The perfect setting for leisure and relaxation where you can enjoy wide open beaches with warm waters, modern hotel facilities and exclusive golf courses, not forgetting the passion for life to be found in its towns and in its people. Forget your daily routine and spend a few magical days in one of the world’s most prized tourist destinations.
Sun and sand are, without doubt, the trademarks that have made the coast of Malaga province into the ideal destination for more than eight million tourists who come to this privileged part of Andalusia every year. Initially attracted by its exceptional climate (the average annual temperature is about 18ºC), visitors to the Costa del Sol end up being seduced by its attractive towns and villages, many with quiet coves, kilometres of clean sand, unusual natural settings and the Mediterranean sea, perfect for swimming and all sorts of water sports. Any spot on the Malaga coast is perfect to enjoy the good weather, peace and quiet, cool streets and squares, friendly local people and delicious flavours of the finest fish in a variety of dishes – an essential ingredient in the light, exquisite local cuisine.
The life of leisure and luxury also stand out on the Costa del Sol. Towns like Malaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Marbella, Mijas and Estepona are important centres for shopping, culture and business, as well as being some of international high society’s favourite destinations. Casinos, concerts, museums, fiestas, theatres, water parks and theme parks are just some of the leisure activities on offer by day, while by night the fun continues when the bars, discos and nightclubs open. The Costa del Sol’s setting is also perfect for a wide range of open-air sports and contact with nature. If there is one dominant sport in Malaga province, however, it is golf. The Costa del Sol is a Mecca for thousands of enthusiasts. There are almost fifty courses to be found over a relatively small area – in places like Marbella, Malaga, Estepona, Guadiaro, San Pedro de Alcántara, Alhaurín de la Torre, Artola, Mijas and Puerto Banús.
The perfect way to relax and tone up the body is in one of the many new spas and hydrotherapy centres that have appeared recently along the Malaga coast offering sauna, massage, Turkish baths and jacuzzi. There are two traditional spa-centres in the province. They can be found in-land at Carratraca and Tolox, with good access from the coast. The Costa del Sol, like all of Spain, has a wealth of art and history to enjoy. Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga and the city has just opened a new museum dedicated to this universal artist. It also has historic buildings and monuments like the Cathedral, Moorish “Alcazaba” (Fortress) as well as its old town, full of palaces and stately town houses. It is also well worth visiting nearby towns such as Antequera, Ronda, Marbella and Nerja whose beautiful, mysterious pre-historic caves are not to be missed. It is definitely worth taking time out from your relaxation by the sea to discover the historic/artistic heritage of this welcoming region, worthy of being one of the world’s prime tourist destinations.
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
The Beaches of Cadiz province: sun and sea all year round
Sunshine in summer and winter too. Unspoilt countryside, sand dunes and pine groves that reach down to the very shore. Windsurfing and kitesurfing in crystal clear waters, the ideal setting for a range of water sports. Endless beaches of fine, white sand. Small coves and cliffs reaching more than 100 metres high. Golf courses. Towns and villages with thousands of years of history… This is the Cadiz coast. You decide.
In southern Spain, on the Costa de la Luz coast, you will find the beaches of Cadiz province. It has 260 kilometres of coastline with some of the most beautiful beaches you could imagine. This province in Andalusia is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It has many protected nature areas which include salt flats, sand dunes, pine forests, pastureland where fighting bulls are reared, springs, cliffs... Here you will also find small fishing villages and traditional fishermen, with their whitewashed houses and peaceful streets. You can enjoy their craft and sports shops, restaurants offering excellent, local fresh fish and shellfish, and open-air terrace bars which are open most of the year and are ideal to savour, for example, a glass of Andalusian "fino" sherry.
