Benifassa revisited

I visited El Portico this morning for the last time, and chatted with a few people before doing some shopping and making lunch. On a whim, on my way to the supermarket, I drove alone the south shore road, and spotted some birds roosting on a rock, a hundred metres off-shore. I parked and took photos with my Sony HX50, to find out what its telephoto setting would deliver. When I examined the results later, I was surprised to discover that the rock in question hosted not just the usual family of cormorants but also a pair of big grey herons, and neither seemed bothered about the presence of the other.

I had just enough time later in the afternoon to make the drive to La Senia, and from there drove up into the Sierra dels Ports before sunset to revisit the Benifassa reservoir. The display of light on high peaks and south facing cliffs was utterly lovely to behold.

Two and a half years ago, when I was last up there, the water level behind the dam was so low that an original river bridge and some houses at the bottom of the river valley were not only visible, but could be visited by the adventurous, some 250 feet below the road running across the top of the dam.

At a guess, I'd say the reservoir is now half full, and by the end of winter, there may be even more rain to bring the water level up to a healthy maximum.

The entire agricultural economy of the maritime plain from the Sierra dels Ports in the north to the Sierra d'Irta beyond Peniscola to the south depends on water captured from the mountains as well as the depths of ground water available. I was glad to have the opportunity to return there and see for myself the remarkable variations in climate that cultivators in Spain have to live with, or else go out of business. We who are consumers have no real idea of how much we owe them for our food supplies. All too easily we take abundance for granred.