Mar Menor
The Mar Menor is the largest salt water lake in Europe. It's name means "little sea" and it is a unique area located on the the most southern part of the Costa Blanca on the east coast of Spain, within the region of Murcia on the Costa Calida.
The Mar Menor area is almost totally separated from the Mediterranean by a small strip of land with a central dual carriageway called the Gran Via. It is around 18km in length and contains the Mar Menor lagoon which is a salt water lake of 170 sq km (the largest in Europe).
The area offers several excellent golf courses, some beautiful botanical gardens and the famous La Manga is on its southernmost tip. This popular holiday resort offers more than 40km of beaches and two seas with very different water temperatures - one with waves and the other dead calm almost all year round. The number of hotels at La Manga make up 50% of the total hotels in the region.
The deepest part of the Mar Menor only goes down to 7 metres and it maintains an average water temperature of 17ºC (above 21ºC in summer).
The area dates back to prehistoric times. The Romans developed a valuable salt industry here and named it Belich, referring to it as a port of refuge. It was much deeper then and could accommodate large vessels.
On the seabed Phoenician, Greek and Roman shipwrecks have been discovered carrying silver ingots, amphorae and all sorts of goods. The arrival of the Arabs involved the creation of Encañizadas which is a fishing method still being used today. After the expulsion of the Moors, La Manga was under siege by boats from the North African coast and to fend off the attacks, the Emperor Charles and his son Philip II ordered the construction of three towers in La Manga.
The area has now developed into a very popular tourist resort with miles of stunning beaches and the mud and clay containing therapeutic properties. The warm, shallow and buoyant waters has a high concentration of mineral salts. The World Health Organisation regards this region as one of the healthiest in the world with skin complaints, rheumatism, arthritis and even throat infections benefiting from the healing waters.
At the northern end of La Manga there are long stretches of quiet, deserted beaches. The marina at the Puerto Tomas Maestre is excellent for family holidays with safe beaches, ferry trips and plenty of boats. The family friendly restaurants offer excellent value for money.
The southern end is wider and more densely populated. There are some quieter spots there, but the areas of Zoco and Cavannah Square are literally buzzing with bars, clubs and restaurants.
The size, depth and the absence of waves on the Mar Menor make it ideal for all water sports including scuba diving, sailing, canoeing, swimming, water-skiing, jet-skiing, fly surfing, windsurfing and catamaran sailing.
The shallow, calm waters of the Mar Menor is a great place to get started in water sports making learning much easier and safer than on the open sea.
The writer of this article is Linda Craik who has lived in Spain for a number of years. She works for Plus Four SL who specialise in writing airport guides including Murcia Airport which includes details of the climate and Mar Menor weather