It is the deep blue of the sea, with a thousand different shades, the clear, bright skies, and unique, spectacular, paradise beaches which bring thousands of people to these shores year after year. There is a wide variety to choose from: unspoilt country beaches, city beaches, some broad and kilometres long, others small and hidden from view, family beaches with a full range of services... There are certain spots not to be missed, such as: Bolonia cove with the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia; Caños de Meca, home to a hippy colony, where the Trafalgar lighthouse looks out over the horizon; Véjer de la Frontera, a beautiful town with a Moorish feel, set on the top of a hill; the stunning cliffs of Barbate; the endless beach at Zahara de los Atunes; the clean, pristine coast of Conil de la Frontera, Chiclana, Chipiona, Rota and Sanlúcar de Barrameda; the sandy beaches of the bay of Cadiz, and those at Puerto de Santa María, a favourite spot for its buzzing nightlife… Here you will find excellent beaches, many of which have the Blue Flag certification, with a young, lively atmosphere throughout the day and when evening falls. Come and see for yourself at any of its beach bars, ideal places to enjoy stunning sunsets. The spectacle is well worth seeing.
The strong easterly and westerly winds that often blow in the area make this a top spot for enthusiasts of sports such as windsurfing and kitesurfing. Tarifa and its surrounding area attracts thousands of surfers from all over the world. Kites and sails fill the sea and beaches of Cadiz province with life and colour. Here there are also other activities available such as angling, scuba diving, and golf at several internationally prestigious courses.
In southern Spain, on the Costa de la Luz coast, you will find the beaches of Cadiz province. It has 260 kilometres of coastline with some of the most beautiful beaches you could imagine. This province in Andalusia is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It has many protected nature areas which include salt flats, sand dunes, pine forests, pastureland where fighting bulls are reared, springs, cliffs... Here you will also find small fishing villages and traditional fishermen, with their whitewashed houses and peaceful streets. You can enjoy their craft and sports shops, restaurants offering excellent, local fresh fish and shellfish, and open-air terrace bars which are open most of the year and are ideal to savour, for example, a glass of Andalusian "fino" sherry.
It is the deep blue of the sea, with a thousand different shades, the clear, bright skies, and unique, spectacular, paradise beaches which bring thousands of people to these shores year after year. There is a wide variety to choose from: unspoilt country beaches, city beaches, some broad and kilometres long, others small and hidden from view, family beaches with a full range of services... There are certain spots not to be missed, such as: Bolonia cove with the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia; Caños de Meca, home to a hippy colony, where the Trafalgar lighthouse looks out over the horizon; Véjer de la Frontera, a beautiful town with a Moorish feel, set on the top of a hill; the stunning cliffs of Barbate; the endless beach at Zahara de los Atunes; the clean, pristine coast of Conil de la Frontera, Chiclana, Chipiona, Rota and Sanlúcar de Barrameda; the sandy beaches of the bay of Cadiz, and those at Puerto de Santa María, a favourite spot for its buzzing nightlife… Here you will find excellent beaches, many of which have the Blue Flag certification, with a young, lively atmosphere throughout the day and when evening falls. Come and see for yourself at any of its beach bars, ideal places to enjoy stunning sunsets. The spectacle is well worth seeing.
The strong easterly and westerly winds that often blow in the area make this a top spot for enthusiasts of sports such as windsurfing and kitesurfing. Tarifa and its surrounding area attracts thousands of surfers from all over the world. Kites and sails fill the sea and beaches of Cadiz province with life and colour. Here there are also other activities available such as angling, scuba diving, and golf at several internationally prestigious courses.
Beaches with the Q for Quality award
Clean, safe, accessible and environmentally friendly. This is what Spain's beaches are like, and for this reason they are the chosen destination for thousands of people every year. Their quality is recognised internationally. Did you know that Spain is the European country that received most blue flags in 2007? Some of them also have the demanding Q for Tourism Quality award. Come and discover what a first-rate coast is like - a coast with the Q award.
With almost 8,000 kilometres of coastline and 3,000 catalogued beaches, Spain is the perfect destination for those in search of sun and sand at any time of year. Proof of this lies in the thousands who return year after year. Here you will find a broad, varied array of attractions, with beaches offering a multitude of options for entertainment with the family, water sports and fun by day and by night. Whichever region you choose, here you will find excellent facilities and clean, sandy beaches, with approved security services, excellent access and respect for the environment. All this is guaranteed by the quality certificates granted to Spanish beaches after evaluation of these parameters. The blue flag rating is the most widely known, but there are other highly prestigious, demanding systems also in place. These include the Q for Quality distinction, awarded by the Spanish Tourism Quality Institute (ICTE).
