Spain

Magical Oliva Sunset

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As I find myself on the south-east coast of Spain right now, enjoying a few quiet off days on the beaches of Playa de Oliva, I made use of the time in the evening, grateful for the fact the sun wouldn’t burn as hot as it does during the day, when it literally fries my skin that’s so unused to any sort of prolonged form of these warm rays, given the summer months have been washed away by persistent rain back home in Ireland.

So I took the short hike up to the ruins of Castell de Santa Anna, which is overlooking the small town of Oliva in the Valencian Community and the adjacent Mediterranean Sea.

Rewarded with a 360 degree view from up there, it certainly was well worth the effort; tranquility in its purest form watching on as the horizon changes colours to dark yellows, luminous orange- and red tones – but nobody is here, except myself, of course!

Having been to similar scenic viewing points in other places, like San Francisco or Lisbon that come to mind immediately, this one isn’t less spectacular, yet the area of Oliva, despite posing kilometers of the finest sand beaches isn’t particularly popular with tourists.

How wonderful, I think! There are still a few places not overun with tourists. Granted, I am one as well, of course….

Wild Playa de Cofete

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A wild day at Playa de Cofete on the Canary island of Fuerteventura as waves crash and thick layers of clouds form around the surrounding mountains.

Panoramic Fuerteventura

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The stunning panorama of Fuerteventura as seen from the Mirador Morro Velosa – six vertical frames each at 70mm taken and stitched together in post to create this kilometer long view across several barranco’s.

It’s actually not that long ago, that I owned a computer with a hard drive of the size of the original file of this image. It brought the old laptop I had with me on the trip to Fuerteventura down to its knees processing it.

On top of Fuerteventura

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On top of the world…. or at least Fuerteventura. A few steps more and from there it’s pretty much 807 meters straight down! It was the rewarding end of a 30 kilometer hike starting at sea level in Morro Jable under the grueling midday heat.

From there it went along the beautiful Jandia beach all the way up to the summit of the highest mountain of Fuerteventura – the Pico de la Zarza, offering the most stunning panoramic view over the beach of Cofete.

Guayadeque Tree

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Just back from a ten day long trip to Gran Canaria. No Internet, no phone, just the focus and the beauty of the island. A full blog on the trip will follow in the next couple of days – for now I only want to share the experience on this photo:

Hiking the Barranco Guayadeque at this time of the year can cause surprises. The sun was sky high when starting the hike, though things turned for worse midway through. Thick fog and heavy rain made life miserable.

Nonetheless I vowed myself on the way down that I would get my cam out at this one place where human history and nature meet in a compelling play of colour and force. Despite lashing, I got to shoot some interesting compositions – this one the one I loved most.

This lonely three, a stand out there for its wonderfully green leaves, as if it would say: I’m strong; I’m standing here proud and loud. Rain, wind and fog – you can have my a**!