#6: [01-Mar-24]

#5: [08-Aug-11]

#4: [20-Jun-10]

#2: [03-Oct-09]

#1: [21-Apr-02]

13-Nov-2009 -- This is the third out of seven confluence points that I visited during a 3-day trip to Spain. The story starts from 40°N 3°W.

Coming from 40°N 2°W which is 111 km north from this confluence point (near the city of Cuenca), I continued southwards on the Highway A31 to Albacete (6 km from the CP). Albacete has about 150,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the province Albacete. From the city the confluence can be easily accessed on N-430 towards Manzanares. At a distance of 1.8 km there is an unsealed track that can take the confluence hunter up to a distance of 170 m.

The area around the confluence is 100% agricultural dominated. There is a farm house 300 m from the confluence. Here I parked the car, but I had to suffer a while from my fear of dogs. While he was fulfilling only his duty (by protecting the farmhouse), I was not very comfortable until I reached the outer borders of his territory. However, the confluence is safe (outside the dog protected area). As the field had already been harvested, the exact DCP location was accessible on foot. The area is extremely flat. Without crops, the confluence appears relatively featureless. The only objects that drew my attention were the amounts of little rocks that are spread over the field.

I had almost been dawdling too long in historic Cuenca, before taking off to this confluence – so I was lucky to have reached it right prior to sunset. When I left the confluence, it had already become dark.

For the first time (out of 250 confluence points) I got an accuracy of 1 m displayed at my GPS receiver. If that level of accuracy had really been achieved, remains to be seen. When the sun is already at the horizon, the ionosphere is calm, which means that the ionospheric delays are smaller and the consistency of the multi-lateration that is used for determining the 3D coordinate position can get very good. In addition, the featureless field enables a good sky-view and last but not least the position determination was augmented by EGNOS satellites.

Just a month earlier, Spain’s greatest confluence hunter Javier Valles has visited the confluence. Unfortunately he is not reachable by email to coordinate common confluence trips.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to an asphalt road: 1.8 km
• Distance to a track: 170 m
• Distance of parking the car: 250 m
• Distance to houses: 300 m (a single farmhouse)
• Time starting the hike: 5:23 p.m.
• Time at the CP: 5:28 p.m.
• Measured height: 690 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 1 m
• Vegetation: stubble-like dried out remainders of grain
• Topography: flat
• Time back from hike: 5:30 p.m.
• Weather: sunny, 16° C (felt temperature)
• Description of the CP: In Provincia de Albacete, Communidad de Castilla-La Mancha in Central Spain. On a huge agricultural field
• Given Name: The 1 m Accuracy Confluence

Story continues at 38°N 3°W.