Travel photography: Spain - Special places

December 23, 2015

In my previous articles I took you along my route from Barcelona to Seville, covering the major cities and attractions on the way and we even paid a visit to the Barbary macaques on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Now I'd like to complete this article series by showing some special places that I encountered during my trip.

Peniscola

The old town itself is located on a peninsula atop of an impressive rock rising more than 60 meters high from the ocean surface. It is connected to the surrounding area via a strip of sand that was washed away occasionally by the waves, effectively turning the old town into an island. The first fortification at the site of today's castle already existed about 3000 years ago. Over the centuries the city was ruled by Carthaginians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs.

The Peniscola Lighthouse (El Faro) is located right next to the Castle. It was constructed in 1892 and its light reaches a distance of 65 km in a clear night

View from the castle on the surroundings. The beautiful beaches are a magnet for locals and foreigners alike.

Peniscola was according to legend also the place where Carthaginian General Hamilcar Barca made his son Hannibal swear to be an eternal enemy of Rome.

The old town will also be a filming location for the 6th season of Game of Thrones. When I was there the set was just built up.

Bocairent

Embedded in the impressive natural landscape of the Sierra de Mariola, 95 km southwest of Valencia lies the medieval town of Bocairent.

Even from a distance you can see the tall, narrow houses of the town, overlooked by the tower of the parish church.

View on the scenic landscape surrounding the village. The Sierra de Mariola is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the region of Valencia. It is rich in aromatic and medicinal plants and herbs and provides a habitat for a variety of birds and mammals.

The path up to the old monastery makes for a lovely short trip.

The Batteries and Gun Emplacements at Castillitos and El Jorel

The gun batteries at Cabo Tioso were built in 1926 to protect the important military port of Cartagena. The exact location was chosen because of its strategic location, 218 meters above the sea on a rocky cliff top with easily defendable access.

The facilities at the site were created to look like natural rock formations to make accurate targeting from the sea harder.

There are 2 batteries which were capable of firing a projectile weighing a ton over a distance of 35 km. The big guns were only fired once in action against Nationalist forces in April 1937.

Sunlight piercing through the clouds. The view from the plateau is fantastic in all directions. Please note how the light creates an S on the water surface which I can only assume stands for "Superman".

During my three week stay in Spain I unfortunately didn't see a proper sunset even once. This sad example was about as good as it got.

One of the big guns after sunset. The lights in the background are Cartagena and the ships anchoring in the bay.

Ronda

Ronda is a city in the Procince of Malaga at a canyon of the Rio Guadalevin in the mountains of Andalucia. It is especially famous for the Puente Nuevo, the massive bridge connecting the old and new town.

The bridge has a height of about 100 meters and was built in the 18th century after a construction period that lasted for 42 years.

Caminito del Rey

The last memorable place I'd like to mention is the "Path of the King" in the mountains of El Chorro. The pathway mainly consisted of concrete supported by steel girders and ran along the vertical walls of the canyon. It was once known as world's most dangerous walkway before it's restauration in 2015. It was originally constructed in 1901 but deteriorated and collapsed over time. In that state it was a popular attraction for climbers and adrenaline junkies and several people lost their lives while attempting to walk it.

The path can be seen in the center of the farm at the right side of the gorge.

Most of the path actually leads through a picturesque valley and is conveniently walkable.

The path was completely restored and reopened in 2015. Now a modern wooden structure leads through the formerly dangerous passages. In my personal opinion the restoration ruined the flair of the Caminito del Rey completely. I think the right way to restore the path would have been to implement appropriate safety infrastructure like a continuous steel wire and to equip the walkers with a climbing harness which secures them to the wire. This way people could experience the thrill of the path in great safety and its legendary character would have been preserved. Of course now also children, elderly and physically less fit people can stroll along the comfortable walkway now, but apart from the spectacular views the path itself is now quite boring.

The restored walkway through the valley.

The famous old bridge crossing the gorge. A modern steel bridge was constructed in course of the renovation behind it.

This article concludes my article series on Spain. I hope you enjoyed it!

To see the gallery with all the images please click here.

Thanks for reading!