It seems that yesterday afternoon’s spell of sunshine and temperatures approaching acceptable were a flash in the pan. Today we had flashes of different nature, those that accompany heavy downpours and precede claps of thunder, which el perrito definitely did not appreciate, even though we did get back just in time from a walk to avoid the worst of it. I’ll resort to completing the account of yesterday’s productive little excursion.
Our wander around Calpe produced more than just things with wings. As we were seeking the start of an nicely constructed boardwalk jutting out into the lagoon, I presume largely for the birders, Francine spotted a Bee Orchid that I wandered straight past. There were actually several. My eyes are much more attuned to movement whereas Francine’s eyes seem to key into colour more than mine.
The boardwalk may have been a good idea but so would a sign have been. We went down a couple of blind alleys through the bushes before finding it. Here, Francine found several spikes of another orchid, as yet unidentified. Our nature library, after all, cannot be transported within easyJet’s 20kg allowance for our one bag, so it’s stuck at home. Billy has some advantages.
Very satisfied with our first possible nature ramble, we made our circuitous way back to the car via Calpe’s seafront. Unusually for the Mediterranean, there were breakers hitting the shore; a sign, I assume, of the disturbed weather system still affecting the area. A couple of fishing vessels made their way back to the harbour – there’s a thriving fish market here – being mobbed by flocks of seagulls as they approached.
The 18°C we recorded in Calpe dropped steadily to 15°C as we climbed back up the 250m/750ft into the Jalon valley. The sun was still shining,though. What a pity the weather didn’t continue into today.
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