When this award was created it was a pioneering innovation at world level. It is different from other standards in that it focuses especially on the tourism sector, with specific emphasis placed on the needs of the end user. Q for Quality does not only mean that the beach in questions meets the necessary quality requirements, but also that its facilities and services are in constant search of improvement and customer satisfaction. Some fifty beaches in Spain currently have the Q for Tourism Quality award. They are in the Balearic Islands and on the coasts of Andalusia, Asturias, Region of Valencia, Catalonia and Murcia, although many others are on the way to receiving it. Once they have earned the award, beaches must pass an annual review to maintain it. Environmental education, leisure services, removal of architectural barriers and assistance to disabled persons are some of the aspects taken into account.
In Spain you can enjoy beaches designed just for you. Come and discover them: they are beaches with the Q for Quality award.
With almost 8,000 kilometres of coastline and 3,000 catalogued beaches, Spain is the perfect destination for those in search of sun and sand at any time of year. Proof of this lies in the thousands who return year after year. Here you will find a broad, varied array of attractions, with beaches offering a multitude of options for entertainment with the family, water sports and fun by day and by night. Whichever region you choose, here you will find excellent facilities and clean, sandy beaches, with approved security services, excellent access and respect for the environment. All this is guaranteed by the quality certificates granted to Spanish beaches after evaluation of these parameters. The blue flag rating is the most widely known, but there are other highly prestigious, demanding systems also in place. These include the Q for Quality distinction, awarded by the Spanish Tourism Quality Institute (ICTE).
When this award was created it was a pioneering innovation at world level. It is different from other standards in that it focuses especially on the tourism sector, with specific emphasis placed on the needs of the end user. Q for Quality does not only mean that the beach in questions meets the necessary quality requirements, but also that its facilities and services are in constant search of improvement and customer satisfaction. Some fifty beaches in Spain currently have the Q for Tourism Quality award. They are in the Balearic Islands and on the coasts of Andalusia, Asturias, Region of Valencia, Catalonia and Murcia, although many others are on the way to receiving it. Once they have earned the award, beaches must pass an annual review to maintain it. Environmental education, leisure services, removal of architectural barriers and assistance to disabled persons are some of the aspects taken into account.
In Spain you can enjoy beaches designed just for you. Come and discover them: they are beaches with the Q for Quality award.
The stunning Cíes Islands
The Romans called the Cíes Islands (Galicia), “the islands of the Gods”. To this day they are an idyllic paradise in northern Spain where you can enjoy nature and the sea. When you see them for yourself you will understand why their main beach was chosen as best in the world by The Guardian newspaper. Heaven on earth? If not, then this is close.
Crystal clear, turquoise water. Beaches with the finest white sand. A lake whose transparent surface allows you to see the wide variety of fish that live below. Are we in the tropics? No, these are the Cíes Islands, in northwestern Spain. There are three islands and they are located in the Rías Baixas region of Galicia, facing the coast of Vigo. This archipelago, besides being a fairy-tale setting, is also of great ecological importance. Its stunning landscapes form part of the Islas Atlánticas National Park, outstanding for its rich sea beds and some of the most important colonies of marine birds in the world. The Atlantic Ocean, dunes, pine forest, cliffs… You will see for yourself – the Cíes Islands have incredible landscapes, worthy of the gods. How to visit Peace, quiet and cleanliness are further qualities that make these islands outstanding. To protect the environment and avoid mass tourism, access to visitors is limited to 2,200 people per day. During Easter week, at weekends in May and throughout the summer, there are regular boat services from Vigo, Baiona and Cangas de Morrazo. If you want to sleep on the Cíes Islands, then there is a campsite with capacity for 800 people. It opens for Easter week and 15 June to 15 September, and stays are limited to a maximum of 2 weeks. To make use of these facilities you should book in advance by telephone (on +34 986438358 or +34 986687050) and complete your camper’s registration card at the campsite office at Vigo Marine Resort. When you buy your boat ticket, don’t forget to show this card – otherwise you will only be sold a 1-day return.
