Worth a Visit – Cabo de Gata Natural Park
Twlight decends over the peaceful fishing village of La Isleta in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park in Spain.
It has taken a week, but I feel that I’ve finally recovered from a 17 day road trip through Spain. As tiring as the trip was, it was the 33 hour trip from Barcelona to London (thanks to the ash) that was the killer.
Of all the places we visited in Spain (and there were many), the Cabo de Gata Natural Park was by far my favorite.
The park is situated about 50 kms from Almeria. This is quite convenient as Almeria has an airport and many car rental companies.
Why should you visit the park? Pick from any of the following reasons:
- The light is spectacular – the area is often used for filming Westerns as the light is so pleasing for film.
- The area used to be frequented by pirates. To defend against pirates, local fisherman built forts, many of which are still standing. Pirate stuff is always awesome.
- Old volcanic activity give the coastline a spectacular, rugged feeling with many protected bays and inlets.
- Old, abandoned mining villages are now left as virtual ghost towns – great for photography.
- As this is a park, you won’t find any of the horrible, high-rise buildings that seem to occupy most of the rest of the Spanish coastline. The locals who live in the park are friendly, traditional Spaniards.
I was so inspired by the visit, that I’m making plans to return, possible to lead a photography workshop/outing, so watch this space if you’re interested.
