Windmill Alley Route

Details of the Route:
Length: 6 km. (roundtrip).
Route: Linear
Difficulty: Easy

Sight-Seeing Highlights:
Nature scenery (of ornitological interest) and marine landscape (salt flats, tide mills, and aquiculture). Accessible and easy.

Beginning of the Route:
On Cuba Street past the I.E.S. Ciudad de Hércules (Hercules City).

Description:
We will situate ourselves at the splitting point on the path, at the beginning of Camino del Molino (Windmill Lane) and at the end of Cuba Street, moving into the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park.

The path begins at the edge of a small pine nut plantation on the border of the salt marsh.
From here, the rest of the route winds between old salt flats, some of them which have been reconverted to aquafarming plants, and others abandoned.

The first construction relative to the salt flats that we can observe on the route is the 15th Century Sant Cruz Tide Mill or otherwise known as the Molino Viejo (Old Mill), and as you can see, is very much transformed. These mills were used to grind the grain by taking advantage of the energy of the tides. In Chiclana, there were up to five of these mills, but today, only two remain and have been convirted for other uses.

We continue our route through the salt flats, that are typical scenes along the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park. These flats are created from the tide flowing in and out through varous channels connecting to the sea, leaving sediments behind that provide life, food, and habitat for many species.

During the route, we can enjoy observing a rich, biological diversity of flora and fauna. The vegetation that we encounter here is adapted to a high salt content and an elevated insolation, as well some of them are accustomed to long periods of water immersion. The best known plants here that are also used in the traditional Andalusian cuisine are: seaweed, saltwort, glasswort, etc.

Birdlife is especially important in this zone. It is a winter home to several species, and part of a migratory route for others. There are serveral species of shorebirds here, such as the Little Tern, Kentish Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Black-necked Stilt, Flamingos, The Great Egrett, Roseate Spoonbill, Comorans, etc.

At the end of our journey, we will come very close to the Sancti Petri Channel, that is the crucial communication point between the Bay of Cadiz and the Atlantic Ocean.

Taking the alternative route (Route 2), we find ancient salt flats that have been transformed into aquafarming plants. In these aquafarming plants, adaptions have been made to the original structure of the salt flats by evaporating the crystalisations and aumenting the swamp zones. The species of crustacean or mollusk fish that we can find here are later destined for human consumption. Some of them are: Dorado, True Sol, Sea Bass, Shorefin Weakfish, Lobster, etc.

The abandonment of the salt flats provokes its silting with mud resulting in dead zones that are inhabitable for flora and fauna, transforming in what is known here as "polvero salino" (salt dust). Because of this, the conservation of this delta of water channels is so important, so that we can maintain the biological diversity that currently exists.