06.06.2026
Seeing the flamingos of Andalusia has been on my bucket list for a long time, and we finally managed to do it! There are a few places in Andalusia where you can see them, but we chose to go to the largest, Fuente de Piedra Lagoon, which is about an hour inland from Malaga. It's the second largest colony in Europe, after the Camargue region in the south of France. It's a beautiful area with a few trails you can follow to see various types of birds. We didn't see a huge variety, perhaps because spring is almost over, but my main ambition was to see and photograph the flamingos. While we didn't see the thousands that reportedly use the lagoon as a mating area, we saw plenty. They are so much fun to watch, the way their legs move, and the way they clean themselves. We even got to see a spat between two females. We went a few times over the course of 2 days, and followed one 5.4km trail that takes you to a blind that looks over a larger part of the lagoon. If you do that, you definitely need a good telephoto lens, which we didn't have, but you still get nice views of the colony. The trail also offered plenty of bunny sightings and some nice flowers. There are a couple other blinds that will get you closer to the flamingos, and are quite close to the visitor's centre (which was closed when we were there), but the best view we had was on the road to the parking area. I'm so glad we made the effort to go, and recommend a visit for anyone in the area between March and June.
Shona
24.05.2026
We just got back from yet another short road trip. Alora, Laguna de Fuente de Piedra and Antequera, all in the Spanish province of Malaga.
Alora is a traditional pueblo blanco 40 km north of Malaga overlooking the Guadalhorce Valley. It's famous for its long history and Moorish castle.
Laguna de Fuente de Piedra is the largest salt lake in Andalusia and home to the largest flamingo colony on the Iberian Peninsula.
The city of Antequera, known as "the heart of Andalusia", is an important tourist and cultural center of the province and has many churches, convents, and palaces from different periods and in different styles.
Andrzej
08.05.2026
A few more pictures from the back streets of Gibraltar.
Andrzej
26.04.2026
After so many winters in Spain, we finally managed to get to Morocco together! It was just a short trip so we only visited Marrakech and Essaouira but it was enough time for those two places. What can I say about Marrakech? It's crowded and chaotic, noisy and sometimes smelly, but it's also colourful and exotic. We stayed right in the Medina for the first couple of days so that was an experience in itself. Just wandering around is the main attraction, honestly. There's a lot of tourist crap on display but it's all mixed with everyday things, so the souks are filled with locals and tourists alike. There are cats everywhere and you spend your time dodging donkey and horse carts, ladies trying to sell you henna tattoos, men trying to sell you cigarettes and various other useless items, as well as motorbikes and cars.
Essaouira, on the other hand, is more laid back and not as crowded. This smaller city is located about 3 hours to the west of Marrakech on the north Atlantic coast. The views of the ocean are amazing and I think it would be incredible to go there when it's stormy. The highlight of Essaouira, besides the Medina, is the crazy fishing port. We went there later in the afternoon when all the boats were in and cleaning/selling their catches. The smell was horrible and there were dead fish guts everywhere, lol, but it was worth it to see the different types of fish on display and the colourful boats. I would say this is a great place to experience Morocco without the chaos of Marrakech.
All in all, it was a great trip and I'm glad to say I've been to Morocco finally.
Shona
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