Roman ruins by the beach

Like last year, we also spent this summer in our apartment by the beach, in the southwest coast of Spain. It’s right by the sea and on the ground floor, so we don’t need air conditioning and we have barely felt this summer’s heatwaves that have affected most of Spain. We were so comfy here that we didn’t go on as many trips as I wanted… But a couple of weekends ago we managed to break the routine and went on a day trip to some relatively close Roman ruins (1.5 hours by car).

Roman ruins are a fairly common occurrence in Spain (in some cities, they can’t even dig a hole in the ground without finding something) but these ones are pretty special because they are right by a gorgeous beach. Those Romans sure knew how to choose a good place!

The town was called Baelo Claudia and was an important port of trade, as it was very close to North Africa. Fish salting was also a major industry there. It seems there was an earthquake at the end of the 2nd century, and then a tsunami that wiped out most of the place. Yes, tsunamis in Spain! There was also one in this area after the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.

The ruins were quite interesting, and the views were amazing!

The entrance to the Roman ruins. I think the mountains over the sea are Africa.
This beautiful beach is called Bolonia. On the right you can see a huge sand dune.
I loved this “window” in the little museum beside the ruins.
Remains of the aqueduct that the town used.
Central square and temple. There was also a Roman theatre but we could not visit it because there was a festival going on those days (yes, old Roman theatres are still used!)
Temple of Isis (yes, the Egyptian goddess)
These were the salting industries of the town.
A town with a view.
Our tourist looks, haha.

And I can’t finish this post without saying “What have the Romans ever done for us?”, right?

Category : Life in Spain, Travel
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