Birds and Bolonia – Costa de la Luz
Bolonia or Baelo Claudia as it was called in Roman times, is a small isolated coastal village and fishing community on the Atlantic coast of the Costa de la Luz, some 15km north of Tarifa. Windsurfers and sunbathers alike enjoy its fine sandy beaches. The present village is a very popular hang-out in the summer months with young surfers and travellers. Quite a lot of hostals and bars have been built in the last few years and only now are local planners attempting to control new building developments. There is a laid-back atmosphere in Bolonia and the fact that there is no through traffic here adds to its attraction and tranquillity. There are Griffon and Egyptian Vultures nesting here and the birds can often be seen circling on thermals above the smaller nearby village of Betis. Blue Rock Thrushes, Rufous Bush Chats, Peregrine Falcons and Short-toed and Booted Eagles are also breeding there. Behind Betis and above the village are several rock-climbing sites, nestling in eucalyptus groves, giving climbers varying routes up the rock face for different capabilities.
The village of Bolonia is located at the end of a 7km narrow road, which leaves the main N340 coast road at km 70, climbs over the Sierra de Bartolomé to give beautiful views of Bolonia bay and the entire Strait of Gibraltar. At the top of the hill crest is an official bird migration observation post, even offering shade on a hot September day, that can be used by the public.
It’s particularly good during the late summer and autumn, during raptor migration and its safe to say that the whole area is rich in birdlife. Continue down to the Bolonia and park in the large car park at the Roman ruins, which is the site of the ancient town of Baelo Claudia. Travel further west on foot and you can visit a number of isolated coves, perfect for swimming and sunbathing. Keep an eye open for Tuna hunting along the waters edge in summer. Quite often you can watch shoals of fish dashing and leaping out the water as the Tuna chase and close in. Tuna have a high dorsal fin that cuts through the water the same way a shark swims when near the surface, so don’t be alarmed, the fish you are most likely to see are either Blue-fin or Yellow-finned Tuna!
The Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia are just to the north-west of the present village and the centre of the ancient town has been unearthed and some stonework re-assembled. It’s certainly worth a visit and entry is free to E.U. citizens on production of passport or identity cards. The archaeological site shows how important the town used to be as a fish salting, and Garum producing community. Garum was an ancient delicacy made from fish guts, eyes, salt, wine vinegar and herbs, and highly prized throughout the Roman Empire, and like the quality caviar of today, was very expensive. Thousands of glass jars were made locally for the purpose of preserving the fish paste. There is a massive new concrete construction on the site, which is going to be a museum and information centre. The building is certainly the most inappropriate and ugliest thing to be built legally anywhere on this beautiful coast.
The village Bolonia is surrounded in the west by the craggy outcrops of the Sierra de la Plata and all around the duned coast is covered with pine and cork-oaks. On the mountain in the west (Sierra de la Plata) there are radio transmitters and recievers that show you the way to the summit and a small tarred road leads there. From there you have a marvellous view to Zahara de los Atunes and Atlanterra in the west, across the strait of Gibraltar towards Africa in the south and across the bay of Bolonia in the southeast and towards Tarifa in the east. You will find a small track that drops left of the main road (just before the warning signs which leads to the Military Zone at the top of the Sierra de la Plata) on to Atlanterra and Zahara via the goat-farm. You can theoretically walk in the other direction along the beach until Tarifa. Don’t try and drive there, the road is blocked by large boulders at the Atlanterra end and only the Guardia Civil and local farmers have a key to the gate. Quite often you can watch Caspian Terns with their commoner cousins the Sandwich Terns diving for fish and you can certainly see the rarer Auduoin’s Gulls hunting for fish (yes they hunt, they are not scavengers,) or resting within large flocks on the beaches.
If you have a pair of binoculars take them with you as there is always something to see. The Griffon Vulture colony at the Sierra de la Plata and rare White-rumped Swifts and the coastal birdlife are a must for all those keen on birding.
