Fewer screens, less purchasing of goods and more novel experiences, modern travelers repeat like a mantra. Little theory and a lot of practice. In this line, which incites curiosity to know, these 12 experiences are articulated that can be lived in different parts of the Spanish coast, from making anchovies to parachuting or spending the night in a lighthouse.
Canarian adrenaline shot
There are seven minutes, just a moment of
skydiving
(parachuting), just enough to jump from the plane attached to the tandem supervisor by a harness and undertake in unison a 3,000 meter fall over the spectacular dune field of Maspalomas (San Bartolomé de Tirajana ), in the south of the island of Gran Canaria. Going from the 135 kilometers per hour of the plane's inertia to the 240 kilometers per hour that is reached during the descent is a milestone for any mortal eager for experiences. After the euphoria and feeling of freedom that free fall produces, the parachute opens in stages for a kilometer and a half before landing the tandem gently on Playa del Inglés. “You feel the force of the wind, the sensation of floating (not falling), unless we pass through a cloud. Nothing to do with the terrifying sensations of some theme park attractions, precisely because of the presence of visual references that make us feel the speed multiplied,” says Leo Magno, CEO of Ijump, the company that makes skydiving a fun and memorable activity. for 299 euros each jump. It's worth it just for the aerial views of the south of Gran Canaria.
The tandem flight can be completed as a couple – double couples, that is – with a small discount. You can also hire a photo or video report from the same instructor - equipped with high-definition
handheld
cameras - or there is the option of immortalizing the jump with an external photographer who takes the plunge at the same time as us.
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Shellfish in sight
A Illa de Arousa (Pontevedra), the only island municipality in Galicia, is a beautiful setting from which to navigate the Arosana estuary. The Amare Turismo Náutico water taxi is based in the port of Xucre, in the north of the island. Its interesting Guided Fishing Gear Route takes place, obviously, from Monday to Friday, except holidays, and there is no pre-established script nor does any shellfish catcher get involved. Each voyage is different, and the two hours give a lot of themselves. Perhaps the most curious thing is to contemplate the shellfish harvesting afloat: how the
rañieros
capture, in a rudimentary way, the clams using a long rake - called
raño
-
with long nails
,
which are stuck into the bottom and, after being removed, are hoisted onto the boat, not without effort. You can also observe how razor clams and shrimp, cuttlefish and octopus, crabs are extracted and, of course, you visit an oyster pan.
The island is usually circled, approaching to photograph the beach islet of Areoso, with restricted access since 2023. The minimum departure is for two people (120 euros), a price that is reduced by up to half if it coincides with other passengers, something very feasible as spring progresses.
Beekeepers for a day
El Perelló (Tarragona), on the Mediterranean coast, is the first Catalan town to produce honey, largely due to Mel Muria, a firm created in 1881 and supported by six generations of beekeepers. The guided tour of the Beekeeping Interpretation Center causes an undeniable commotion around bees, those small creatures that organize themselves so well and are so relevant to nature and even our survival.
After explaining the products of the hive, the different functions, types of smokers... you watch a video about beekeeping culture, you go through the honey extraction room, the packaging room, the museum and the source of honey, to finish with a tasting, among organic varieties, with ginger, orange or propolis, among others. Thanks to the glazing, even the most squeamish can peer into swarms from half a meter away.
The best comes when the entourage of private cars leaves for the beehives, located five kilometers away. Once dressed in beekeeper suits (children are the ones who most enjoy dressing up as astronauts), the hive is opened and the combs overflowing with bees sedated with the smoker are removed, distinguishing the workers and the drones; Only with great luck do you see the queen. It is advisable to reserve (price: 13 euros; children from 3 to 12 years, 9.10 euros).
Sobbing anchovies
Spring arrives and with it the approach to the Cantabrian coast for spawning of the
black-leg anchovy,
the
Engraulis encrasicolus
—better known as the Cantabrian anchovy—, in its annual migration. A particular way to immerse yourself in this canning world is to visit Santoña (Cantabria), the undisputed capital of salted anchovies, a semi-fresh product synonymous with the sea.
Here, Conservas Ana María has made a qualitative leap, replacing the classic visit to the production line with the opening, at the end of 2023, of the Anchoa Art Gallery, where the historical evolution of the activity is documented and taught. its meticulous artisanal production process. During the guided tour, the scenery of a ship stranded at the bottom of the sea appears, along with a compass rose and a navigation chart of the Cantabrian Sea dated 1940. After the video of the bocarte coast (fish with purse seines) You will attend a demonstration of a fillet worker cleaning and rubbing anchovies according to ancestral uses. Admission costs five euros and includes a tasting.
