01-Apr-2001 -- Since I saw for the first time the Meteosat image on TV, years
ago, I was captured by the little cross marking that confluence. I knew that
it was near my own home, but never looked for it. Each time I drove to the
Castellón beach, I watched to the north when I passed by a traffic sign:
“Parc del Meridià”. But never followed that path.
I read about the Confluence Project, a few months ago, in a magazine and I
searched for my point. Nobody had been there. But since then I couldn’t find
the time or the occasion of going there.
Yesterday I decided the time had come. I made sure my point hadn’t been
submitted yet.
Today after lunch I picked up my GPS and my camera and set out with my son
Pablo.
The weather in this region is usually clear, sunny and hot. But today the
sky was cloudy.
We took the road to the beach, followed the sign “Parc del Meridià”.
Finally we reached a big sign. (Picture #9). The local City Hall bought a
piece of land, put a fence around, and planted trees. It’s a nice place, and
we walk looking for our famous point. Finally, behind some mulberry-trees we
find a sort of big milestone marking the confluence. (Picture #3). We check
co-ordinates with the GPS and it’s exactly 40ºN, 0º. (Picture #4).
Some huge clouds cover quickly the sky, and rain begins slowly.
In the base of the stone four pieces of marble mark the four directions. A
sign states the confluence (Picture #5). We take some pictures (Picture #1, #6, #7, #8). And we have to open the umbrella.
As we leave, rain gets harder and drops get hard as well. It’s
a hail-storm.
All that area near the sea was originally a marshland. The owners dried
these lands during the last two centuries, in order to grow vegetables and
orange trees. Lots of small canals cross here and there. Nowadays there are
lots of country houses where families from Castellón (150.000 people) use to
spend their summertime (June-September). In this country we use to have a
winter house (normally a flat) in the city, and a summer one near the beach.
As there are not enough houses for everybody, most of them spend their
summertime in crowded apartments over the seaside. They say they love it.