Cleaning up at the Park

A large group of the volunteers of Rutas y Caminos de la Sal and members and families of the Spanish walking group Andar por Andar gathered at the Natural Park of Torrevieja-La Mata on Saturday to do a litter pick.  Braving the first drops of rain, which luckily dried up, we set off up the the hill, armed with gloves and bin bags provided by AKI, and covered the area up the hill to the dovecots, then continuing to El Chaparral.  It was great to see so many children involved and as well as doing a worthwhile job, a pleasant time was had by all.  We hope to set and example and that visitors respect this special place, which is so worth looking after.

Jenny Dodd

Another U3A guided walk

Another great day was had by all as we strolled around the park in the company of delightful visitors from the U3A.

Volunteers explained the history, geology and development of the park, as well as our role as volunteers, in the training room at the Casa Forestal, following a brief introduction by Jose Manuel.
We rounded off the morning with a group lunch at Felisa restaurant on La Mata boardwalk, who  once again provided us with ample delicious food and wine.

Update

Visitors to this site, please note we no longer meet on the second Thursday, but on the first Saturday of every month (high summer excepted) at 10.00 a.m., and the location has changed to the Park Headquarters - the Casa Forestal, the white building at the park entrance. The Wine Growers' association building no longer exists!

Cooking with traditional ingredients from our area

Some of us recently attended a fascinating talk by Jose Manuel, expertly translated by Jenny, in the kitchen of Torrevieja's Central Market. There was a demonstration by the chefs from Las Jarras, a well-known La Mata restaurant, followed by a delicious lunch when we tasted the dishes we watched being made. Notice of this talk was sent out by Jean Paul Mulero, the liaison officer for foreign residents; do look out for future events.
I for one learned a lot about the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, and picked up some great tips such as how to de-pip a pomegranate in seconds, and how to grate juicy fresh tomatoes to make home made tomate frito. Yummy, and very healthy!
The first thing we learned how to make was a traditional salad with dried fish called capellan, capers, onions and tomatoes among other ingredients. This was followed by a fabulous vegetable paella and a really tasty pud of fresh pomegranate in wine sauce. Guess what my next guests will be having for lunch?!

New signs

New signs in our park reflect the handiwork of our members. Well done to  everyone involved. Your time and skill is much appreciated by all of us!

Vine planting at La Mata

The morning of the 14th at La Mata saw several members of the Volunteers waiting for action with gardening tools at La Mata information centre and we all set off along the vine route heading in a northerly direction until we got to a plot which had been prepared with furrows for the planting.  The two maintenance men then started digging holes to show us how.  The holes looked about a foot deep and the same square.  Some branches were then cut off the existing vines and the ends had to be hammered flat to encourage root growth, then they were planted in the holes and stamped in.  Apparently no watering is required, we just hope for the winter rains to do the work.
Jose Manuel explained that there was great excitement when they realised they had these vines which are unique to La Mata and the only others are in the Seed and Plant Bank in Madrid.  As they have not been modified in any way they hold they original flavour from about 150 years ago.  
This plot used to reach right down to the sea, one of the men’s grandfather used to have them, but now we have buildings and the N332 instead.
Jose Manuel made it very clear that it is up to us to look after this planting and in 3 months we have to go and learn how to prune them.  As time passes we have to prune them again and learn how to choose the strongest stems for further growth.  In 3 years we may have a harvest!  Tapes were put round the stems with the names of all the Volunteers present so we have a personal interest in them.  This is very much “our baby”!
 

Our award

At the monthly meeting of the Volunteers of La Mata (Rutas y Caminos de la Sal), the members were shown the plaque and heavy glass award with which the group were presented at the recent Coastrider award ceremony.  It is the Graham Knight Citizenship Award.

The group were very pleased to have their work in the Natural Park recognised and hope to continue looking after this area which is so important to Torrevieja-La Mata.