Murcia Tourism Board and the Spanish Tourism Office in Dublin Media Trip

The Murcia Tourism Board and the Spanish Tourism Office in Dublin hosted a recent media trip to the beautiful Murcia region of the southeast of Spain on the Mediterranean coast. Sara Rivero López (Media Manager Tourism Office of Spain) was our attentive host throughout the trip which was attended by Travelbiz Features Editor Declan Mescall and wellknown travel writers Joan Scales and Catherine Murphy as well as Sarah McIntosh (Irish Farmers Journal) and Patrick McCrossan (Galway Now).

The Costa Cálida Region of Murcia boasts beach, culture, history, heritage, rural tourism, outdoor activities, delicious cuisine and much more combined with easy access from Ireland. Our base for two nights was Cartagena, a port city with more than 3,000 years of history, with each of its corners, streets and squares attesting to its magnificent past. Its crown jewel is its Roman Theatre which remained buried until discovered in 1990.

We visited nearby San Pedro del Pinatar where salt is harvested from the sea and the Salinas Regional Park which plays host to thousands of pink flamingos. Our group got mucky at the outdoor mud therapy area along the promenade then headed to the fish auction at the local fish market. Our morning finished with a short trek through the highest parts of the Sierra Espuña mountains to visit the 16th century ice houses which supplied ice to local hospitals to help conserve medicines. We climbed down the winding stairs to the base of the ice silo to see how the ice was formed and preserved. A very informative museum provides insights into the preservation and development of the hillsides of the region which had become bare due to deforestation and were brought back to life by the planting of millions of trees at the end of the 19th century.

We climbed to the base of Cabo de Palos lighthouse before walking along the spectacular coastline to have lunch hosted by María del Mar Martínez Ballesteros (Director of Murcia Tourist Board).

In the afternoon we took a boat tour of the busy Cartagena harbour then visited the Roman Theatre and Museum then a short walk through the beautiful city centre before dinner in the port-side restaurant Experience 43 which is very popular with local families.

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