Columbretes

Hi there!!

The same way as we experienced at the Eolian Islands, arriving is a very special moment. It is the time to compare not only data, but also all what we have been able to imagine when reading the book of the Archduke about the Columbretes Islands.

BOAT TOURS: Carallot, Foradada y Ferrera

The arrival at Columbretes es astonishing. Coming from the east you can first guess Columbrete Grande and afterwards you start seeing Foradada and Ferrera. Only at the end the Carallot becomes visible.

We start our tour by the Carallot where we can see, in the first place, a whole in the middle of it.

The group of Carallot is formed also by seven other islets.

The view towards the other islands, as it was shown by the Archduke, is spectacular.

We arrive now at Foradada by the west side from where the big hole and some rocky formations at its right catch our attention.

The view towards Carallot is beautiful. Some birds point already that we just arrived into a natural reserve.

In the south part of Foradada we stop to see the little cave that was mentioned by the Archduke.

When turning towards the east side, we can first see the islet Mendez Núñez and, in between this last one and Foradada, the islet Lobo.

The channel between Foradada and Lobo is beautiful and it is possible to see many falcons flying around.

We leave now Foradada and we sail towards la Ferrera.

First we run into the islet Navarrete which has its rocks pointing towards the west.

The Ferrera looks like a riding chair.

Just beside the south side of la Ferrera there is a very flat islet called Valdés.

An not far away and already on the east side of Ferrera, we find the Bauzà and Espinosa islets.

HISTORY AND GEOLOGY: Columbretes

Xavi del Senyor and Eva Mestre, both part of the natural reserve technical team, give us some ideas concerning these two topics.

Xavi tells us that the Columbretes Islands were already reported by the Ancient Greeks. We should see these islands as a meeting point, of people from Castellón, la Rápita or the Balearic Islands, where they just pass by for a while but do not stay. The place has always been dangerous and even more when navigation was just by sails or rowing.

The situation changes the moment that the lighthouse is constructed by the mid XIXth century. It is a time of development, and of growth of commerce, and the construction of the lighthouse, of “isabelino” style, became necessary.

The lighthouse keepers arrive with their families, and live and die in Columbrete Grande. Actually, that was one of the least appealing lighthouses in Spain. People had a very important impact on the island’s eco-system, and changed completely its appearance within a few years.

Eva adds that a big change comes by the 80’s when the military pratice is forbidden and the Natural and Marine Reserves are created. Nowadays the initial appearance of the islands is in large part recovered.

The Columbretes are reported to be of a period of at least 300.000 years ago. The Columbrete Grande gets its present appearance as the sea erosion erodes the crater from its NE side.

In the interior of the crater and in the west side of it we can clearly see how the zone of no vegetation climbs and even arrives at the top; a place where the waves sometimes reach the other side of the crater.

The different directions of the rocks of Navarrete, according to Xavi, may be explained because of a submarine production of the lava.

Finally, obseving the Carallot we do not see significative differences compared to the drawing of the Archduke; therefore, this fact would go against the legend that mentions that a war ship destroyed part of it.

Best wishes!

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