The Cala d'Hort Nature Reserve, in Sant Josep, covers a large part of the southwest coast and protects the surroundings of Cala d'Hort, Cala Carbó and Cala Vedella, as well as the islets of Es Vedrà, Es Vedranell, Sa Conillera, S'Illa des Bosc, S'Espartar and Ses Bledes. The Park also concentrates a wide variety of flora and fauna, as well as the archaeological site of Ses Païsses de Cala d'Hort, the Torre des Savinar, numerous country houses and an impressive collection of cliffs and abrupt coastline, such as Sa Pedrera de Cala d'Hort (Atlantis). On the road to Cala d'Hort, about a kilometer before reaching the beach, there is a path on the left that leads to the cliff at the foot of the Torre des Savinar, a place known as Era des Mataret, which is one of the most pleasant walks that can be done in Ibiza. It is necessary to cross it on foot and it takes about 20 minutes. From there, it is worth climbing the tower and enjoying the impressive presence of Es Vedrà, which dominates the horizon along the entire nature reserve.
Cool seeing the salt marshes. Not sure what else to do but drive through. Beach area was packed.
The Es Botafoc lighthouse is located at the end of the Paseo Marítimo, next to the dike of the same name, built in 2003. The lighthouse is part of the public infrastructure that the engineer Emili Pou developed in the nineteenth century to provide greater security to the port of the capital. It was built in 1862, although the lighthouse keepers' dwelling was added in the sixties of the 20th century. Today it is still inhabited by an Ibizan family, which takes care of the proper functioning of the lighthouse. It can be bordered by a promenade that offers a spectacular view of the port, the walls and the islets on the way to Formentera.
The lighthouse of Sa Conillera is located at the highest point of this island, 69 meters above sea level. Its construction was completed in 1857, although the construction has been modified until it reached its current appearance. The lighthouse of the Conejera, name that receives in Castilian, is located on a building of circular form. Here are concentrated the lighthouse keeper's quarters, his assistant, as well as other rooms for the use of the lighthouse. In 1971 a new optic with a range of 18 miles was installed. The new technology made it possible to remove the lighthouse personnel that resided here until then. The presence of the islet and its lighthouse, visible from the entire bay of Portmany, are part of the landscape and the collective memory of all Ibizans.
It was designed by Fernando Moscardó and Rafael Soler. Although the works were auctioned in 1974, they did not begin until 1975 due to different administrative problems. It has the particularity of being the lighthouse with the highest tower of the Balearic Islands, 52 meters up to the focal plane. It began working with an electric lighting by means of lamps of sealed beam, inaugurating this type of lighting in the Balearic Archipelago. It represents the typical lighthouse of the seventies projected as a result of the Improvement Plan of the year 1967, with a concrete tower and without a building with housing for the Maritime Signal Technicians, since it already began with an automatic operation. Since its inauguration, on November 1, 1978, its maintenance has been carried out by the technicians residing at the Botafoc lighthouse. The lantern is from Racional S.A., 2.25 m in diameter. The considerable height of its tower made advisable the installation of a forklift inside it, to facilitate the technicians the transport of material to the lighthouse lantern. It currently has two electronic motors which no longer need a mercury tank, as was the case with those installed with the initial equipment.
The project was drafted by Antonio López y Montalvo. Given the complications involved in the construction of a lighthouse on this islet, no bidder was presented to the auction and the works had to be carried out by the Administration. It was built between 1854 and 1856. It began to operate with a fixed catadioptric optic of 6th order built by the Sautter house, having for the illumination a moderating oil lamp. It was inaugurated on May 1, 1856. As the tower was very low and affected by the spray from the sea, the crystals of the lantern quickly lost transparency and its light could not be appreciated with sufficient clarity in this dangerous passage between Ibiza and Formentera. For this reason, in 1857 it was proposed to change its category to become a 4th order lighthouse, inaugurating its new light on November 30, 1861, although its appearance remained as a fixed white light. In this new project, carried out by Emili Pou, the tower was also raised by five meters. The optics removed was placed in the Botafoc lighthouse which was inaugurated that same night of 1861. Subsequently, the lighthouse became a concealment lighthouse. It seems that the lighthouse keepers acted several times to save the lives of the castaways. In one of those heroic acts, on February 11, 1881, the two lighthouse keepers died while trying to help the crew of the English steamship Flaminian that was making its route between Gibraltar and Genoa. Given the harsh living conditions that the lighthouse keepers and their families, the only inhabitants of this small islet, had to endure, it was the first lighthouse to be automated through the use of the then modern Swedish technology, which used acetylene gas for the operation of a series of lighting systems with automatic ignition by means of a solar valve. As a consequence of this technological incorporation, the lighthouse was left without personnel living on the island since 1929.
It was designed by Pere Garau. It was inaugurated with a catadioptric optic of 25 cm focal length with a 35 mm chance lamp and an appearance of 2+1 flashes every 20 seconds. It was inaugurated on December 1, 1914. Its construction took place as a result of the bad location of the lighthouse of Punta Grossa which it was to replace with definitive character, nevertheless the lighthouse of Punta Grossa would not be extinguished and it was kept working until 1916, when already some beacons had been installed to facilitate the entrance to the port of Cala San Vicente. In 1948 some red crystals were incorporated in the lantern, with the intention of producing a sector of illumination that would point out the Santa Eulalia basin. Subsequently, a beacon was placed on a mirror, but the red sector of the Tagomago lighthouse has continued to be part of its luminous appearance until March 22, 2013. As a result of the 1967 Improvement Plan, the tower was rebuilt, acquiring its current image. The automation of the signal by means of acetylene gas lighting equipment meant the withdrawal of the personnel with permanent residence in the lighthouse. Since then the maintenance of the lighthouse corresponds to the technicians resident in the Botafoc lighthouse.
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