Crystal clear, turquoise water. Beaches with the finest white sand. A lake whose transparent surface allows you to see the wide variety of fish that live below. Are we in the tropics? No, these are the Cíes Islands, in northwestern Spain. There are three islands and they are located in the Rías Baixas region of Galicia, facing the coast of Vigo. This archipelago, besides being a fairy-tale setting, is also of great ecological importance. Its stunning landscapes form part of the Islas Atlánticas National Park, outstanding for its rich sea beds and some of the most important colonies of marine birds in the world. The Atlantic Ocean, dunes, pine forest, cliffs… You will see for yourself – the Cíes Islands have incredible landscapes, worthy of the gods. How to visit Peace, quiet and cleanliness are further qualities that make these islands outstanding. To protect the environment and avoid mass tourism, access to visitors is limited to 2,200 people per day. During Easter week, at weekends in May and throughout the summer, there are regular boat services from Vigo, Baiona and Cangas de Morrazo. If you want to sleep on the Cíes Islands, then there is a campsite with capacity for 800 people. It opens for Easter week and 15 June to 15 September, and stays are limited to a maximum of 2 weeks. To make use of these facilities you should book in advance by telephone (on +34 986438358 or +34 986687050) and complete your camper’s registration card at the campsite office at Vigo Marine Resort. When you buy your boat ticket, don’t forget to show this card – otherwise you will only be sold a 1-day return.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Altitude With Attitude in Colorado
A RUGGED mountain town perched at a lung-searing 10,152 feet — nearly two miles above sea level — Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States. Its main street is crammed with 1880s brick Victorians painted a kaleidoscope of colors: yellow, pink, purple and green. Even in summer, snowfields lace the soaring peaks that cradle the town.
Tourists and outdoorsy types are discovering the allure of this postcard of a town high in the Rockies. It’s 25 miles from the Interstate, it has only one stoplight, and the residents exchange phone numbers in four digits. Mountain bikers and horseback riders hit the trails; intrepid hikers scale Mounts Elbert and Massive, the two 14,000-foot peaks that dominate Leadville’s skyline; and anglers pull rainbows from high alpine lakes.
Gold was discovered in the town’s California Gulch in 1860, followed by silver in the late 1870s. But for Leadville, mining isn’t just the stuff of bygone reminiscences. Children in Lake County are routinely tested for blood-lead levels. (Sandboxes filled with mine tailings are not unheard of.) Until 1986, the Climax mine was running at full tilt, extracting molybdenum, a mouthful of a word that rolls easily off the tongues of locals. (It’s used as an agent for hardening steel.) With molybdenum prices spiking, the mine is expected to reopen in 2009.
On a weekend in June, Chris Albers, a green-eyed South Dakota farm boy, puttered around Cycles of Life, his new bike shop on Harrison Avenue, Leadville’s main drag. He also owns Provin’ Grounds, a hip coffee shop where locals sip lattes and peck on laptops. Mr. Albers first migrated to Vail in his 20s to snowboard. Before long, he was looking for a more authentic Western town, and he found it in Leadville.
While restoration is in the works for many of the century-old buildings in the 70-square-block historical district, the town’s back alleys and side streets are peppered with sagging outhouses, boarded-up barns and half-painted churches with broken stained glass windows. In a small grassy parcel downtown, rusting beer cans hang from wires, marked with a small wooden sign reading “Redneck Windchimes.”
“Leadville’s got character,” Mr. Albers said. “It’s not just another slick pop-up ski town. The old folks are miners, but there’s a new breed of people moving here.”
People like Dru Pashley, 28, a wiry runner who slings pizza dough at High Mountain Pies. As my husband, our three children and I waited for a takeout order, Mr. Pashley told us of his plans to run the Leadville 100. Every summer, ultramarathoners converge to run 100 miles of rocky trail in the thin air. (T-shirts for sale in Leadville riff on the milk campaign: “Got Oxygen?”)
