Las Salinas of Puerto de Mazarrón

At one time, the salt business along the coast of Puerto de Mazarrón in southern Spain was a thriving enterprise, reaching its peak in the early 20th century. In order to get clean seawater, the manufacturers needed to avoid the beach itself, so they tunneled through a rocky headland to reach deeper, where it would be sediment-free. Those tunnels, now abandoned, are still walkable today.

Back when las salinas (the saltworks) were in use, the water was pumped in and linked to a canal, then channeled onto evaporation pans where the heat of the sun did the job, drying up the H₂O and leaving behind high-quality sal de marina. You could call it one of the earliest solar-powered businesses.

Back in the days of pumping and drying, the machinery could be heard up and down the beach, earning the rocky point its nickname of “Pim-Pam.” Today the pumps and pans are long-gone, and all that remains are the tunnels and the first section of the old canal. Hand-harvested Spanish sea salt still makes its way into specialty and gourmet shops. In fact, Pim-Pam might make a good label.