Spain in Winter 2023

 We came to Spain on 5 th. February to a spell of cold weather so although it is warmer than the Devon we left, it is not what we were expecting to last. Today has been overcast with sunny spells that we made the best of by a long walk along the beach here to the Marina for lunch. The area seems the same  as last year but we noticed much remedial work along the dunes and sea front to try and protect the dunes and let it regenerate. Further towards the Marina, the dunes have been impacted by high tides and there are many signs of erosion of the sand/dune cliffs with a shortening of the beach itself.

Restoration of the dunes at Guardamar del Segura. This is work that has been done over the last year.

I thought it would be interesting to picture these dunes to see how the restoration work progresses. 

The cottages along the beach front have also been impacted by the winter storms.

The cottages on the sea front in Guardamar where a lot of storm damage has destroyed the patios and steps. 

Also we've noticed in several places efforts to clean-up the river and canals by placing booms across the flow to catch the plastic bottles. This is obviously working but they do need to be emptied as all the ones we came across were full of plastic, mainly bottles.

One of the canals connecting to the river with plastic capture booms.

Today was our first really sunny day reaching 17 C after our the first 10 days here, so we did a cycle ride to the Museo de la Huerta near Rojales (just off the CV920 between Guardamar and Rojales). It did look closed as we approached but it was open (between 9am  and 3pm on weekdays but closed at the weekend unless you book in a group).

The Museo de la Huerta, the green Hacienda de los Llanos.

There are several rooms inside incorporating some original furniture and house hold items. The main interest for me was the other buildings with equipment from the farming days and a new building containing a large oil mill that was the last working in the municipality. The original stables have been used to hold traditional items from hemp work, transport, woodwork, beekeeping, hunting and fishing and ice cream making. I noticed an old traditional rip saw similar in design to the one I have made. This is the only one I've seen in a museum and it certainly looked like it had a lot of use.

Rip saw in the museum. These were used to saw planks along the length of a tree trunk. 

The museum has lots to see but not a lot is documented or explained very well. There are a few general information boards in Spanish.

On returning via Rojales we came across some interesting murals that are part of a "Rojales en Pintura".

Mural we discovered together with a poem about the freedom of women.

Carpenters workshop mural covering the whole building.

Some great sculptors on way into Rojales 

Hoeing the crops

Woman busy with chores

We have also found another place to visit in the Rojales area that we cycled to but it does involve a climb above the village centre through a large housing development to "El Recorral an Area of Recreativa". This was referred to in the museum we visited earlier as the "Talking Trees Park" as there is a route through the forest area with multiply choice question about the environment with answers on other boards as you walk around. The park also gave great views over the surrounding landscape including over Rojales and also toward Callosa del Segura mountains.

The view from the park back over the golf course and to Rojales village. The route up to the park follows the road adjacent to the golf course and there is a steeper road down that follows the edge of the park both ending up on the road between Rojales and the Eden development.

Helen at the summit as the day warms up and the wind dies-down.

Also near the summit where I think they release pigeons for racing

One the many sculptures in the park.

Rojales also has the caves made into the hillside where there are many artisans working and exhibiting their products. We had visited the caves before on a cycle ride last year but they were all closed. However, this year we found that the caves are open on the first Sunday of the month so on 5 th March we cycled over to Rojales and left our cycles at the rack opposite the council offices and did the ten minute walk to the caves following the signs in the centre of town," Cuevas del Rodeo". There were free painting and ceramic workshops from 11 am, the pottery making we saw were children outside working in the morning sunshine. Higher up the hillside, near the large car park, we found a small artisan market and band area with some folks picnicking in larger groups. The ceramics were mostly of a particular style with vibrant colours and styles of all shapes. The paintings were not to our taste but I can imagine in some settings they would be stunning and could fit-in with a particular design or style of room.

The lower area of the caves in Rojales with some caves open for exhibiting.

 

A mural opposite some caves on the side of a  small restaurant.

I also got an idea for a band saw or fret saw operated by foot in the same way I use the pole lathe and so I may adapt this for use on the pole lathe, just an idea at the moment. Anyway, after the caves we returned to town to have a tapas and drink before cycling back along the riverside track.

