Today I went to Almería with my Host Dad. He is an agronomist and has an avocado/mango farm.
Despite being a capital city, Almería feels like a town. I walked down la Rambla (street that leads to the sea) and el Paseo (main street), through the old town, into the Cathedral, along the beach, and even caught a glimpse of the Alcazaba (walled castle).
The beaches of the town of Almería weren't that impressive, although, I have heard that the Cabo de Gata beach in the province of Almería, is the best in Andalucía (some even say Spain)...so I will definitely go there in June.
I found the Cathedral interesting as it had been relocated after the earthquake of 1522 (most destructive earthquake in Spanish history). The entry fee was 4€ as a student. Although, I am technically not studying, I am in Spain on a student visa and so, to make the most of student discounts, I recommend you invest in the European Youth Card which is an online 'card' for people under the age of 30 that costs 14€.
Almería, the province, is nicknamed the huerta de Europa ('Europe's orchard') as is is the largest exporter of vegetables, namely: tomatoes, avocadoes, cucumbers, capsicums, pumpkins, and lemons (among others). Majority of the produce is grown inside plastic greenhouses. There are so many, in fact, that the province also gets called the Mar de Plástico ('plastic sea'). I was able to walk through three different businesses (small, medium, and large) and see the greenhouses, conveyor belts, and workers packaging the produce. I even climbed on top of one of the greenhouses to get a good view of the Mar de Plástico! I had never seen anything like it; many of the businesses are organic (don't use chemicals), and use rotational crop systems...one tomato farmer even had a whole bunch of bee hives inside the greenhouse. Despite these sustainable farming practices, I couldn't help but wonder how much of this plastic ends up in landfill (or the sea) each year...
The day finally came that I bumped into one of my students outside of class. He was working in the office of one of the businesses we visited, and it took me a while to recognise him, as I have only ever seen my students with masks on, so I've never seen anyone's full face!
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