A‘select’ gathering

THE chosen venue for this month’s gathering for Chicas Amigas’ social group was a new one for us called Select, in Moraira. Thirty seven of us packed the nice warm interior to full capacity.

After a welcome cava we all found our seats, and although service was somewhat slow, the staff were charming and the food was very good, including a surprise big tempura prawn amuse­ bouche to start.

And it gave us lots of time to chat, a great way to pass a cold grey winter afternoon. Thanks as usual to Lynn and her helpers.

GOOD news for travellers who like to pick up a flying bargain as Alicante­Elche has confirmed that it is adding 10 new air routes to its list this year thanks to low­cost airlines.

These new routes are expected to bring movements of close to one million passengers to the terminal.

At the moment, the airport is connected to 24 countries and more than100 cities around the world. Now that normality is returning, all forecasts indicate that this year could see the best results in many years, after a period marked by health restrictions.

THE Parks and Gardens unit are converting the western side of Ermita park into a recreational area. This new park will be open to the public within two weeks.

The project includes an area for walking dogs, a landscaped area with shade and benches and a third area where rubble has been removed, which will be planted with local plants

Spreading out

At present, it is the low­cost airlines that are bringing the largest number of passengers to the airport. In the next three months, between February and April, the terminal has an air capacity for 1.83 million passengers, of which 1.63 million correspond precisely to low­cost flights. The new routes include Belfast, Fez and Rome with a weekly frequency of three flights; Frankfurt, Klagenfurt, Lodz, Paderborn, Santander and Turin, with two flights a week; and finally, Warsaw, with four flights a week.

New park for Calpe

and shrubs.

The entire area has already been cleared and the park for recreational purposes has been planted. Mulberry trees, one of the fastest­growing temperate species, are being planted in the area to provide some

Rare plants

THE Cirne Foundation, a private initiative set up to protect natural heritage, among other purposes, has opened a unique exhibition of plants found in Javea. The town is a model for plant diversity, the second most diverse municipality in Spain with 1,100 species of flora, behind only Trévelez in the Sierra Nevada, while the entire country of England has just 800.

It is vital that the herbariums (collections of preserved plant specimens maintained for scientific purposes) be conserved in light of climate change and the threat of losing them, as happened in Berlin during the Second World War.

There are eight plants in danger of extinction in Javea, one of which, sea lavender, is unique in the world. This is remarkable given the high level of development on the Mediterranean coast and the destruction of the dunes.

much­needed shade.

Part of the park will be set aside as a pet walking area, and in the upper part, closer to the children’s playground and picnic area, indigenous trees are being planted, which are not aggressive with roots and are clean. To close off the area, large planters with aromatic plants such as lavender and rosemary were installed.

There are currently 324,000 known species of plants on the planet, and the most important herbariums are in France, the US, Russia, the UK and China. In Spain, the best are in Madrid and Barcelona.

The exhibition will be visited by schools in Javea and will then travel to Pedreguer and Teulada. For a private visit, please contact info@fundaciocirne.org.