On another cycle trip we went north to Santa Pola taking the last section across the reserve in the dunes south of the city passing the salt works and incidentally, an old Spanish Civil War bunker near the coast.  At the time they were worried about the Republicans invading or a threat from the Nazis.

A defence bunker dating back to after the Spanish Civil War. See the salt heaps in the distance. The salt is mainly used for roads, e.g., some is exported to Scotland, and a small amount purified for consumption.

Yesterday, we did a one-day coach trip with Dave's coaches from La Marina to the Jalon valley via Polop for coffee, through the mountains to a high view-point (over 600 m) overlooking Parcent and then downhill to a Bodegas in Parcent before heading further down to Pedreguer for lunch. After this we went over for a walk at Altea beach and home.

El Fuente de los chorros, 221 jets along the plaza. Nearby we found an old cafe for a pleasant stop.

The road through the mountains (Serra del Carrascal del Parcent) was narrow and winding and especially difficult as the road was being used for mountain training for cyclists. The day was warm but we were met with a cool wind at the look-out on the mountain. 

A view from the mountains down to Parcent.

Back in the warmth of a summer-like day (in UK), we had a pleasant stop at Bodegas Xalo and bought a

herbal liquor "Herbero de la Sierra de Mariola, Molina" and one of their wines "Castell d'Aixa" and then a walk aside the Gorgos river that flows through the valley and town centre. 

 

River Gorgos as it flowed through the town and near the Bodegas

After a very good lunch in Pedrequer at the "Black Flame", we went onto the beach at Altea (and adjoining Mariner) for a walk in the afternoon sunshine. We had never visited here, only the old town part of Altea on the cliffs to the north of the beach which we could see in the distance. The beach is mainly stony but the esplanade is very pleasant and brought back memories of  Majorca for Helen. Finally, we left the bus at La Marina and a cycle ride home, still in the warmth of the last of the days sun. As you may note, the weather is variable at the moment with some summer-like days and also cooler autumnal ones. Anyway, we are not short of fruit and vegetables because of the climate, as misreported in the BBC at home. 

On another similar trip (9 th March) we went with David's coaches on a day trip to Murcia city and then onto near Calasparra, Santuario de la Virgin de la Esperanza  (Virgin of Hope). It was an early start from La Marina village where we left our cycles, and then about 90 minutes to pick up others, mainly from urbanisations north of Torrevieja. We arrived in the city for coffee and a couple of hours free to have a quick look around near the central area with the Rio Segura nearby. We had been to Murcia before by train from Sant Isidro, but it was nice to see it again. We visited the cathedral and the Episcopal Palace and just relaxed as the temperature was near 20 C but a little overcast. We didn't have time to go up the Bell Tower with it's 25 named bells, maybe on another visit.

The cathedral dating back to 1266 with the Bell Tower (Torre-Campanario, on the left). The tower is 90 m in height and dates back to 1521.

It was interesting to see the Rio Segura both in the city and also at the sanctuary as it passes down to us in Guardamar del Segura. We were told by the guide that the river is one of the longest in Spain but the most polluted although the water quality was improving as seen by the recovery of the otter population. It has the driest river basin in Europe and great demands as the Murcia region is considered to be the "Garden of Europe" with crops of fruit and vegetables.

The south face of the Glorieta de Espana, Episcopla Palace of Murcia dating from the 18 th. century.

The Segura river in the centre of Murcia city. Notice the large fish floating in the river "The Sardina del Segura". The sculpture is a tribute to the city festival which translates to "Burial of the Sardine". 

We then continued on a pleasant 50-minute drive north to the Sanctuary, also on the Rio Segura, through areas of peach groves, now in blossom with their deep pink flowers and branches reaching for the sky. The route basically followed a broad valley with mountains in the distance and the Segura to the west through vast areas of fruit and vegetables, some under plastic. The Sanctuary itself is not in Calasparra but to the north in a preservation and rural area with lots of walking trials nearby. It dates back to the 16 th. century but little is known about it's origins apart from a knight finding a small image of the virgin in the cave.

