La huerta

Pascual Segura recalls the story of  an English lawyer, Richard Ford, who visited Spain in 1830. Following the river Segura, he passed through the orchard of Bigastro destined for Orihuela. On his way he wrote in his notebook: "the Segura river fertilizes one of the richest plains in the world. Rain or shine, wheat grows in Orihuela. "

Almost 200 years later and the garden of Bigastro continues to arouse as much admiration as it did for that English visitor.

Well Pascual, we too are English and, just like the man in your story, the way agriculturalists of this area are able to produce such wonderful crops in such adverse conditions amazes us. The abundance of sunshine is a plus but could easily be outweighed by the lack of rain. The ingenious ways that the farmers manage to channel water to their crops is remarkable.