The visit to the gallery can be extended, two Sundays a month, with a unique Sobado de Anchoa workshop, which includes the complete preparation - in a matter of 80 minutes - of a jar of anchovies that the visitor can later take home. your house (price: 25 euros; 12 euros, children under 12 years old).
Candles, gels and aromas from Ibiza
Silvia Ripoll (Elche, 43 years old) was a Mathematics teacher at a high school in Ibiza and, after suffering health problems, she decided to change her life by adopting healthier habits, moving away from the toxicity of air fresheners, deodorants, creams or cosmetic products. Not only did she read the labels with a magnifying glass, but she also trained in a cosmetics school, whose practices with natural Ibizan ingredients she distributed among her friends. Due to the success achieved, she decided to make good her pedagogical vocation and start Sa Terra, transmitting her knowledge in personalized workshops.
Few people believe that homemade shampoos can be made, but that's how it is; The one suitable for oily hair, for example, is kneaded by Ripoll with sage, rosemary, green clay and sea water. In the candle workshop, soy, rice and coconut wax is used, along with aromas of lavender, citrus or vanilla with Ylang-Ylang. Solid perfumes are made with the same essences used in candles. Workshops are also organized on air fresheners, soaps, lipsticks, vegetable hair dyes, botanical pressing and even a
beauty
set
for pets. The workshops last about three hours: they begin with a snack and you end up taking home a digital book with complementary information, along with the material prepared. It costs about 45 euros per person.
Under a blanket of stars
On the Canary Island of La Palma, looking at the sky is like putting on virtual reality glasses, but without the how. Every night, depending on the presence or absence of wind or sea of clouds, astrophysicist Ana García, director of AstroLaPalma, chooses a celestial viewpoint for her astronomical
tours
, among the 16, almost all mountainous, with which the call is equipped. beautiful island. Upon arrival, once the car lights turn off, an “ooohh” of amazement comes out of the mouths of the astrotourists at the star show seen from a natural environment. This is what this island, declared a Starlight Reserve, has in store – what the biosphere reserve is to the earth –, the highest award that certifies the quality of the skies, among the best in the world. And La Palma bases its pride for astronomical enjoyment on its height (you have to be covered up), reduced light pollution, low population density and atmospheric stability, all of which will give the option of searching with a telescope, and advised by Starligh guides, a double star, a colorful galaxy, perhaps a nebula or a constellation... and always the inevitable Big Dipper. Everything explained in simple and didactic language.
This spring the planet Jupiter will be visible, and this summer Saturn with its sensational rings will be visible. Price, 33 euros (transport not included). Ask about photography
tours
.
During the day, there are visits to the Gran Telescopio Canarias, located in Roque de los Muchachos, the second Canarian summit after Mount Teide, elevated 2,434 meters above sea level.
What the Romans did for us
Anyone who has not been to Cartagena (Region of Murcia) during the last decade has missed an enormous wealth of Roman discoveries that Cartagena Puerto de Culturas is ready to divulge. We are talking about one of the oldest cities on the Iberian Peninsula, a strategic natural port conquered by Rome in the year 209 BC.
Excavation began in 2008, the forum, the center of what was the Roman city, opened to visitors - its museum and its 5,500 square meters - in 2021, with great prominence by the Muses, four of the best paintings peninsular Romans, not counting the baths, the temple of Isis or the curia (town hall). On guided tours you can rent tablets that help you virtually recreate the forum as it was. Before walking along the stands, visit the Theater Museum, with the pictorial mural dedicated to Mars, a fabulous sculptural trompe-l'oeil that has reached the present day in fragments. It is possible to use virtual glasses. The excavations under the bullring continue to bring surprises in the Roman amphitheater (1st century) - especially the bestiary pit and the large room reserved for gladiators - which is expected to open to the public after the summer. The combined ticket for four museums costs 13 euros.
Beyond the Roman Empire, it is worth highlighting the exhibition on espionage open, until the end of the summer, in the Museum-Refuge of the Civil War, which had capacity for 5,500 people. Remember to include the boat trip to the port mouth in your visit to Cartagena.
