Don't forget that Siesta rules in this part of Spain. Most places tend to be open until 1.30 or 2pm and then close until 4 or 5pm, when they re-open until around 8pm and even 10pm in some cases.
A note about payment, some smaller shops do not take credit cards at all. Those shops that do take them almost always demand to see photo ID such as a passport or a driving license before they accept it, although bizarrely we've never seen anyone bother to check the signature against the card. Chip & PIN doesn't seem to have arrived very much in Spain yet, and even when we've entered our PIN, they still ask us to sign as well. Bizarre!
Supermarkets
There are various supermarkets along Mojácar Playa, look for signs for Supermercado or Hipermercado. The nearest ones can be found by turning left or right onto the Playa from the apartment, and go about 100 yards along. To the left is Wisebuys and slightly further along is Mr Market, to the right is Hipermercardo Mojácar. All stock a wide range of British goods.
The best supermarket in Mojácar is Mercadona. Situated in the second turning on the left after the Parque Commerciale, it is open 9.15am -9.15pm Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday. There is also another Mercadona in Garrucha at the top of the main street, easiest approach is from the Las Buganvillas roundabout.
A good Spanish supermarket we have used in Mojácar is El Arbol, turn left onto the Playa and it's about a mile along on the left. A nice feature for the gentlemen is the bar just inside the door ! Another good supermarket, similar to El Arbol, is located in the Parque Commerciale in the centre of Mojácar Playa by the roundabout. The supermarket is underground in the centre.
For the British, Mr UK (9.30am-7pm Monday-Saturday, Sunday 10-4) is a good choice, full of Cadbury's chocolate and most English foodstuffs that you can think of, however it's a lot more expensive than home. A warning, you can often find British foodstuffs much cheaper in the Spanish supermarkets. For example, we found Kellogs Special K locally for EUR 2.16 whereas it was over EUR 5 in a British owned supermarket.
There is a good supermarket in Turre that we
have used a lot, it is also open on Sunday mornings from 10am to 1pm. It is not
over obvious as to where it is but can be found on the left going into Turre
coming down the road from Mojácar. There is a red Frigo ice-cream kiosk outside
the front of it.
A note in the supermarkets, if you buy
fruit, make sure you get it weighed and priced at the fruit counter,
typically Spanish supermarkets don't weight stuff at the till like they
do in the UK.
Markets
If you like markets, you'll love this part of Spain. We know of the following markets in the area, Vera being the best one we've been to so far.
Monday - Huercal Overa, Antas
Tuesday - Los Gallardos, Cuevas del Almanzora, Almeria, Albox
Wednesday - Mojácar, Pulpi, Bedar, Lubrin
Thursday - Carboneras, Sorbas, Cuevas del Almanzora, Lorca, Olula del Rio
Friday - Turre, Garrucha, Zurgena, Puerto Lumbreras, Almeria (near Plaza Toros)
Saturday - Vera, Aguilas
Sunday - Mojácar Pueblo, Villaricos, Vicar
Newspapers
You can get an English newspaper in many places along Mojácar Playa, have a look in any bookshop or place selling inflatables. The Daily Mail is now printed in Spain so can usually be found in most places. British papers generally arrive between 11am and 12 noon. The nearest place from the apartment to buy an English paper is down to the bottom of the hill and turn left onto the Mojácar Playa, there are papers outside the card shop next to Movieland. The Tabac shop is also very popular for newspapers.
In Turre past the Supermarket for about 200/300 yds. there is a shop, on your left, called "The Word" run by an English couple that sells daily English newspapers.
For the more sophisticated shoppers
For the more adventurous shoppers, there is a good variety of shops in the Parque Commerciale in Mojácar, as well as cafes and a couple of restaurants. You can also find lots of shops in Garrucha or Vera, but Almeria is probably the place to go for a big shop, the Mediterraneo Centre is excellent, and is signposted from Exit 446 from the Motorway. This centre is clean, air-conditioned with many shops and places to eat. There is also a huge supermarket there as well, and also a large Carrefour nearby (also signposted from exit 446).
There is a similar centre, Gran Plaza at Roquetas de Mar, about 15 minutes past Almeria on the same motorway. Just keep following the signs for Roquetas after getting off the motorway, you'll see it after several miles on the right. This shopping centre is larger than the one in Almeria, but personally we preferred the Mediterraneo Centre.
Murcia now has 2 big shopping centres, opposite each other across the Alicante road and next to the new Real Murcia football stadium. Drive to Murcia and go through Murcia following signs to Alicante. Just as you get on the Alicante road, you will see a big sign for IKEA, turn right there and follow the signs. The centre next to the football ground is the better of the two.
All of the above big centres and Carrefour are open all day until late (often 10pm), without any Siesta, but beware of local bank holidays, friends of ours have been caught out by this!
