Showing posts with label Roquetas de mar. Show all posts

Sunday, 4 December 2016

Roquetas de Mar – Puerta Verde

The up-and-coming Las Salinas area of Roquetas is set on the vast plains of salt flats at the foot of the Sierra de Gádor.

Roquetas de Mar – Puerta Verde © Robert Bovington

Monday, 9 January 2012

Roquetas de Mar

by Robert Bovington

Roquetas de Mar is rapidly developing into one of the most attractive seaside resorts in southern Spain. It is popular with Spanish holidaymakers but increasing numbers of Northern Europeans are choosing to visit.

Roquetas does not have the brash, mass tourism of other Spanish resorts. Life here moves at a much gentler pace but is far from boring because it provides the visitor with both the facilities of a city and the relaxation of beach life.

Roquetas de Mar -Auditorium

This is an extract from my article on Unique Almería's excellent website:-

http://www.unique-almeria.com/roquetas-de-mar.html#RobertBovington

Monday, 14 November 2011

La Envia golf course nr Roquetas de Mar

Located in a beautiful valley amidst the mountains of Vícar, the golf course is surrounded by mountains of the Sierra de Gádor, which protect it from the easterly and westerly winds.

Sunday, 16 October 2011

Las Salinas area of Roquetas

The up-and-coming Las Salinas area of Roquetas is set on the vast plains of salt flats at the foot of the Sierra de Gádor.

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Puerta Verde de Roquetas de Mar

For a delightful stroll use the Puerta Verde de Roquetas de Mar. La Puerta Verde is a short route between Roquetas and Aguadulce that enables beach users, walkers and cyclists to enjoy use of the Cañada Real de la Costa without encountering motorized traffic.

start of walk

It runs from the eastern end of the Paseo Marítimo in Roquetas to Urbanización Torrequebrada in Aguadulce.

The route runs parallel to the protected ‘Monumento Natural Arrecife Barrera de Posidonia oceánica’, a barrier reef where a particular seagrass grows. The plant is endemic to the Mediterranean and unique to the Andalusian coast.

Robert Bovington

The Indalo Man

by Robert Bovington

Go into any gift or souvenir shop in the city of Almería or the tourist resorts of Roquetas de Mar and Mojácar and you will find key rings, thimbles, teaspoons and even jewellery - all bearing the Indalo symbol. Furthermore, on the road to Almería airport a giant statue of the Indalo stands prominently on a roundabout towering over the 'Welcome to Almería' sign.

So what is so special about this stick figure man that the Almeriense, the people of Almería, call the Indalo? Well, in 1868, cave paintings were discovered in a cave in the north of the province of Almería. These paintings were about 6,000 years old and one of them, a man with his arms held out to his sides and holding a rainbow above his head, has come to be the symbol of Almería.

The Indalo allegedly brings good luck, health and love to those who own one. It is customary in this region of Spain to paint the Indalo symbol on the front of houses and businesses to protect them from evil. The interesting thing to note, however, is that this practice of warding off evil spirits by having the Indalo symbol above the door has been going on for centuries, so the locals must have known about the symbol before the cave discovery.

In olden days fishermen used to pin the symbol on their doors before going out to sea as a protection against storms and as a guarantee of obtaining a good catch. Perhaps they still do!

The cave in question, la Cueva de los Letreros, was declared a National Monument in 1924. It is one of a number of caves situated in the Sierra de María in the north of the province of Almería.

Los Letreros lies between the towns of Vélez Blanco and Vélez Rubio.

Vélez Blanco is particularly worth a visit. It is a typical pueblo blanco with its whitewashed houses nestling at the foot of a rocky outcrop upon which stands a majestic castle.