The Local Area

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC80" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1388e8e3.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="13995810.png" border=0 width="149" height="129" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sun Sea and Sand"><U>Sun Sea and Sand</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Accommodation"><U>Accommodation</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interior Pictures"><U>Interior Pictures</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Exterior Pictures"><U>Exterior Pictures</U></A></div> <div> <B>The Local Area</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prices Availability"><U>Prices & Availability</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Terms and Conditions"><U>Terms and Conditions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" 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TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apartment, Verde Mar III Holiday Complex"><U>home</U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sun Sea and Sand"><U>Sun Sea and Sand</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Accommodation"><U>Accommodation</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interior Pictures"><U>Interior Pictures</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Exterior Pictures"><U>Exterior Pictures</U></A>   |   The Local Area   |   <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prices Availability"><U>Prices & Availability</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Terms and Conditions"><U>Terms and Conditions</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Information"><U>More Information</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Golf Courses"><U>Golf Courses</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Water Sport"><U>Water Sport</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="La Manga Maps"><U>La Manga Maps</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Supermarkets Markets"><U>Supermarkets & Markets</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> <div> The Local Area</div> <div>        <A NAME="_______"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">    </SCRIPT> </HEAD>  <BODY onLoad="trap()">   </FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#playa_honda_looking_north______________" TITLE="The Local Area"><U><IMG SRC="3c609a10.jpg" border=0 width="265" height="161" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>     <A HREF="#playa_honda_looking_north______________" TITLE="The Local Area"><U><IMG SRC="3c719a10.jpg" border=0 width="281" height="161" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>     <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" ><A HREF="#playa_honda_looking_north______________" TITLE="The Local Area"><U><IMG SRC="3c807a10.jpg" border=0 width="263" height="161" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>   </FONT></div> <div> M<B>ar Menor Playa Honda beach and promenade & </B><B>looking towards La Manga</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3ca029e0.jpg" border=0 width="258" height="158" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">       <IMG SRC="3c9149d0.jpg" border=0 width="276" height="157" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">      <A HREF="#calblanque" TITLE="The Local Area"><U><IMG SRC="162149f0.jpg" border=0 width="276" height="159" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <B>Playa Honda looking north and Playa Honda looking inland.                                               </B><B>Calblanque beach</B></div> <div>  <A NAME="playa_honda_looking_north______________"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div>            Playa Honda is in the general area of La Manga, near the City of Cartagena, in the province of Murcia.  Murcia is between the highly touristic provinces of Andalucia (Marbella and Malaga etc.) and Valencia (Alicante and Benidorm etc.).  If you like being with people who are mainly from your own country, wanting non-local food and drink, then Playa Honda may not be the place for you, you may possibly prefer Benidorm or Malaga.  Here you will meet Spaniards, they live here and they come here for their holidays.  We think this is a good thing and part of the appeal of this area.  The Playa Honda picture looking towards La Manga was taken 01.09.04, the tracks in the sand were made by the tractor which regularly drags the beach.  The Mar Menor (Small Sea) is about 5 degrees warmer than the Mediterranean Sea, it has no tides and is shallow, you will see groups of people sitting in the water for long periods just chatting and taking advantage of the iodine and higher salt concentrations.  This area of Spain has been described by the World Health Organization as the healthiest place to live in the world. </div> <bR> <div>  <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script>   <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script>      <center> <form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/custom" target="google_window"> <table bgcolor="#cccccc"> <tr><td nowrap="nowrap" valign="top" align="left" height="32"> <a href="http://www.google.com/"> <img src="http://www.google.com/logos/Logo_25gry.gif" border="0" alt="Google" align="middle"></img></a> <input type="text" name="q" size="31" maxlength="255" value=""></input> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search"></input> <input type="hidden" name="client" value="pub-3144920201822310"></input> <input type="hidden" name="forid" value="1"></input> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1"></input> <input 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There are many beaches either side of the La Manga del Mar Menor strip that divides the two seas, the Mar Menor is safer for bathing, it is shallow, with temperatures generally higher than the Mediterranean but both coastlines offer excellent bathing opportunities. Beaches include Playa Honda, Playa Paraiso, Playa Cavanna, Playa Chica and Playa de Venceciola on the Mar Menor, and Playa del Estacio, Playa el Arenal and Playa de Galua on the Mediterranean. Many of the beaches have sun loungers and sun umbrellas which are available for hire at a small charge.  The strip is more commercialized than the villages of the Mar Menor but has retained it Spanish ethnicity and so doesn't approach the extremes provided by the resorts such as Benidorm.   </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Calblanque</B></FONT> <A NAME="calblanque"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> Located on the Mediterranean mainland side, Calblanque is a National Park Nature Reserve where there are secluded sandy beaches, rocky bays and salt lakes. There are very few amenities, but it is the perfect place for nature lovers, walkers, cyclists and those seeking privacy or to observe the birdlife or whale-watch.  The area is being considered for classification as a World Heritage Site.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Mar de Cristal</B></div> <div> Mar de Cristal is on the inward shore of the Mar Menor it is the next beach to Playa Honda, where there is a good variety of water sports available. It is a short drive or a walk around the headland to the north (left), from Verde Mar III, where there are snack bars and restaurants along its length. The water is shallow and safe for bathing.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Water Sports</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >Fans of </FONT><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Water Sport"><U>water sports</U></A> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >will find one of the best places in the world for practising sailing, canoeing, swimming, water-skiing, jet-skiing, fly surfing, windsurfing, catamaranning, and every other type of water sport activity in its numerous clubs, ports and sailing schools. The Nautical Resort on the Mar Menor and similar consortiums in Mazarron and Aguilas offer the chance to hire out equipment and book sailing courses.</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#_______" TITLE="The Local Area"><U>Back to the top</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Accommodation"><U>P</U></A><A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Accommodation"><U>revious Page</U></A>   <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prices Availability"><U>Ne</U></A><A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prices Availability"><U>xt Page</U></A></div> <bR> <div> © copywrite Don Hughes 2005</div> <bR> <div>   <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=598593; var sc_partition=4; var sc_security="b1c90d07"; var sc_invisible=1; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/frames.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c5.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=598593&java=0&security=b1c90d07&invisible=1" alt="counter free hit unique web" border="0"></a> </noscript>   </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>