healingwords: poetry for the soul

The beauty of a quiet evening by the sea, night falling as a rosy glow spreads across the sky bringing a moment of tranquility. 

This is a good example of the slow degrading of the terraces in this area. If the dry stone walls are not maintained the action of wind, rain and roaming jabali break down the walls, letting the earth wash away, in this case exposing the roots of the olive tree. What is amazing is the length of these roots, spreading farther than the height of the tree itself in search of water. The hillsides are covered with abandoned terraces, stone walls still standing in many places but the trees olive trees grown wild, the terraces filled in with slow growing holm oak overshadowed by the faster growing pine. 

I sometimes stop and really look at the nature around me, more often I take it for granted. When you actually look it is hard to believe the variety of flora and insect life visible in even a small area of landscape. On the hillsides overlooking the village spring flowers are still blooming after an unusual few months of frequent and gentle rain. It would be hard for an artist to imagine and paint the colours covering the land. 

This is the view this morning from the hillsides of El Carrascal, over the Vall de Pop towards the Mediterranean. It was a beautiful morning, full of birdsong, gentle sun before the heat built, wild flowers marking the path in shades of gold, purple blues and pinks. An exhilarating walk.

The hillsides in this area of the Marina Alta in Spain are all crisscrossed with narrow terraces, stone walls raised as the soil is cleared. They cling to the slopes and in many places are still planted with almonds, olives and grape vines. More are abandoned, especially those high up the hills with poor access. It is humbling to think how they were built hundreds of years ago, dating back to the Moorish population living on this land. They would have had just their hands and maybe donkeys to walk the hard paths up to the terraces, to take advantage of every metre of available land and make it productive.