The Region of Murcia houses the nice town of San Javier, which faces an even landscape, bathed by the Mar Menor. Nowadays, it has such a mild climate that it is said the Mar Menor enjoys from the spring during the whole year. San Javier extends down to the sea through Santiago de la Ribera.
History: The first remains of a civilisation in the surroundings of the Mar Menor date from the Palaeolithic, although the first settlements from which we have more reports and remains are the ones of the Roman and Arabian Epochs. The Romans called it Belich and quoted it as a Port Refuge, even for big ships –as before the Mar Menor was deeper than today-. Its present name comes from the influence that the virtue and heroism of the Apostle of Orient Saint Francisco Javier, Patron Saint of the Tourism, had over these lands, as they were repopulated, in the Epoch of Alfonso X El Sabio, by people from Navarra and Aragon, mainly.
Culture and Art: San Javier has many interesting museums to visit including: The Museo del Belén (which houses figures and scenes from the huge Nativity Scene that year after year is set in the Glorieta de San Javier), Museo Ethnographic (where you can make a tour through the town by land, sea or air), Museo del Reportero (that houses a permanent exhibition of the career of the journalist Tico Medina), Museo Parroquial (in this museum we can find old liturgical items, among which stands out a relic of the Saint Francisco Javier). During the months of July and August is celebrated the ‘Festival Internacional de Teatro, Música y Danza’, that concentrates an audience of around 3.000 people and has a big media impact.
Gastronomy: The dish par excellence of the gastronomy in the Mar Menor is the caldero (traditional dish among fishermen, made with rice and stone fish, very common in this area, such us the gray mullet and the bream. To these ingredients we have to add other two, very traditional in the region, which give a definitive touch to this nutritious and tasty dish: the dried red pepper and the paprika), the bream (oven-made, wrapped in a salt crust), the king prawns of the Mar Menor, the magre, the sea bass, the red mullet or the chirrete (different from fish in other places in the Mediterranean, where they offer a more tasty fish meat , as they are fed in waters with a much higher salt concentration). The salted fish are also very common in the area, and perfect for a snack, such as the mojama de atún and the hueva de mújol (a perfect combination for them is a good white wine and fried almonds). The Cierva pie is a traditional dish which combines sweet and savoury ingredients (elaborated with sweet shortcrust pastry, butter and sugar, and stuffed with bird meat and hard-boiled eggs). Among desserts stand out the tocino de cielo, pan de calatrava, sopa real and rollos de jerez (all of them can be combined with an asiatico, a type of coffee made with condensed milk, brandy and some cinnamon).
Climate: The annual average temperature is 18º C, and winters are the mildest in the whole Levant. The sun shines 320 days a year.
Festivals: The Patron Saint’s Day is celebrated in honour of the Saint Francisco Javier, on the 3rd December. A big tradition is the set up of the Spanish Nativity Scene in the Glorieta, from the 23rd December to the 6th January. On the 24th June is celebrated the Saint’s Juan Day, with a big bonfire.
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