#58 The Greenhouses of Europe or The Plastic Sea

January 21, 2022: Roquetas de Mar

J. The Almería region is also known for its plastic sea. That's what the many greenhouses there are called. Despite being close to the semi-desert (see last post), the soil here is very fertile and the climate is very good. That's why European vegetables are grown here. If you buy vegetables from Spain in the supermarket, chances are they come from here. In the greenhouses, we discovered zucchinis, bell peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and incredibly many tomatoes. In the fields, we also saw lettuce and spinach, among other things, all ready for harvest.

In the past few days, both on the outskirts of the Cabo de Gata-Nijar National Park and on the way to the semi-desert, we had already seen quite a few greenhouses. But now we drove to the region around Roquetas de Mar and couldn't stop marveling. We drove through narrow streets between the greenhouses that seemed endless. From the highway or a similarly elevated road, the roofs of the many greenhouses actually look like a sea. And even from space, you can see the many greenhouses. But if you don't just want to eat seasonal and durable vegetables like potatoes, leek, and cabbage in winter, the zucchinis and bell peppers have to be grown somewhere.

In accordance with the many white tarps of the greenhouses, the white boxes of the motorhomes were also lined up on the parking lots. In Roquetas de Mar, we had headed for a seemingly inconspicuous parking lot by the sea on the map. But when we turned onto the bumpy sandy area, we couldn't even see the end of the motorhomes lined up there. There were at least 200 vans and motorhomes standing around. It was hard to tell where the motorhomes ended and the greenhouses began. In the past few days, we have seen a lot of these vehicles. All sorts of shapes and sizes were represented: occasionally we see converted trucks, but on every larger parking lot there was at least one motorhome the size of a coach. Often the side walls can be extended when the bus is stationary to make the living space larger than some downtown apartments. In the back of these coach motorhomes, a garage for a small car is built in, so you don't have to tow your car on a trailer behind you. On this parking lot in Roquetas de Mar, the owners of one of these vehicles have created a little pub with flat screens, standing tables, bratwurst and beer for the neighbors in their onboard garage.

The time of lonely parking spaces is apparently over. Andalusia is known as a travel destination, but we didn't expect such a clear difference in the number of travelers. As soon as we crossed the border into Andalusia, the number of motorhomes, trucks, and vans exploded. Ever since, every parking lot, every small free space on the side of the road, and even every semi-drivable meadow or gravel surface is filled with white boxes. It's unbelievable. Sure, we also drive one of those things and like to "freecamp," i.e., not stay at a campground. So we also contribute to this ugliness of white boxes standing around in the landscape. But since we rarely stay in the same place for more than a few nights, we hope that we are less bothersome. 

Day 98 - Total Tour 6,309 km

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