We followed a walking tour map around Harrison Avenue, starting at the somewhat dilapidated Tabor Opera House, built in 1879 by Horace Tabor, a silver magnate. Inside, we climbed onto the stage, where Oscar Wilde once performed — and where live horses galloped on a treadmill during a production of “Ben-Hur.”
Tabor also left a legacy of salacious gossip. He deserted his austere first wife, Augusta, to marry Elizabeth McCourt Doe, a bodacious, round-eyed beauty nicknamed Baby Doe. They spent lavishly: a $90,000 diamond necklace; diamond-studded diaper pins; 100 peacocks to strut on their mansion grounds in Denver. When the price of silver crashed in 1893, they were left penniless, and after Tabor died, Baby Doe retreated to a cabin at the Matchless mine, where she lived as a recluse for 35 years.
Her power to intrigue appears timeless. When a tour guide at the Matchless told us that Baby Doe’s frozen body was discovered in the cabin during the brutal winter of 1935, my boys listened with eyes wide, mouths agape.
Another stop was Western Hardware, now an antiques store. Behind the counter is a wall of hundreds of tiny drawers, each with a different knob or hook. The row of copper nails used to measure lengths of rope is still visible in the wooden floorboards. The store is jam-packed with relics and replicas, including brothel tokens for $3 apiece.
If the year were 1879 and the tokens were real, they could have been cashed in at the tiny town of Twin Lakes, 20 miles south of Leadville. A onetime stop for stagecoaches and for miners heading over Independence Pass to Aspen, Twin Lakes is a ramshackle collection of dirt roads, sloping 1800s shacks and log cabins. Columbines grow among the weeds. We rented a boat from Johnny Gwaltney, a k a Johnny Canoe, who wore purple-tinted glasses and a giant silver belt buckle. “I’m a hikerneck,” he said. “It’s a cross between a hiker, a biker and a redneck.” (He traded his Harley for canoes five years ago.)
We paddled half an hour across Twin Lakes to the abandoned Interlaken resort, where Denver’s upper crust vacationed in the 1880s. They arrived by train; today the ghost resort is accessible only by a 45-minute hike or by boat. Of the handful of buildings, including a hexagonal six-stall privy that once featured leather seats, only Dexter Cabin has been restored. Inside, visitors can explore rooms decorated in eight different imported woods and climb a steep ladder to a cupola overlooking the lake.
Back in Leadville, at the 1878 Silver Dollar Saloon, Paul Smith, a 42-year-old transplant from Kansas, told us how he fell in love with the mountains after being stationed in Italy in the army. “I’ve got Elbert and Massive right out my window,” he said. “I’m in heaven here.” But to stay there, he drives 45 minutes to heating-and-cooling-system jobs in Vail. “It’s not so bad,” he said. “I bring a pot of coffee and listen to N.P.R.”
It’s not an unusual commute in Leadville, which remains a hardscrabble frontier outpost where fourth-generation families scratch out a living. In 1983, California Gulch was designated a Superfund site. In 1986, when the Climax mine closed, 3,000 workers were laid off. Earlier this year, a temporary state of emergency was declared when a billion gallons of toxic water backed up in the mines.
In the face of it all, Leadville has persevered by retooling itself as a tourist destination. One major drawing card: the National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum. Visitors can marvel at the museum’s model of the ice castle Leadville constructed out of 5,000 tons of ice in 1896. For rockhounds, there’s a 2,155-pound hunk of galena, icelike logs of selenite, chunks of polished malachite. Here I learned that the sparkle in my eye shadow comes from mica, and the dust on my chewing gum is limestone.
BUT really, the best way to appreciate Leadville’s mining pedigree is to leave the museum and explore the mining district firsthand. We started with a walk on the 11.6-mile Mineral Belt Trail, a paved path that circumnavigates Leadville and its adjacent mining district. Bikers and skateboarders passed us as we ambled through Stray Horse Gulch, an area dotted with rusting ore carts, wooden shacks and head frames. The kids stopped to toss rocks into a tailings pond filled with water the color of boiled beets. A superfluous sign warned, “No Swimming.”
