Important dates of joy and festivities are drawing near, but while some people choose the busy life of Christmas in the city, others seek the quietness that the Mar Menor coast can provide during these days. Far from the crowds that can be found in summer due to the amount of tourism, during winter the coast is a place for peace.
However, one should not mistake peace for boredom, as, even though less people can be seen around, this does not necessarily mean that there are fewer activities to enjoy during these dates.
Below you can find several that you can enjoy during your winter in Mar Menor.
Hiking-trails
There are several hiking-trails available for those who want to enjoy the views of a coast without summer crowds, and without the summer sun burning their stamina. This is an especially interesting option in the coast of Murcia, where temperatures are relatively soft this time of the year.
Even though you may surely be able to find other interesting trails easily doing a web search, these are the ones we recommend you to try.
Trail 1 – From Cala Reona to Calblanque (Intermediate level – starting in Cala Reona)
This trail shows a totally different image from Mar Menor. It takes you through the natural park, named “Calblanque”, through fossil dunes, sand trails and cliffs next to the Mediterranean Sea. You will see the mines by which the region was exploited and many of the local species. You will start in Cala Reona, always next to the coast, in cliffs and fossil dunes.
Recently the Autonomous Community of Murcia gave name to some of the trails mentioned in this article. This trail is known as PR1 (a part of GR 92). In the map below you can see this trail (marked as PR1).
Trail 2 – Going up to the Cabezo de la Fuente (Intermediate level)
The trail starts in the font at Los Belones. There you can park your car. It is marked in red in the map below.
Flea Markets
Due to the Mar Menor microclimate, visiting its flea markets is an alternative all year round, with the added bonus that in winter you will avoid the crowds that are so common during summer.
You can buy almost everything in the flea markets: Fruits, vegetables, leather articles, clothes, kitchen utensils, perfumes, and much more!
The opening days of the flea markets near Mar Menor are the following:
Monday: San Pedro
Tuesday: La Unión, Los Alcázares in “de la Rambla” street, Los Belones, Mil Palmeras (during the evenings)
Wednesday: Santiago de la ribera, Cartagena
Thursday: San Javier, Los Urutias, Lo Pagan
Friday: El Algar, Pilar Horadada (only in the evenings)
Saturday: Torre Pacheco, Los Narejos
Sunday: Cabo de Palos, Los Nietos
You can also visit the craft markets of the Mar Menor area during the following days:
- The fourth Sunday of each month in the “El Flamenco” gallery, km 3,5, La Manga Mar Menor
- The first Saturday of each month in the “Plaza de España” square in San Javier
- The second Sunday of each month in the Barnuevo esplanade (Santiago de la Ribera)
- The third Sunday of each month in the Lo Pagán esplanade, from 10:00 to 14:00 h.
Please bear in mind that these dates are subject to change. We recommend that you check the exact dates with the tourism offices before going. Below you can find a map that you can check to locate the different cities mentioned.
Cartagena on Segway
Cartagena is a beautiful city located in the shore of Murcia. The city was declared of touristic interests recently, and some of its shops open during Sundays. It is a city full of history and culture, worth checking any time of the year (and especially during the Spanish Holy week in spring). In the link below you can check an interesting offer available to visit the city riding a Segway:
http://www.natouralsegway.com/ruta-segway-cartagena.html
If you find this an interesting experience you can contact the company directly by writing to Info@natouralsegway.com, or by phone at +34 968 903 905.
Visit the mining park in La Unión
The mountain range from Cartagena to La Unión contains important metal mining sites, mainly of plum and zinc, and it was known for an intensive mining activity that dates back to the Roman and Carthaginian empires. The mining boom during the 19th century filled the mountains with underground mining sites and, from 1950 onwards, surface mining created a massive impact on the landscape, until the definitive mining shut down on 1991.
This gave birth to an amazing transformation of a landscape that possesses a great industrial and mining heritage, and in which there still exist areas where nature reveals almost unaltered great environmental values. The intense mining activity has left us an important industrial patrimony scattered across the whole mountain range: Derricks, Machinery Houses, Ovens, Powder Kegs, Laundries, Mining tunnels and train, in addition to a maze of underground tunnels and wells.
To this great industrial heritage, brought upon by the miners’ work and effort, it must also be added a precious cultural intangible heritage: the flamenco songs that rose from the hardships of mining work and that are annually remembered with the International Festival of Mine Songs.
The Parque Minero de La Unión is a privileged area of the Mountain Range in which, during a mine train tour, you can get to know the full process of the past mining industry of the 19th century, and you can have the memorable experience of going through over 4.000 square metres of tunnels from a mine site open to the public.
If you are interested in this experience, you can learn more in the web http://www.parqueminerodelaunion.es. They offer visits in English during Tuesdays and Mondays. You can book by calling +34 968 002 140.