The entrance from the car park to the caves which are on the left through the main gate. The river is down a bank on the right.

The terrace down to the river with paths along the river with information boards.

The Segura river passing the sanctuary.

Inside the Sanctuary.

There was some information on the Canaverosa Nature Reserve some 12 km in length protecting a river corridor of native woodland, the best preserved riverine ecosystem in Murcia. Apparently, it is here that the otters have made a come-back.

We have just returned (17 th March) from a 3-day visit to Cartegena city, travelling by BamBus from Guardamar. There are three buses a day and it takes about 2 hours, calling in a lots of places on route. We stayed in an AirB&B very close to the centre and the Plaza San Francisco and in easy reach of the bus station and the main sites of interest in the city.

Plaza San Francisco near our apartment with plenty of bars and cafes nearby. The Moreton Bay Fig trees planted in 1926 make an impressive sight. 

 We have visited the city before but needed a longer stay to see more of the places and the castle and other museums including the Civil War Museum and the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology. On the first full day, we went to the Castillo de la Conception (on Conception hill) and got a combined ticket for the castle and also the Spanish Civil War Shelter Museum next to the lift. The lift takes you to the castle entrance but you can walk as well. The view from the top is impressive and makes a good introduction to the layout of the city as you can see the harbour and ports, bullring, roman theatre, modern amphitheatre and the surrounding mountains.

The Bullring from the castle walls. They seem to be renovating and restoring the structure.

The Roman Amphitheatre taken from the castle. We visited this in 2022 on a day trip here.

Brilliant view over the city towards the port and sea with the mountains and chimney in the background.

We then walked down to the base of the castle and near the lift entrance and on the first floor is the entrance to the Civil War Caves. These are worth visiting as they give an insight into bombing by German and Italian aircrafts aiding Franco in the Civil War. Like Barcelona, Cartagena was a strong hold of the Republican forces and important because of it's harbour and navel presence. The information says there were up to 5,500 people using the shelter during raids and this was one of many in the city. The number of raids is now uncertain but it has been put at between 40  and 117, I guess we will never know. It was interesting to walk though the labyrinth of caves that are in the rock walls of the castle base, with information boards in Spanish and English, and see the cramped conditions and some videos of people describing the situation from their childhood. The videos had English subtitles. This is very valuable as there are so few people left from that generation who experience it and can remember.

We were perhaps lucky with the clear sky and hot weather so enjoyed eating out and seeing the nightlife of the city. This is made easy with most of the centre pedestrianised allowing only residents, local police, taxis and loading/unloading for the shops to use vehicles on the lanes, i.e., the road was paved across at one level without kerbs.

The following day we went to the "Museo Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica" on the harbour front. This is a modern building and covers many topics in some detail and is well laid-out with information in Spanish and English and cards for other languages. It is free for over 65's. Topics include excavation methodology, preservation techniques (e.g., for wood, ceramics and metals), ocean navigation, the Phoenician boat wrecks: Mazarron 1 and 2 (these are displayed together with information on the structure) and boat/ship cargoes that have been discovered and preserved. I was particularly interested in the Phoenician joinery as they were, I think, the first to use the tenon method of joining the strakes (the long longitudinal slats making the boats body). They discovered that the woods used in the Mazarron boats were Aleppo pine (abundant in Guardamar forest!) for the strakes, Fig for the ribs going across the boat and bent into shape, and the tenons and pegs to go through the tenons were olive wood, so quite a mixture. Some bindings were made from Esparto grass (Stripa Tenacissima) that we see in the reserves near us in La Marina. We didn't have enough time to see the entire museum but maybe try again next year.

We did our "usual" cycle ride to Dolores and Catral calling in at the campsite we used 10 years ago (Marjal), first in 2012 (see this blog). We stopped for coffee in Dolores and notice a new sculpture made from horse shoes!:

Impressive dynamic horse made from used horse shoes.

Marjal  camping with a spot of rain. Luckily, it cleared to a fine day without wind later for our cycle back to Guardamar.

