We travelled to San Pedro del Pinatar on the Costa Calida at Easter. It is popular in the summer, but out of season it is pretty quiet with just a few Brits, French and Germans enjoying the sunshine with the local Spaniards.

We were there for a week and the temperature ranged from 20 to 25 degrees with 99 per cent sunshine. By the way, the temperature in Britain while we were away was about five degrees.

We stayed in a four-star hotel in a room overlooking the salt water lake of Mar Menor, with the Mediterranean behind it. The hotel has a spa which offers therapeutic bathing in mud taken from the lake.

We didn't take up the offer. But drinking wine on the balcony and watching a flock of flamingos land gracefully on the salt marshes seemed an excellent way to unwind. Another flight entertained us later in the week when the Spanish equivalent of the Red Arrows, based at Murcia airport, practised their flying routines over the water.

We had little difficulty finding a decent spot on the beach at Lo Pagan to sunbathe. The beach playgrounds and the shallow water make it ideal for children.

But it was also a popular spot for watersports. Canoeists took to the water in the morning and when the wind got up in the late afternoon, windsurfers and kite surfers revelled in the ideal conditions.

One day we hired a pair of 1950s-looking bikes from an old Spaniard who had a cycle workshop near the hotel. He didn't speak any English, but was very helpful, adjusting the saddles for us and he didn't even ask for a deposit.

We cycled for miles along the boardwalk over the salt marshes, a nature reserve which is a birdwatchers' delight.

There were a couple of disappointments during the holiday. We chose the wrong time to visit the historical sites in the city of Murcia, the day after its spring festival celebrations. The cleaning team was out in force but the streets were filthy with litter and smelled of stale beer. It must have been a hell of a party.

The other problem was the opening time of the restaurants. Most of them didn't open until 8.30 in the evening and some didn't open at all during the week.So we were frustrated in our search for the perfect Spanish paella. Maybe next time.