A few weeks ago, Eline, Lies and I spent a few days at the Costa Blanca in Spain, a regionthat is mostly associated with beach tourists. and elderly people. While it’s definitely not the most adventurous holiday destination, the region does have a few surprises up its sleeve. You’ll have to wait a little bit longer for a blog post about the main reason of our stay (I did share a little bit on Instagram already), but today I wanted to focus on Las Salinas de Torrevieja, a mesmerizing pink salt lake. (So no, these images aren’t photoshopped!)
Centro de interpretación Parque Natural la Mata Torrevieja, e - website
We intended to have an idyllic picnic by the pink waterside, but the reality was a bit less romantic. Scorching hot and very windy, Las Salinas de Torrevieja wasn’t the perfect picnic spot (altough we made it work!), but it’s definitely worth a visit. You might even get lucky and visit during the breeding season of the flamingo!
Even though you might seem some people swim (or rather float) in the salty water, do remember that this is prohibited. The lagoons are part of a 3700 hectares Natural Park and their ecosystems need to be protected. Furthermore, the lake is still used for salt exploration. The particular colour of the lagoon is due to the pigments present in halobacteria (bacterias that live in very extreme environments) and small Sea-Monkey crustaceans (a type of brine shrimp that feeds off the halobacteria). More info can be found at the visitors centre (at the address above), but we just opted to make use of one of (may) the holes in the fence here.
Flying is bad for the planet, so I compensated my flight's carbon footprint through Treecological. Consider turning your travel into trees as well and do the planet a favor!