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Almería, Eden under the sea
The waters of the province of Almería conceal an underwater world of sublime richness. Off its coast, the Mediterranean marine life meets the Atlantic species of all kinds that live together in a spectacular amalgam of biodiversity, undoubtedly fed by the reserves and nature parks in the province. Lobsters, sunfish, rays, pollock and, if we are lucky, the odd visits from turtles, tunas and dolphins, make the enclave a magnificent spot for divers all year round. Can you imagine going into the water in the sun and looking back over your shoulder at the snowy peaks of the Sierra de Gádor? On the Almeria coast you can. From Roquetas de Mar to Villaricos, AlmeriaI need Spain
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Aigüestortes. Wateeeeer!
In a privileged and breathtaking location, it is the only Spanish Pyrenees Nature Park, bathed by the lake of San Mauricio. Presumably the reader cares little about what happened in the Quaternary. Until they get to Aigüestortes, of course. Once there, you will marvel and wonder how it is that this mountain was carved with such dizzying peaks over 3,000 meters high, almost cut with a knife. The blame lies with the Quaternary. At that time, glaciers cut stone like a knife through butter and nothing stopped them. They made way for the streams and reservoirs that have later given the park the name of Aigüestortes, meaning no more than "crooked water", thanks to the tI need Spain
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THE ROCÍO AFTER THE ROCÍO
Amidst marshes and forests there is a small village of hardly one thousand inhabitants which each year brings together more than a million people. This massive exodus is not done by car, but rather on horseback, in garages and on foot. We are talking about El Rocío and its parade, the largest in the world. But when pilgrims start their journey home, this place recovers its rural character, the doors to its white houses open, the white dove rests on its chapel and the region of Almonte peacefully offers it is exuberant charms. The countryside changes the bustling and noise of the carriages for the singing of birds and the watchful silence sheltering the Iberian lynxes in DoñaI need Spain
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miloidea
Spain
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CITY OF FLOWERS
The historic centre of Córdoba has no basins. Its cobblestones just let some climbing plant grow and splash the immaculate white of the houses. But when May comes, the streets of Cordoba bloom. Its squares are filled with colour and the smell of spring floods every corner, every yard. The Cordovan May fills the streets of the city with flowers and its people with happiness. Spring starts here with the Battle of Flowers, a procession of floats through the city on the last Sunday of April. Its occupants throw carnations at the people and they throw them back. Immediately after, the floats are replaced by crosses. Huge flower crosses three meters high that are placed in the mainI need Spain
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MUSHROOM ROUTE IN THE ARACENOS HILLS
Autumn’s arrival brings the forest into flower. This is a silent explosion, much less brilliant than the arrival of spring time, but much tastier too. The first wild mushrooms of the season begin to appear in the shade of the trees. There are many ideal places to look for this earthy food, but few have the surroundings of the like of the Aracena range of hills. This forest, declared a nature park in 1989, is full of Roman roads, Muslim fortifications and ancient abandoned watermills. Horse chestnuts, poplars and walnut trees offer their ochre shadow where the wild mushrooms grow. From mid-October, the mushroom routes begin to blossom, offering a stroll and a meal with the harvesI need Spain
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A MUSEUM IN THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH
Spain has a smaller scale replica of the Tower of Pisa. The original took 177 years to build, but its Spanish version took a million years and so maybe we should say that Pisa has a version of the Valporquero Tower. The author of this small work of art is nothing but water, which has produced other curious shapes such as a reproduction of La Piedad and a ghost. All of these lie in a special underground museum, the Valporquero cave. In Vegacervera in the region of León there is a small village called Valporquero de Torío. A few dozen houses line the road in no particular order. There is nothing that makes you think that we are before one of the most important natural phenI need Spain
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The garden collection of the Balearic Islands
Archipelagos are special places. Their isolation in the middle of the water means that in their interior the flora and fauna are distinguished from those living in large continental spaces, forming a very interesting biodiversity for those who understand and plant and animal lovers. The Balearic Islands are no exception. Their particular collection of local flora is at the El Camp d'en Prohom mansion. Built in 1900, since 1985 it has housed the great garden of Majorca and the Balearic Islands. Baptised as the Sóller Botanical Gardens, it is now the largest repository of information, experience and collections of biological diversity on the Mediterranean arcI need Spain
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By bicycle to La Albufera
Just a few kilometres from the city of Valencia, a unique natural paradise known as La Albufera is the frame for one of the most beautiful sunsets on the Mediterranean. One of the best ways to cross its eight kilometres is by bike. The trip may seem long but, if done on a 0% incline and good rural roads, with the comfort of the mild climate of Valencia and the promise of a swim at a semi-virgin beach at the end and one of the best paellas in the world, it becomes short. The Albufera is a natural park that the Arabs called 'small sea', and were not misguided: it is a saltwater lake hardly one meter deep, connected to the sea at several points. The Arabs also introduced the mostI need Spain