Later we rumbled on a scenic passenger train along the old South Park rails, where freight cars once hauled ore from the Climax mine. The next morning, we took a ghost-town driving tour and were captivated by the skeletons of century-old ore houses, hoists and mine tunnels. Less enchanting were the mountains of tailings, waste rock and black slag.
It’s possible, though, to transcend it all from the Venir mine shaft, the tour’s high point at 11,550 feet. We climbed past slumping mine structures of timber and corrugated tin, up mounds of tailings that looked like a strange lumpy beach, and soaked in a 360-degree panorama of jagged peaks. Before long, the kids found chips of mica glittering in the tailings. They used their fingernails to dig them out. “We’re rich!” they shouted. We may not have hit pay dirt in Leadville, but we did drive away in a minivan covered in dust.
Tourists and outdoorsy types are discovering the allure of this postcard of a town high in the Rockies. It’s 25 miles from the Interstate, it has only one stoplight, and the residents exchange phone numbers in four digits. Mountain bikers and horseback riders hit the trails; intrepid hikers scale Mounts Elbert and Massive, the two 14,000-foot peaks that dominate Leadville’s skyline; and anglers pull rainbows from high alpine lakes.
Gold was discovered in the town’s California Gulch in 1860, followed by silver in the late 1870s. But for Leadville, mining isn’t just the stuff of bygone reminiscences. Children in Lake County are routinely tested for blood-lead levels. (Sandboxes filled with mine tailings are not unheard of.) Until 1986, the Climax mine was running at full tilt, extracting molybdenum, a mouthful of a word that rolls easily off the tongues of locals. (It’s used as an agent for hardening steel.) With molybdenum prices spiking, the mine is expected to reopen in 2009.
On a weekend in June, Chris Albers, a green-eyed South Dakota farm boy, puttered around Cycles of Life, his new bike shop on Harrison Avenue, Leadville’s main drag. He also owns Provin’ Grounds, a hip coffee shop where locals sip lattes and peck on laptops. Mr. Albers first migrated to Vail in his 20s to snowboard. Before long, he was looking for a more authentic Western town, and he found it in Leadville.
While restoration is in the works for many of the century-old buildings in the 70-square-block historical district, the town’s back alleys and side streets are peppered with sagging outhouses, boarded-up barns and half-painted churches with broken stained glass windows. In a small grassy parcel downtown, rusting beer cans hang from wires, marked with a small wooden sign reading “Redneck Windchimes.”
“Leadville’s got character,” Mr. Albers said. “It’s not just another slick pop-up ski town. The old folks are miners, but there’s a new breed of people moving here.”
People like Dru Pashley, 28, a wiry runner who slings pizza dough at High Mountain Pies. As my husband, our three children and I waited for a takeout order, Mr. Pashley told us of his plans to run the Leadville 100. Every summer, ultramarathoners converge to run 100 miles of rocky trail in the thin air. (T-shirts for sale in Leadville riff on the milk campaign: “Got Oxygen?”)
We followed a walking tour map around Harrison Avenue, starting at the somewhat dilapidated Tabor Opera House, built in 1879 by Horace Tabor, a silver magnate. Inside, we climbed onto the stage, where Oscar Wilde once performed — and where live horses galloped on a treadmill during a production of “Ben-Hur.”
Tabor also left a legacy of salacious gossip. He deserted his austere first wife, Augusta, to marry Elizabeth McCourt Doe, a bodacious, round-eyed beauty nicknamed Baby Doe. They spent lavishly: a $90,000 diamond necklace; diamond-studded diaper pins; 100 peacocks to strut on their mansion grounds in Denver. When the price of silver crashed in 1893, they were left penniless, and after Tabor died, Baby Doe retreated to a cabin at the Matchless mine, where she lived as a recluse for 35 years.
