A deluxe campsite

Day 25: First things first: Today we visited Ricci and my Morocco friends at the Los Banos de la Fuente campsite in Fortuna. Icke and I were so engrossed in our exchange that we forgot to take photos. But we'll catch up on that on Friday. We have to vacate our parking space here and drive back to Fortuna because Wilhelm is turning 80 and has invited us all to lunch. This is of course a great honor for us. We're happy to come - with a whole truck full of presents, of course. (Icke thinks I should write wheelbarrows, but I think that would be an understatement...)

Angelika showed us around the campsite. That is of course a completely different house number. There is a large thermal bath (entrance fee 10 euros per person!) and a very good restaurant. Due to time constraints we had a choice: either thermal bath or restaurant. I left the decision to Icke and while she thought it over, I reserved a place for us right next to the kitchen. We ate: First there was a mixed salad with tuna, as a starter grilled cheese (Icke) and a mixed starter platter (for me), as the main course there was grilled tuna (Icke) and rabbit paella (for me), as dessert a chocolate ice cream (Icke) and an almond cream with honey (for me). Everyone was allowed to choose a drink and we had to pay 15 euros per person and nose. That was more than okay.

What the Spaniards are doing with pigeons here is not at all right. Icke is passionate about photographing birds and has a camera with a good telephoto lens. In the past few days she has repeatedly noticed flocks of birds that shimmer colorfully in the sunlight. On our walk to the reservoir she caught a glimpse of a pigeon that was painted red. We have researched: The pigeons are painted by breeders. They then meet for competitions in which 100 marked male pigeons are let loose on one female pigeon. The male pigeon that lands first with the male pigeon wins. Nobody cares that the female is fighting for her life and often in vain.

Since almost only male pigeons are needed for this “sport”, female pigeons are considered waste by breeders. At best they become a meal, at worst they are simply thrown away as trash or torn apart in the air at shooting ranges as live clay pigeons.

A shake of the head isn't enough.