General Information:
The Apartment is located in the seaside resort of Santiago de la Ribera on the shores of the calm Mar Menor. Just 10 minutes walk from the peaceful, sun drenched beaches and the bars and restaurants of both Santiago and San Javier, it provides the ideal base.
Climate:
The average annual temperature here is 17ºC and the average during the summer is above 21ºC. The winters are very mild, very rarely falling below 10ºC. Rain is also rare here. With over 3000 hours of sunshine a year (320 days +) and the mild climate, the sea water here can reach 30º in August.
The World Health Organisation has recently announced that this little courner of Spain has the heathiest climate in the world!
Watersports:
With so much water here there is no wonder that the area is a haven for watersports. The possibilities here are endless from sailing to diving, windsurfing and jetskiing.
Golf:
If it's golf you're after, there are approximately seven top class golf courses within a 20 minute drive. These include the world famous "La Manga" courses (20 minutes), the host of the Spanish Open - Villamartin (15 minutes) and the brand new Roda Golf course (5 minutes).
Mar Menor:Mar Menor (Little Sea) is a unique area located on the east coast of Spain, within the region of Murcia, just above the city of Cartagena. Few regions have the good fortune to have both a saltwater lake and a Mediterranean shore. The region of Murcia has both and the salt water lake with an area of 170sq.km is known as Mar Menor, the largest salt water lake in Europe. Mar Menor is part of the Costa Calida.
The area dates back to prehistoric times but most remains found date from the Roman and Arabic periods. The Romans valued the area highly and developed a valuable salt industry. It was about 1000 years ago that the lake took on the appearance it has today.
The Romans called it Belich and referred to it as a port of refuge. It was much deeper in those times so could cope with even the largest of vessels. Over the last hundred years or so, the area has developed into a tourist heaven.
As well as the natural importance of the area the mud and clay are said to have therapeutic properties, known for centuries.
The coast of the Mar Menor is flanked by small towns, in the past homes to fishermen and today, tourist enclaves. San Pedro del Pinatar in the north covers 21.7sq.km and has 15,200 inhabitants. This can swell to 60,000 in the summer months. Below this is San Javier with over 20,000 residents.
Local Markets:
Within Santiago, San Javier and up and down the coast, local markets are open at least once a week. Santiago's local market operates on a Wednesday each week and is a 5 minute walk from the apartment making it ideal for the weekly fresh produce - Water Mellons, Roast Chicken, all kinds of fruit and veg. Lovely!