Her power to intrigue appears timeless. When a tour guide at the Matchless told us that Baby Doe’s frozen body was discovered in the cabin during the brutal winter of 1935, my boys listened with eyes wide, mouths agape.
Another stop was Western Hardware, now an antiques store. Behind the counter is a wall of hundreds of tiny drawers, each with a different knob or hook. The row of copper nails used to measure lengths of rope is still visible in the wooden floorboards. The store is jam-packed with relics and replicas, including brothel tokens for $3 apiece.
If the year were 1879 and the tokens were real, they could have been cashed in at the tiny town of Twin Lakes, 20 miles south of Leadville. A onetime stop for stagecoaches and for miners heading over Independence Pass to Aspen, Twin Lakes is a ramshackle collection of dirt roads, sloping 1800s shacks and log cabins. Columbines grow among the weeds. We rented a boat from Johnny Gwaltney, a k a Johnny Canoe, who wore purple-tinted glasses and a giant silver belt buckle. “I’m a hikerneck,” he said. “It’s a cross between a hiker, a biker and a redneck.” (He traded his Harley for canoes five years ago.)
We paddled half an hour across Twin Lakes to the abandoned Interlaken resort, where Denver’s upper crust vacationed in the 1880s. They arrived by train; today the ghost resort is accessible only by a 45-minute hike or by boat. Of the handful of buildings, including a hexagonal six-stall privy that once featured leather seats, only Dexter Cabin has been restored. Inside, visitors can explore rooms decorated in eight different imported woods and climb a steep ladder to a cupola overlooking the lake.
Back in Leadville, at the 1878 Silver Dollar Saloon, Paul Smith, a 42-year-old transplant from Kansas, told us how he fell in love with the mountains after being stationed in Italy in the army. “I’ve got Elbert and Massive right out my window,” he said. “I’m in heaven here.” But to stay there, he drives 45 minutes to heating-and-cooling-system jobs in Vail. “It’s not so bad,” he said. “I bring a pot of coffee and listen to N.P.R.”
It’s not an unusual commute in Leadville, which remains a hardscrabble frontier outpost where fourth-generation families scratch out a living. In 1983, California Gulch was designated a Superfund site. In 1986, when the Climax mine closed, 3,000 workers were laid off. Earlier this year, a temporary state of emergency was declared when a billion gallons of toxic water backed up in the mines.
In the face of it all, Leadville has persevered by retooling itself as a tourist destination. One major drawing card: the National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum. Visitors can marvel at the museum’s model of the ice castle Leadville constructed out of 5,000 tons of ice in 1896. For rockhounds, there’s a 2,155-pound hunk of galena, icelike logs of selenite, chunks of polished malachite. Here I learned that the sparkle in my eye shadow comes from mica, and the dust on my chewing gum is limestone.
BUT really, the best way to appreciate Leadville’s mining pedigree is to leave the museum and explore the mining district firsthand. We started with a walk on the 11.6-mile Mineral Belt Trail, a paved path that circumnavigates Leadville and its adjacent mining district. Bikers and skateboarders passed us as we ambled through Stray Horse Gulch, an area dotted with rusting ore carts, wooden shacks and head frames. The kids stopped to toss rocks into a tailings pond filled with water the color of boiled beets. A superfluous sign warned, “No Swimming.”
Later we rumbled on a scenic passenger train along the old South Park rails, where freight cars once hauled ore from the Climax mine. The next morning, we took a ghost-town driving tour and were captivated by the skeletons of century-old ore houses, hoists and mine tunnels. Less enchanting were the mountains of tailings, waste rock and black slag.
It’s possible, though, to transcend it all from the Venir mine shaft, the tour’s high point at 11,550 feet. We climbed past slumping mine structures of timber and corrugated tin, up mounds of tailings that looked like a strange lumpy beach, and soaked in a 360-degree panorama of jagged peaks. Before long, the kids found chips of mica glittering in the tailings. They used their fingernails to dig them out. “We’re rich!” they shouted. We may not have hit pay dirt in Leadville, but we did drive away in a minivan covered in dust.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
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