Cycled over to La Marina and beach and had a walk around the reserve and salinas to see if anything was new since our last visit. Didn't see many birds on the reserve but saw a couple of dragonflies and butterflies from a distance. It was a bright and hot day with views over mainly Esparto grass to Santa Pola.

Looking from the reserve over the salinas to Santa Pola. Most of the vegetation is Esparto grass.

 Also noted some "Shaggy Sparrow-Wort" (Thymelaeo hirsuta") bushes coming into flower as I crossed to the highest point on the reserve. This is a poisonous plant but had many medical uses.

The yellow flowers of "Shaggy Sparrow-Wort" opening. The name comes from a description of the shape of the fruit looking like a sparrows beak.

In the hide alongside the salinas I spotted flamingos, lots of avocets feeding in the shallows, a large group of Little Terns on an island and a few Red Shanks bottom feeding. Also on the way back and cycling along the riverside path, we spotted a group of distinctive Black-Winged Stilts wading well in the river at low tide. This stretch of the river is tidal and we often see Egrets, Cormorants, Coots and Grey Heron. Lately we've seen groups of Black Ibis on mudflats on an up-stream section near the river crossing, but not this time.

Since then we have had Bex and kids over for 10 days and they had brilliant weather so spent most of their time at the local beaches and enjoying getting in the water and lots of treats. They also had cycles to get around the forest and to the beaches, and Bex and Sam cycled to La Marina beach whilst Esmee and I walked and took the bus to La Marina village and walked the rest. They were able to see lots of flamingos at the Salinas and eat at the restaurant on the beach. Temperatures have been over 20 C during the day in sharp contrast to the rainy and colder weather in England.

We did another cycle ride to Rojales in the sunshine (22 C) and went to our "old" cafe in the centre. Also discovered the covered market in the centre and got some shorts for the warmer weather. Also I couldn't resist taking some photos of some more murals on buildings near the river.

Dedicated to the teacher Gratiniano Baches Romero, a native of San Miguel de Salinas and a renown teacher in the region in the early 1900's. The words roughly translate: "The child is the swollen bud where the germs (seeds?) of a flower that is to be the fruit, sleep." If you have a better translation, please let me know.

We noticed this from the cafe and when we got closer, we could see that this was also a painting of the terrace, curtains and also the geraniums, they looked so real.

A theme dedicated to the people of Rojales from the artists especially those from the artisan caves in the town.

We returned to England taking the train from Alicante (10.35 am) straight to Santander and then the ferry to Plymouth after spending a couple of nights in Santander. The train journey of about six hours was pleasant and comfortable. It stopped briefly in Madrid for cleaning. We left Alicante with temperatures over 20 C and arrived in Santander at about 16 C so some adjustments. The weather was better than we expected with little rain. We spent time looking around the city going to the funicular railway and views over the harbour and some time at the MUPAC museum (the Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria). This is an excellent museum and very well laid out with boards in Spanish and English. I was interested in the reconstructed  ancient caves with a lot of information about what was found there and with some of the artefacts, art and tools etc. In general, it is a good experience of our early history, not only of Cantabria, but in a more general sense. The tool displays of original items were really impressive especially the decorations on some of them. I am afraid we were pretty "saturated" when we got to the more modern times and Roman history, perhaps on another visit. 

View from the top of the railway,

We also visited the "Vertical Gardens" on our last morning and although this is signposted in the main centre, we did have some difficulty finding it, mainly because it is inside the Castilla-Hemida Civic Centre. Anyway, after asking for directions, we were fortunate enough to have a guided tour of the garden and view from the roof. The garden is on an old tobacco drying wall and is about 600 square metres with plants from different climatic zones, I think our guide said the wall was 30 m tall. It does boast to be the largest vertical garden in Europe!

View from the "Vertical Gardens"

Our hotel was 5 minutes walk from the railway station and also the ferry port so Monday afternoon at 5 pm we were on board and had a comfortable crossing to Plymouth arriving on Tuesday afternoon and on-time, ready for Bex to whisk is home to a cold 14 C.  A great journey to end our holiday and hopefully to some May sunshine.