Farm with Asturian charm
The 'flysch', Churruca and the dinosaurs
Geology and tourism have their touchstone in geoparks; and, at the moment, none has such a varied catalog of experiences as the one offered by the Basque Coast Geopark, around a phenomenon as colorful as the
flysch
, where marine erosion has generated an alternation between hard strata (limestone and sandstones) and soft (clays and marls). In Zumaia, Deba and Mutriku, as we walk surrounded by flysch, we will understand the dimension of geological time, a book of thousands of pages in which each layer is 10,000 years old.
One of the most attractive excursions during the spring sunsets consists of boarding in Zumaia, during low tide, to stop in front of the Algorri coves and thus discern one of the most interesting geological layers: the so-called KT limit, a fundamental dark clay layer. to understand how dinosaurs became extinct after the impact, 65 million years ago, of a gigantic meteorite off the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico). Then, on foot, you can walk to the Algorri viewpoint and go down to explore Itzurun beach, whose flaky walls give it great aesthetic value. The tidal surface is covered in spring with a phosphorescent green algae.
In Mutriku, apart from the museum of giant ammonites, the Arrietakua palace (from the 18th century) has just opened for guided tours, where the soldier and naval engineer Antonio de Gaztañeta lived, as well as Cosme Damián Churruca, hero of the battle of Trafalgar: the most egregious Basque seafaring past. Tickets can also be purchased at the geopark.
Sleep in a lighthouse
The Isla Pancha lighthouse, linked to the coast of Ribadeo (Lugo) by a 16-meter concrete bridge, was a pioneer in Spain when it came to converting lighthouse keepers' homes into accommodation. In this case, they are two high-level twin apartments (about 200 euros per night), with capacity for four people each, in which there is no shortage of lighting with home automation or a Japanese-style toilet, with trickles. These apartments occupy the original lighthouse building, from 1859, with a square floor plan and a hipped slate roof. 60 meters away stands the cylindrical lighthouse from 1983, in black and white stripes. Its mission: to illuminate the entrance to the Ribadeo estuary, separating Galicia and Asturias.
The experience is unique, feeling the constant beating of waves (the swells are impressive), the passage of birds and boats, as well as the hypnotic beam of light that accompanies the entire night.
The islet is freely accessible on foot, and there is the option of sitting and having a drink on the partially glazed terrace, which opens from June, from 12:00 to 19:30. The presence of cat's claw, with a creeping habit, generates a contradictory sensation, since it is still an invasive plant, although its sea of purple in this lighthouse is fascinating during the month of April, at the height of its flowering. .
What was the watchman's sentry box and the pilots' cabin (sailors who advise the captain in the entry and docking maneuver in the port), today serves as a viewpoint in the shape of a wooden birdhouse, without side closures. 10 minutes away is the tourist beach of Las Catedrales.
Open Door Farmers
If any label can be assigned to the Terragust experience, it is that of agricultural tourism: bringing to the consumer the agriculture practiced in Manacor (Mallorca), together with the experience of eating in spring surrounded by fruit trees, and, in summer, next to the vineyards. Five farmers have decided to show their farms—mostly vegetables—and explain the methods of cultivation, the native varieties, and the way in which their fruits and vegetables are harvested. Immediately afterwards, a hat and a cloth bag are given to collect and take home what can be carried.
The visit is complemented by a tasting menu of products with which we have previously become familiar:
pa amb oli
(substantial country sandwich) with artisan bread from Terragust, Mallorcan olive oil, bouquet tomato, Can Company sausages, Menorcan cheeses, wines and herbal liquor The guided
tour
and food – about three hours in total – cost 70 euros (15 euros for children between 2 and 12 years old). In summer the price rises to 75 euros, when a musical performance is included. Two days before, the exact location of the farm chosen to visit is received on the mobile phone. Ask about how to adopt a tree.
At the market
On weekdays, a bubbly and seafaring scenery unfolds in the fishing port of Estepona in Malaga. Shonia Cruz has her company Marine Tourism there, focused on publicizing the culture, tradition and seafood gastronomy of the Costa del Sol. Her excursions are told by experiences. The Secrets of the Fishing Ground, lasting about three hours, begins with a sea voyage to witness, live and direct, the last haul of a trawler in its fishing ground. Once at the dock you will be able to witness, on the decks of the boats, the end of the classification of the catches.
Everything in the market breathes humidity and saltpeter; Freshly unloaded fish and shellfish are identified and the details of the digital auction are told, before starting a workshop in which tricks are suggested to recognize truly fresh and wild fish from those that are not, as well as to learn about their organoleptic properties. (from 47 euros).