Property on the Costa Calida
Is there an area of Spain which within the next ten years will be rapidly developed? Yes is the answer. It is called the Costa Calida, in Murcia and touched on earlier. Pick up an English language property magazine, a weekend newspaper, or even watch television adverts for this heavily promoted area offering new off-plan properties.
To date Murcia is a forgotten area on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Looking at Murcia 's own Costa Calida, with the possible exception of La Manga no well known names can be found. How long will this last? As to the north, the Costa Blanca has the unstoppable development of cheap holiday homes in Torrevieja and further south, the Costa del Sol beckons, now well worn, almost deserving of its poor reputation.
The centrepiece of the area is the natural harbour of Cartagena which was constructed in 223 BC by the Carthaginians who called it Quart Hadas (New City). After conquering the city the Romans renamed it Carthago Nova (New Carthage). Although the city declined in importance in the Middle Ages, its prestige increased in the 18th century when it became a major naval base. It is possible to get an overview of the city from the park which surrounds the ruins of Cartagena 's castle, the Castilio de la Concepcion. The port was Hannibal 's Iberian stronghold and the landing place for his expeditionary elephants, and he was followed by the Romans and the Moors, whose legacy can be seen in the winding narrow streets. Excavations in the city include a Roman street and the Muralla Bizantina (Byzantine Wall) built between 589 and 590.
The most popular resorts of Murcia's ' Hot Coast ' are around the Mar Menor. A few small beaches are dwarfed by cliffs and headlands. The resorts of the southern part of this coast are relatively quiet for Spain. There are several fine beaches at Puerto de Mazarron. The growing resort of Aguilas marks the southern limit of the border with Andalusia.
The elongated high-rise holiday resort of La Manga, built on a long, thin sandy strip, separates the Mediterranean from the Mar Menor, literally 'the smaller sea', but really a large coastal lagoon of 170 sq km of warm seawater. It has a unique marine environment where seahorses flourish, cut off from their natural predators by the formation of the spit. The sheltered Mar Menor can be 5 degrees warmer than the Mediterranean . In the early 20th century its high mineral concentrations first drew tourists for rest cure. They stayed at the older resort of Los Alcazares, which still has wooden jetties protruding from the beach.
A mile or so away lies the La Manga Club founded by an American called Peters, as a Florida-style resort. Residents on its 1,400 well-tended acres, of whom at least 60% are British, have three golf courses, tennis courts, football pitches, swimming pools, restaurants, bars and a five-star hotel at their disposal.
There are plans to raise the region's profile and the Murcia government is going about it in a sound, logical way. New airports and two new projects for the marinas at Aguilas and at Mazarron are planned. Several sea-front golf courses are proposed and 25,000 more hotel beds. Between the coast and the capital Murcia , near the small country town of Fuente Alamo , a grand vision is being realised. On a 600-hectare expanse of gently sloping brown earth, formerly given over to market gardening, two 18-hole golf courses and more than 2,800 homes are planned. It is a tranquil setting, surrounded by largely empty motorways with the Hacienda del Alamo aiming to rival the La Manga Club in popularity.
If you want a hot coast and a property hot spot too, look to the Costa Calida.
