Our first visit was to the Laguna de Fuente de Piedre.  This is the largest lagoon in Andalucía at over 1,400ha, and normally home to one of the largest colonies flamingos to be found in the Iberian Peninsula and the second largest in Europe.    

Although we were at the tail end of the chick season we thought it would still be a great place to visit for the day. 

As we drove through the town on the outskirts of the lagoon there was a feeling of desolation and silence.  Turning into the huge empty carpark felt ominous.  The visitor centre was locked up and the view beige.  Looking across where the water should have been we were greeted with an empty dust bowl that seemed to stretch for miles. 

We carried on with our visit by driving round the whole lagoon, visiting various viewing spots seeing only a handful of cars passing by. 

The ground smelt hot, dry as tinder and the air still. It retained an air of beauty and tragedy as we considered the impact not only on the wildlife but also the people - those who would normally be working in the visitors centre, those had built businesses around guided tours of the lagoon.  

I hope that this place recovers for 2024 and that the place becomes alive again and doesn't remain the salt it had become.