Touring Almunecar –Botanical Gardens
Once I recovered from my run-in with the crazy seagull, I continued my tour of town at the Parque Botanico El Majuelo. Just a few blocks away from the beach, the Botanical Gardens are filled with plants from around the world and labeled with their origin and from whom they were gifted. It’s quite a beautiful and tranquil place. And it’s filled with some pretty interesting sculptures!
Spain has a very interesting history, especially Southern Spain. Many of the towns, my own included, were once part of the Moorish Kingdom in Spain. When the Catholics defeated Moorish rule, many of the existing religious sites were just automatically converted from Muslim worship to Catholic worship, usually by adding a crucifix and a saint or two. As a result, there are some very interesting elements to the art work and sculptures around town and the Botanical Garden is no exception. The majority of the figures depict Christian scenes, but often using methods that are Arabic in nature. Like this guy:
The Botanical Garden is also the site of one of Almunecar’s oldest surviving archeological findings: the Factoria de Salazones (the Salt Factory). An excavated salt factory that existed in ancient times, it sits in the middle of the Garden and is a reminder of just how old the history here in town in. And how important salt use is in this country – trust me, I’m going to need a triple bypass when I get out of here.
After wandering the Botanical Gardens for a little while longer, I decided to call it a day. My plan to walk up to the Castillo de San Miguel was thwarted both my fear of a run-in with the seagull but also because of the high winds in the area. The winds were so bad that several of the jetties I usually walk by on my way to town were becoming dangerous places to be, for fear of the waves. The Castillo is at the very top of town and I didn’t want to be swept off into the sea! So I decided to head to my favorite ice cream/coffee shop in town and take a break instead.
After my tasty drink, it was home to enjoy the beach for the rest of the day. That's why I'm here, after all!
Spain has a very interesting history, especially Southern Spain. Many of the towns, my own included, were once part of the Moorish Kingdom in Spain. When the Catholics defeated Moorish rule, many of the existing religious sites were just automatically converted from Muslim worship to Catholic worship, usually by adding a crucifix and a saint or two. As a result, there are some very interesting elements to the art work and sculptures around town and the Botanical Garden is no exception. The majority of the figures depict Christian scenes, but often using methods that are Arabic in nature. Like this guy:
The Botanical Garden is also the site of one of Almunecar’s oldest surviving archeological findings: the Factoria de Salazones (the Salt Factory). An excavated salt factory that existed in ancient times, it sits in the middle of the Garden and is a reminder of just how old the history here in town in. And how important salt use is in this country – trust me, I’m going to need a triple bypass when I get out of here.
After wandering the Botanical Gardens for a little while longer, I decided to call it a day. My plan to walk up to the Castillo de San Miguel was thwarted both my fear of a run-in with the seagull but also because of the high winds in the area. The winds were so bad that several of the jetties I usually walk by on my way to town were becoming dangerous places to be, for fear of the waves. The Castillo is at the very top of town and I didn’t want to be swept off into the sea! So I decided to head to my favorite ice cream/coffee shop in town and take a break instead.
After my tasty drink, it was home to enjoy the beach for the rest of the day. That's why I'm here, after all!
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