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Off to the South 2021/22Off to the South 2021/22
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Off to the South 2021/22

December 2021 - February 2022
A 52-day adventure by Gina Read more

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  • Spain
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  • 7.9kkilometers traveled
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  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22

    Zombieland, San Javier, Spain

    January 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    in the morning, especially yesterday on the 1st of january, this area feels like in an apocalyptic zombie movie. fog all over and empty abandoned houses. when you walk between them you have this queasy feeling, a zombie would stagger out between the houses, hands raised and "brain" stammering. fortunately, the fog soon clears and the few other people (mostly spanish) who are also here, turn up the music, sit in the sun or go fishing. in short: we did not meet a zombie yet... but who knows, we still have some weeks left over...Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22

    Parque Regional de Calblanque, Spain

    January 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    calblanque regional park is a regional park in the south-east of spain, near murcia. it is part of sierra minera, a mountain chain in the baetic system. it is one of the best preserved areas in the mediterranean littoral in spite of human activities and interactions.
    in regards of its geology: there are the most ancient rocks in the region of murcia and the most recent ones, which are altered by sundry erosion processes. there are plants like cistus heterophyllus (close to hoary rockrose), asparagus macrorrhizus (close to blue funnel-lilies), lotus creticus, sea hollies and pallenis maritimae (close to common cudweeds). there are also a lot of different birds, fish and reptiles.
    today we visited the beach and checked the situation since we plan to come back for some hikes…    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22
    2

    Las Encañizadas, Spain

    January 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    this morning we went for a short hike in the parque natural de las salinas and found "las encañizadas". the "encañizada de la torre" and the "encañizada del ventorrillo" are located next to the islets of the same name in the municipality of san javier.
    encañizada is a way of artisanal fishing used in coastal lagoons. it is based on the migration habits of some fish. they travel between the mediterranean sea and its lagoons. the art of this way of fishing consists of forming circular labyrinths in which the fish enter but do not leave; these labyrinths are built with rods and nets. in this way it is possible to capture some species such as gilthead seabream, mullet and (in lesser quantities) sand steenbras and sole. it's a system that is very localized and selective with the species. this form of fishing is quite old, there is already evidence of its use by the arabs in the middle ages.
    "las encañizadas" lay on the limits of the natural area of salinas and arenales de san pedro del pinatar, between the mar menor and the mediterranean sea. they are the only two that remain installed in spain. in the mediterranean sea there are others - in the bardawil lagoon, off the coast of egypt.
    and not only we detected this art of fishing, but read more in the next entry...    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22
    2

    Flamingos, Spain

    January 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    yesterday i saw flamingos from the street, which of course i had to get to the bottom of today...
    so we went for a short hike in "las encañizadas" (see other entry) this morning - and found the flamingos. of course they stay here because the fish in "las encañizadas" are presented as if they were on a buffet.
    flamingos are found in south, central and north america as well as europe, africa and southwest asia. the only representative of the order whose natural range extends to europe is the greater flamingo (rosaflamingo in german). it occurs on the atlantic coast of spain and portugal as well as along the coastal area of ​​the mediterranean and on some mediterranean islands. so these are "rosaflamingos" 🦩.
    fun fact: while flamingos require muscle strength to stand on two legs, they can balance on one leg with minimal effort. when one leg is lifted, the body's center of gravity shifts over the other leg. an additional "locking mechanism" provides the necessary stability so that balancing on one leg is possible even while sleeping. in theory, this mechanism also works when the bird is dead.
    i think i could use this for yoga... 🤔    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22
    32

    Cabo de Palos, Spain

    January 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    today is a windy day so what else but to pay hommage to the weather gods. so we went to cabo de palos. it is a cape and part of the "reserva marina de cabo de palos e Islas hormigas". it is also part of a small range of volcanic mounts that form a small peninsula. the mediterranean islands of grosa and the group known as the hormigas islands are part of this range, as well as the islands in the mar menor. the name "palos" is derived from the latin word palus, meaning lagoon. its lighthouse began operating on January 31, 1865.
    this area has quite a history... according to pliny the elder (4 – 79 ad) and rufus festus avienus (4th century ad), there was once a temple dedicated to baal hammon (weather god and chief god of carthage) on the promontory of the cape, which later became associated with the cult of saturn.
    and now i know why we went there today, during this stormy weather...    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22

    Mar Menor, Spain

    January 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    today we went to las encañizadas for a short hike, like the day before yesterday. this time i was more interested in the mar menor. it's an interesting place here, on one side the mediterranean sea, on the other side the mar menor and the land bridge between is only about 300 meters wide (at least where we stay). the mar menor is a coastal saltwater lagoon and means "smaller sea" - the mediterranean sea is also called mar mayor ("larger sea") in the region. with a surface area of 135 km2, a coastal length of 70 km and warm and clear water no more than 7 metres in depth, it is the largest lagoon in spain. there are five islets located within the lagoon, namely perdiguera islet, mayor or el barón islet, ciervo islet, redonda islet and del sujeto islet. my brother told me that there is a ferry over to the main land and now i have a new plan...Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22

    Busquets Panaderia, Cabo de Palos, Spain

    January 7, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    ohm nom mom - we found a wonderful bakery 🎂☺️. they have jummy magdalenas and awesome carquiñolis ❤️❤️❤️.

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22

    Collados Beach, Spain

    January 8, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    the collados beach club is located at the very end of the land bridge between mar menor and the mediterranean sea. three sides are surrounded by sand, dunes and/or ocean. it's closed in winter and it was a great adventure to stroll around the abandoned area. in summer it's a relax area during the day and a fun area at night. it has a great architecture and is characterized by round shapes which fit perfectly into the dunes. i would say: optically perfectly integrated into the environment. i also love that the beach around is not a perfect sand beach but more a wild beach ❤️. nevertheless i guess i would not go there in summer 😜.Read more

  • TravelerOff to the South 2021/22

    Market Cabo de Palos, Spain

    January 9, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    today we went visiting the weekly market in cabo de palos - you might know i love markets! and i always buy too much fruit or vegetables. but since the bananas and mangos are soooooo tasty here i assume they won’t get old 🤪. it’s a really big market and apart from fresh meat and fresh fish you can buy everything there. like *everything*, you can also mix your own perfume there. but since we‘re mainly interested in the local food, this is what we go for…
    so remember when you are around here: every sunday from 8 to 14.    Read more

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