Cabo de Gata rest day

Today, Cabo de Gata is a spot quite conducive to contemplation and reflection with its repetitive sounds of surf and wind. It wouldn’t have been anywhere near as peaceful if you had happened to be here eight million years ago when the collision of the African continental plate and the European plate caused an eruption of titanic proportions. A pillar of smoke, ash and molten rock over 200 metres wide shot into the air faster than the speed of sound to a height of over 20,000 metres. Tsunamis were generated that reached a height of 20 metres as they sped across the Mediterranean Sea to crash onto the shores of North Africa only minutes later. On our little walk to the beach and the lighthouse we saw plenty of evidence of this cataclysm in the cliffs that drop sharply to the sea and the finger-like formations that project out of the water. There’s a 30 second video of the surf at the end of today’s photos.Read more