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EXPLORING SPAIN (Part 1/3)
8:47:00 PMAre you planning a trip to Spain and thinking about which places to visit or are you just curious what I experienced in Spain? Just keep reading, our journey starts right now.
How it all started
First of all, I have to admit that Spain wasn't the number one place I wanted to go to this spring. I was searching for some cheap flight tickets and wanted to go to Rome - never been there and finds it extremely interesting (also thanks to Eat Pray Love). I was also thinking about Malta, however, the journey there would be so complicated and long, so we booked tickets to Alicante. (In March, Ryanair started to flight from Pardubice to Alicante and back.)Planning
We knew for sure that we would like to explore more than just one place, so we made a list of places we wanted to see and counted how many days it could take - we could have gone for 7 or 10 days - and longer vacation won. Our list included: Alicante, Mar Menor, Cordoba, Granada, Sierra Nevada, Gibraltar and Málaga. (As you will see, things went little differently than we expected.)
The flight was okay, I was enjoying the view at the Alps and also the clouds. Even thought I'm always nervous when the plane takes off, I love the view from the height. We landed at 10 p.m., picked up our car and hit the road... well, we got some sleep first, of course.
The first place we visited was Las Salinas de Torrevieja.
Originally, this place wasn't on our list, but you know, life is unpredictable and changes every second. It all happened very simply: there was a lady sitting on the plane next to us, who was also from the Czech Republic, but her daughter moved to Spain and she visits her often, so when we asked her what to do near Alicante, she recommended us to visit Torrevieja - a pink salt lake and I'm glad we asked her and actually drove there. Not only the water is pink (I've never seen anything like that before), but the water is also extremely good for your skin and walking in pink water is sooo weird.
Another location we visited is called Mar Menor and it's a coastal salty lagoon and its name means smaller sea (the Mediterranean Sea is called Larger Sea, in Spanish: Mar Mayor). The lagoon is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by La Manga (which means the sleeve).
I have to say, that in Torrevieja, I felt like on a different planet. And if you are a passionate photographer, go there - the place is photogenic as heck! (You will soon find out that I say this about majority of places I've visited in Spain.)
Mar Menor is well known for its mud baths that are free to use. You just walk down into the mud baths, collect some mud, apply it everywhere on your body and let it dry. I didn't feel like full body cover up, however, I was curious, so I applied some at least on my legs. It felt good, but it didn't smell good. And my skin after washing it off? Perfectly smooth!
However, it's not only mud that Mar Menor can offer, there is so much more. Thanks to the fact that we visited this area in April, there weren't many people (good if you are like me and don't like crowded places and rush). The beaches were almost empty and we have tons and tons of great photos without any people . I loved walking along the beach, one morning I enjoyed a cup of cappuccino in a beach bar (for the first time in my life...I'm a typical thrifty traveler, but my travel buddy convinced me to buy one coffee and enjoy the lovely view and just chill for a moment.)
Not far away from Mar Menor is situated Cartagena. We had only few hours to spend in this city. We saw a Roman Theatre, a port, Castillo de la Concepción and some bits and pieces of The Old Town. Cartagena has a very rich history and an important port is situated there.
From these few hours I spent in Cartagena, I have to say that I admire how the history is hidden in the modern city and it works perfectly.
Our next location was situated in the mountains. And by mountains I mean the wonderful, beautiful, majestic and breathtaking Sierra Nevada (Gosh, I really fell in love with Sierra Nevada.) More in the next post.
Hope to see you soon,
Love,
Kate
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