Salt everywhere. Lagunas saladas.

Not far from Torrevieja there’s a natural park with two lakes: Laguna de la Mata and Laguna de Torrevieja. I was especially interested in the second lake because of its pink color visible on satellite photos. But first, we visited the other one.

We parked the car at the information center Centro de interpretación Parque Natural la Mata, which you can find close to the roundabout on N-332 road in Torre la Mata. There was nothing that got my attention there, only Tomek was attracted to a huge fake bird. And as a matter of fact, this is an ideal place for birds lovers.

We took a path to the lake, then turned left. It was the middle of the day, close to Tomasz’s nap time and he’s been whining to get into the backpack. To be honest, it wasn’t an easy route even for me, because of the sand. However, there were some ambitious ones who wanted to cycle through it.

I think the best part was behind the curve, at the cemetery level. And there was parking as well. We should leave the car here! Anyway, the wooden path made it easier to walk and the trees took some beautiful shapes. Soon we reached a picnic spot and we prepared baguettes with cheese and ham. If only they weren’t so crusty that they hurt the gums! After the break, we climbed on the lookout tower and went all the way back to the car.

Now, the windy and cloudy day had come. And such a day we picked to see the second lake Laguna de Torrevieja. On Google Maps, I found a spot on the east side with swimming possibilities. I expected that meant easy access to the water. And I wasn’t far from the truth. We drove Calle Sol street searching for a gap in the fence. Then we parked next to the buildings and went to the lake which was just a few steps away.

We took a few photos of a lake with big white piles of salt on the other shore and hurried back because the weather conditions weren’t friendly. At least I’ve seen a pink lake now. And it is really pink. Later I read this is thanks to red pigment, produced by algae and plankton. They serve as food for many aquatic species like crustaceans, which store the pigment in their crust. Other species, for example, flamingoes and salmon, eat them and gain pink color! And supposedly there is a lot of flamingoes in the park. But I’ve seen not a single one. I will have to come back another day for them. And for the bath too.