The desert of Abanilla, Murcia

This desert-like area was just over the border into Murcia, which I read somewhere was the, or one of the, most arid parts of Spain. We had already been driving through fields of different kinds of produce - from most of Valencia’s oranges, rice and olives to orchards of pomegranates and fields of date palms. I’m now feeling inquisitive as to what they might grow in the very south of Spain! Strangely enough, around Valencia there have been many fields of globe artichokes, a crop very common around Roscoff in Brittany. And even stranger indeed, fields galore of cabbages. I’m amazed they would grow through the heat of Spain’s summer, even though of course they are irrigated.

Here however, there was nothing. Nada. Oh ok, a few olives here and there. 😄

All photos are SOOC again, and the sky was hazy, but you can see from the pic of Keith and his bright shirt that the landscape colours really were that pale colour. Those were mostly rocks rather than soil where they are completely devoid of vegetation. I love these weird kind of landscapes!

Looking in the other direction it’s a little greener with an olive grove in the middle of the wild landscape.

I don’t know what this plant is below - it’s a rush-like plant (I’ll PlantNet it when I get home as it’s fascinating) and it’s so amazing to see signs of life even on seemingly half dead things. I’m not sure if these tiny pretty peach flowers are actual flowers, or bracts.

Other life? I saw my first real, through binoculars, Dartford Warbler! 💕 We think we’ve seen them before when we didn’t have binocs, because of the way they hold their long tails, like a wren. Even this time the bird was backlit so couldn’t see all the details and colours, but I’ll take that as a tick! 

Here are a couple of pics of me at Morella; they were on K’s phone so I didn’t have them at the time of doing the last post. The burger is a very weird deconstructed one at a quite posh restaurant, delicious, but give me a regular burger any day! 😄

I’m sorry I haven’t visited any of your blogs, my evenings are busy downloading photos and checking out places to park and that kind of thing for the next day and more Facebooking than usual due to posting a few photos there. Be back soon!