Advice on Los Alcazares - Page 2

Why do you recommend swimming away from the Mar Menor?

My wife and I have spent hours in it this year from May to October.

Are we missing something?

It was polluted by toxins flowing from the surrounding farmlands during floodings over recent years and has not yet fully recovered. I love the area very much and was there on short breaks in March 2022 and last week. Some people were indeed swimming (though not many), but the appalling smell in certain areas was quite enough to convince me that swimming there would not be a good idea. And there have been warnings on this forum of the risk of ear infections.

 But, evidently, not everyone is concerned about this.... .

We saw people sampling the water on several occasions during the months we visited. Since many people swim there every day (including us when we are over) I would have thought the authorities would step in and issue warnings if there was a problem. You can get ear infections without going near water.

Unless you have some specific scientific information or knowledge, I question if it's very helpful to make comments like this.

Let me say straight away that I take exception to the final sentence in your comment. I am not the only one who has posted reservations about the advisability of swimming there (please see the posts on this thread, for example) and it is entirely up to individual readers to decide for themselves whether or not they find these posts helpful. 

The pollution of the Mar Menor is a matter of public record and the authorities have spent vast sums of money in an effort to combat it -- the sand in many beaches has been replaced, for example. But the remedial work is far from complete and is ongoing, as another incident occurred as recently as May 2022 where thousands of dead fish washed up amid another algal 'bloom'. 

You don't indicate whether you took scientific advice before taking to the waters there. For myself (and I am clearly not alone in this regard) I would certainly pause before swimming in waters in which fish kills have been a recurrent feature.  

To repeat, the area is one of my favourite places in the whole of Spain, I visit it regularly (and did so last week) and would encourage anyone else to visit it to enjoy its natural beauty. I certainly hope that the pollution issues can be resolved quickly and fully. But in the interim, I feel there is no point in pretending that, so far as swimming is concerned, there are not some concerns. 

I've been told that the worst affected part of the Mar Menor is the southern end, not sure from which point but I agree that for a lot of the time - too much, it doesn't look clear. Doesn't affect me personally but I have noticed the small numbers taking a dip. Plenty doing so up in San Pedro but even there the water was not clear. I saw little difference vis a vis the water in San P,  Santiago de la Ribera and LA. 

So we have people advising others not to swim based on what happened some time ago and hearsay.

Well I'm out in a week or so and will be in there if it's not too cold.

"... based on what happened some time ago" 

AND what happened as recently as last May 

AND what I saw and smelled when I visited there last week. 

No-one questions your right to swim there should you so wish, and some may take that as advice that they should do so too. But equally I have every right to suggest that it might be unwise to do so at present and to recommend alternatives when a poster asks for them.

Perhaps you need to have a word with all the groups of school kids who bathe in it. And all the old folk I see every day when cycling LA to Lo Pagan! 

Let me start by saying o love the Los Alcazares/Los Narejos area, that's why I bought a holiday property there, the people are great, plenty of restaurants, bars. The only real negative I see is the Mar Menor water doesn't appear enticing the further you go out,yesbthe water is quite clear at the waters edge and a little beyond. As someone previously mentioned I believe the damage is down to pesticides from farming ending up in the water. This no doubt was the cause if the blue flag status being withdrawn. I do hope in time it can regain that status, but someone posted some time ago, its a problem not easily solved. As for any not really nice smells, again, if you walk along the length of the promenade, no doubt, there are areas where there seems to be a not so nice smell. 

We were there in May/June not many people on the beach at all plenty of sun beds really nice and quite plenty of Spanish people in the sea.