known for its curative properties and up at Lo Pagan there are the Mudbaths. Where you can have a treatment for free and then chill out on the beach, the mud is beneficial for skin complaints, arthritis,reumatism,softening and making skin feel silky and also incredibly funny and laughing and smiling is the best tonic!
The mudbaths are located in Lo Pagan, where the mar menor touches the Saltflats. Take the AP7 direction alicante, then follow the signs to Lo Pagan.
See here for a street map view, it is interactive so you can turn and navigate your way along the beach front!
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Basically you walk up the pier next to the windmill, and the mudbaths are on your left, there are littl piers, you need to take a container, as you walk down the stairs off the little piers into the water and the mud is on the ground, you can feel it with your feet when you find a patch, scoop some up, then take the container full of mud back to the pier and apply all over.
Then you wait for it to dry, you can walk the pier as this goes right out to the end and there is a cafe, but I think that is a 5km walk, or you can just walk to the next windmill which is 2.5kms there and back. Or you could just sit it out!
Then once dry, you need to wash it off in the water, the water is so full of saline that you float. On the opposite side of the pier is the Mar Menor, so you can spend the afternoon on the beach, and have lunch at "Restaurante Los Molinos" which is just across the road, and one of my reccomended places to eat. See here http://polarisworldandbeyond.blogspot.com/2010/07/restaurants-in-region.html 
For more cove and beach ideas click here
I will continue to add more beaches and coves
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