What's here ?
Catral is one of the most inland villages of all the villages of the Vega Baja and is located close to El Hondo reservoir - protected nature reserve. Not doing that today as the visitor centre is closed on Mondays (as are a number of shops and bars i've noticed over the past few weeks) - El Hondo is one for another day.
The main Catral village square is a great place to sit and have a coffee whilst admiring the large domed church that sits proudly in the square as it protects the village 9,200 inhabitants.
How'd it get here ?
The village existed back in Moorish times when it was known as Al-Quatrullat. From 1296 Catral went to the Crown of Aragon and then gained its independence in 1741.
Today
I've done this route before on the bike so to save time it's back in the Flintsones Jonny Cab so straight up the AP7 towards Alicante for just one junction, off at 737 and take the CV905 Dolores road, through Dolores and carry on to Catral which is the next village.
Catral is the only village i've been to so far which has a one way system in place - coming into the centre the traffic it diverted left away from the town on Calle Manuel Flores.
I'll cover that street later but for now I parked up and walked along the high street - Aveinda de la Constitution. At the start of the road is a small (from the outside, i didnt go in) Casino called Lunapark Casino.
Along the main high street, as well as the Casino there's a couple of car dealers (Opel, Citroen), Retaurants - Meson Barbaco, Shang Hai Sushi, Kebab Manola, Pizza Ovi, Venecia, Ameoiremio Pizza, San Remo, Los Candiles and a dance bar - Shao (on facebook apparantly). Bars - Hnos Aguilar, Manola, Sanchez, Happy Days, Avenida, Anjada, CJ's sports bar, Casa Raquel, Landons, Ebano disco pub
as well as Panderia (bread), Peluqueria (hair), Opticians, elecrical goods, dia supermarket, small consum, tyre shop, farmacia, estate agents, hardware shop, heladeria (ice cream), cake shop, Banks - Caja Murcia, La Caixa and Rural Central, Carniceria (butchers), tile shop, Lion Heart Tattoo and body piercing, car repair and servicing.
A petrol station and big Muebles (furniture shop) restaurant Mayman and school completed the end of the main street. There's also lots of industrial units - many of them empty and for rent. One that caught my eye was the biker bar/custom garage www.customgaragebikers.com
Heading back on the right takes you to the town hall and Iglesia Santos Juares (church), along here there's cafe el Jardin, Cafe mary, Dome restaurant, solicitor, Akrum Kebab, carniceria, pet shop, post offce (correos), estanco (cigs), pescaderia (fish), BBVA and CAM banks and the local office for the PP Partido Popular political party.
The church is known as Iglesia Parroquial de los Santos Juanes - saint john the baptist and Saint john the evangelist parish church.
It was a primitive Christian temple erected over the remains of a mosque. After several alterations undertaken throughout the 18th century it was finished in 1802.
It needed to be restored after most of its art pieces were lost in a fire that took place during the civil war in 1936. A new alter was added in 1945.
In the church square itself are the Belmontes cafe and Merida cafe along with an estate agents www.spanish-property-rentals.info
If you're heading out town at this point you come to a very english looking cafe/bar called the Village Inn, walking down this road - Calle Manuel Flores brings you back to where the one way system started - at the Lunapark Casino and Aveinda de la constitution.
What starts off as a bit confusing does actually work well - it's really like having a village with 2 separate high streets, here you have also bar Manoli y Jose, bar sanchez, vino turia, panaderia, peugeot dealer, cafe adela, public library, bombay indian restaurant and Costellos English bar along Manuel Flores street.
Out of the villages where the houses are and a few streets back from the high street are a couple of parks and the Polideportivo - sports centre with outdoor swimming pool.
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