Riumar in the Delta of the Ebro

Mileage: 164089

Today was Friday, the thirteenth. However, this seemed to have no effect on the parachutists, who were on duty again and landed at the airfield early in the morning.

We also set off to reach our next destination. Today's goal was Riumar in the mouth delta of the Rio Ebro, or Catalan Ebre.

The route stretched for miles through rice fields, prompting us to engage with the topic of rice cultivation. We were surprised to learn that rice was not originally an aquatic plant; it had been adapted to field flooding through cultivation. Water was primarily used in rice farming to suppress pests and weeds during growth. The plant, which belongs to the grass family that includes corn, wheat, and rye, could also be grown dry, but this required significantly more effort, as weeds had to be constantly managed. Here in northeastern Spain, as almost everywhere, wet rice cultivation was practiced. It was evident that sufficient water was available here, as several thousand liters of freshwater were needed for every kilo of rice from planting to harvest.

We reached our destination, as planned, in the afternoon.

After a short break, we walked to the beach and explored the area. The rain from the past few days had flooded not only the fields but also the paths to such an extent that we eventually had to take our shoes off to wade through the water.

As the shadows grew longer and sunset approached, the mosquitoes arrived. We had read in the description of the campsite that mosquito protection was absolutely necessary here and were accordingly prepared. We prepared our green salad with burrata and chicken indoors and also ate inside, while swarms of hungry mosquitoes settled on the fly screens in front of the windows.

Tonight's evening program consisted of the radio broadcast of the football international match Serbia - Germany.