116th Corona diary entry / The New Normal

In the town hall square of Daya Viaje  (Plaza del León) there is a monumental palm tree with 6 arms (with the particularity that the six arms emerge from the same root). It is the oldest in the Valencian Community (with an age of 210 years) and the second highest in that community (with a height of 20.50 meters). The tallest palm tree in the Valencian Community is located on Calle de la Cruz in Orihuela (with a height of 23.75 meters). All this based on official data from the catalog of monumental and unique trees of the Valencian Community, published on November 23, 2012 in the Official Journal of the Valencian Community.

The exceptional nature of this specimen of palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) made them decide to protect it from strong winds that would endanger it due to its height. To do this, they decided to build the "Structure-Viewpoint for the support of palm trees in the Plaza del León" or as it has been commonly called "Le mirador de la palmera".

The protection system is built of metal structure that surrounds the 6 arms of the palm tree, like a corset.  The spiral reaches more than ten meters in height. From this point a kind of cantilevered aerial walkway emerges, thus becoming a watchtower to observe the surroundings of the municipality and the orchard, making the palm-viewpoint a tourist attraction. The viewpoint was designed by architect Joaquín Alvado Bañó.

It took 18 months to complete the lookout structure, with a total budget of 552,489 euros.

All that info from Alicante Digital.


So I finally get there, and you can't go up. Possibly closed due to covid even if we were the only ones on the whole plaza. What a bummer.


Btw, it's been horribly hot day. The car told us at some point it was 35°C inland where we visited. Here on the beach it's been "cool 31,3°C". And something in the air as my allergies are flaring up so bad. And I have a dentist in the morning. My nose is running like a faucet!

I shouldn't complain. There is huge (HUGE) area in Spain where the thermometer goes to 40-42°C. Only the north and east cost are saved from the worst.