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The Tablas de Daimiel. Stopover and rest place
Thousands of migratory birds from around Europe make a stop in the Tablas de Daimiel National Park. Whoever waits for their arrival is certain not to regret seeing one of the most beautiful natural shows in Europe. Amongst the best known are the purple heron, the grey heron, the black-crowned night heron, the American bittern, the red-crested pochard, the northern shoveller and the Eurasian widgeon or the northern pintail on their way to the African continent in search of good weather. If this is your case, be sure that you will see them in the Tablas de Daimiel National Park, making a break on their trip to freshen up and rest before going on. The image we have been left of La MancI need Spain
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lucia75
Andorra
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Camping with glamour
For those not accustomed to contact with nature and getting by with just what they need, camping may be the synonym of uncomfortable holidays. However, forget this image of camping because it is changing and now even the most delicate of tourists can feel at home in some of the most unspoilt corners of Spain. In Spain, the camping boom occurred in the 1970s largely because of the European tourists, who were much more accustomed to going around with their homes and camping where the fair winds blew. Much time has passed, and although the sector is still in good shape, many people who decide to spend their free time in a tent are more and more demanding. And this &I need Spain
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Un chapuzón en la Garganta de los Infiernos, el paisaje que moldeó el agua
Susana Sanz
Spain
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clyde martin
South Africa
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Elciego and Frank Ghery’s silver bodega
In Elciego, in La Rioja of Alava in the north of Spain, two artistic expressions collide: on the one side, the architecture of the American Frank Ghery, one of the most important living architects in the world; and on the other, the wines of the inheritors of el Marqués de Riscal, a firm that has been delighting palates since 1860. They say that to convince Gehry, a Pritzker Prizewinner (the Nobel prize for architecture) and author of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, to build some bodegas in such a picturesque place was not an easy job. The old architect was hesitant to accept the commission. However, the proI need Spain
Spain
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powerjosl
Germany
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powerjosl
Germany
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Inside a Barcelona labyrinth
Labyrinths are a fantastic icon in collective imagination. The labyrinth in Jim Henson’s film led by David Bowie or the labyrinth of Alice in Wonderland are etched in our memories. We can experience going into a labyrinth in a theme park, but what we will really enjoy is to get lost in a real one, in an 18th-century hedge labyrinth. To do this, we must have a morning free in Barcelona. Away from the main tourist areas, in the district of Horta-Guinardó, we find the Horta Labyrinth, a perfect place to go with children or adults to prepare to trigger our imagination. Built in the oldest garden in the city, Horta Labyrinth forms part of a neoclassical gI need Spain
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via via @stephaniemansour
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I need Spain
Spain
via via @sorayina
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I need Spain
Spain
via via O. Ribeiro
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A tree top hotel
Being an astronaut, deploying superpowers and having a tree house. There are things like these that you want as a child and the elders enjoy. “To have a treehouse….”, Emmanuel Grymonpré and Karin Van Veen, the developers of the Cabanes als arbres Hotel stood scratching their heads. And in a leafy forest in Girona, in the heart of the Montseny mountain range, they decided to make their dream come true: accommodation 100% natural high up among the leaves. The more than ten years that Grymonpré spent as a guide in the Venezuelan forest and both of their experience in adventure parks were sufficient for the initiative to bloom. CabaneI need Spain
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Slow trekking along the banks of the river Asón
The serenity of Cantabria along the north coast of Spain finds its centre in the Concejo de Soba (a group of 27 villages). It all starts with a waterfall, the waterfall on the river Asón. It is here where the river flow gets carried away and becomes white waters. Upstream, the conscious peacefulness of the place is overwhelmed with historical beauty, no rushing is allowed here. The path opens up to a relaxing stroll into the past. The waterfall, with a fall of 70 m, seems to have wanted to lift itself in order not to be unnoticed to anyone coming along the CA-265 highway. Here its waters emerge from the land after filtering in the natural lakes of the CollI need Spain
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hammydon
United States
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Sepúlveda and Las Hoces del Duratón
Sepúlveda is a small, pretty village, as old as the smell of roast lamb floating through the village square. Its cobbled streets take us to one of the most unexpected places on these Castile plains: the Las Hoces del Duratón Nature Park. Immediately below the village we find scenery of chalky towers in the midst of the desert, with nothing to envy of the typical American postcards of the plains of Colorado. Just a few metres away, the river Duratón has dug out a luxuriant paradise along the course of its waters. Binoculars must be taken to watch the birds of prey close up, and also a stick for walking and a swimsuit for crossing the Durat&oacI need Spain
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