GEO-Walking
Introduction
Bitácora organizes a 7 days geological walking holiday through the Cabo de Gata Geopark: an active journey through southern Spain and geological time.
Together with a guide and a small group we will discover Spain’s largest volcanic area, walk across rising mountains and dried-up oceans floors, and enjoy the beautiful bays and rugged rocky coasts. Not only geology though. There will be time to taste Spanish food in local cafes and restaurants, discover pretty villages and get to know the Andalusians.
Next excursion March 2022. Exact dates will come soon. Price per person 690 euros.
Geo Walking
Bitácora organizes a 7 days geological walking holiday through the Cabo de Gata Geopark: an active journey through southern Spain and geological time.
Together with a guide and a small group we will discover Spain’s largest volcanic area, walk across rising mountains and dried-up oceans floors, and enjoy the beautiful bays and rugged rocky coasts. Not only geology though. There will be time to taste Spanish food in local cafes and restaurants, discover pretty villages and get to know the Andalusians.
Geologically speaking the area is a paradise. We will see the results of the collision between the African and the European continent: mountain ranges, faults, folds, volcanoes. We will discover the coral reefs which formed on top of the volcanoes and learn about the tropical conditions and the high seawater level some 6 million years ago. We will discover fossil beaches as well as huge sediment packages covering the old ocean bottom.
Next excursion March 2022. Exact dates will come soon.
Price per person 690 euros.
Included
- 8 nights stay at the Bitacora apart’hotel
- Prices based on 2 persons per apartment
- Breakfast and fieldlunches included
- All local transport as well as airport shuttle included
- Geological tour guides: dr. Anne Fortuin or Andrea Forzoni PhD
- Geological guide (75 pages) included
- Minimum 6 and maximum 12 participants
Not included
- Airline tickets
- Dinner and drinks
- Travel insurance, accident insurance
See desktop or tablet version of the website for more information!
Geology
Geologically speaking the area is a paradise. We will see the results of the collision between the African and the European continent: mountain ranges, faults, folds, volcanoes. We will discover the coral reefs which formed on top of the volcanoes and learn about the tropical conditions and the high seawater level some 6 million years ago. We will discover fossil beaches as well as huge sediment packages covering the old ocean bottom.
Furthermore, we will try to read the landscape together: understanding what we can see in rocks and on mountain slopes and how people dealt with the scarce water in the past. Putting on geological glasses that you can use for your next trip.
Useful Information
Included
- 8 nights stay at the Bitacora apart’hotel
- Prices based on 2 persons per apartment
- Breakfast and fieldlunches included
- All local transport as well as airport shuttle included
- Geological tour guides: dr. Anne Fortuin or Andrea Forzoni PhD
- Geological guide (75 pages) included
- Minimum 6 and maximum 12 participants
Not included
- Airline tickets
- Dinner and drinks
- Travel insurance, accident insurance
What’s Where?
Bitácora
The Bitácora is a small scale, intimate apart`hotel, situated in the heart of the Cabo de Gata nature reserve, overlooking the nearby village of Las Negras and the Mediterranean. The small scale apart`hotel combines the freedom and the privacy of an apartment with the luxury and convenience of a hotel. Guests can choose from a range of services or make specific requests.
Day 1, Rodalquilar – Hotel Bitácora
In Rodalquilar we will visit the geological museum “Casa de los Vulcanes” and the old gold mine installations. We are in the center of the former Rodalquilar Caldera, a big krater that collapsed 11 miljon years ago. From Rodalquilar we walk through the red-weathered soil of the Caldera towards the Playazo beach. There we will see and find marine fossiles and sediments. The sea view is great!
Day 2, From Cabo de Gata to the Monsúl beach
You will first see the Cabo de Gata Salinas and the local inhabitants: flamingos. You will then discover the amazing outcrop of white-coloured rocks (ignimbrites), which were produced by highly explosive eruptions. We will see columnar jointing, produced through the slow cooling of lava after its emplacement. The walk ends up at the picturesque beach of Monsul, featured in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Day 3, Bitácora – Hermita del Fraile
You will learn about the vulcanic rocks of the Rodalquilar Caldera, looking closely to the peculiarly-weathered Cinto ignimbrites, which are the result of highly explosive eruptions that took place when the caldera collapsed. We will also visit the Hermita del Fraile; famous scenery in many western movies.
Day 4, the Sorbas and Tabernas basins
We will learn about the interaction between tectonics, sea level and climate changes. A wide range of deposits can be found in both basins from deep-sea turbiditic sandstones and marls, to beach sandstones, from the Messinian gypsum to coral reefs limestones. You will see the fossil beaches near Sorbas and the badlands of the Tabernas desert.
Day 5, Bitácora – Playa del Plomo
A fascinating walk along the coast. From Las Negras to the Agua Amarga basin. Vulcanic bombs, a coral reef colony and an old fortress at the San Pedro beach.
Day 6, walking along the Rio Alias to Argamasón
Fractures, folded rocks, breccia: the visible presence of the largest strike-slip fault of the area: the Carboneras fault. We will see a beautiful outcrop of cross-bedded sandstones that accumulated some 1,5 million years ago in a strait connecting the Almería-Níjar Basin to the Mediterranean Sea. There is a beautiful old watermill we can visit at Molino de Abajo.
Day 7, From Polopos to Lucainena de las Torres
We follow the old mineral train track that started in Lucainena to Agua Amarga. From Polopos we walk down to the rambla enjoying the traditional Andalusian agriculture landscape. We will see old coastal sediments, walk through the shiny metamorphic rocks of the basement and come across many different types of faults.