The park is over 200,000 square meters, and is home to not only flowers and trees, it is also home to a host of animals – pigeons, doves, parrots, birds, rabbits, hens, roosters, ducks, swans, guinea fowl, goats and donkeys... It surely is a park with a difference.
Click Here to read more about the park.
The park has to be experienced to fully appreciate it. It is really an amazing place – never a dull moment in the park. Always something to see. The place is an attraction for the locals and tourists alike, and it is always busy.
I will do my best to summarize the park. I don’t even know where to begin, so I will just go with what comes to mind.
Cactus Garden. There is a Cactus garden with over, supposedly, 400 species of cactus.
A cactus bloom.
There are 2 man-made ponds – one bigger and one smaller. The bigger pond is apparently only three feet deep. The smaller one, I do not know, but i don’t think it is very deep either. These are home to ducks, swans, fishes, turtles...
There are a pair of swans seen in the big pond...
...and many species of ducks...
...and turtles. Managed to get a shot of one of them.
This is a good view of the pond.
A section of the smaller pond.
At the second pond, there is bamboo garden.
Since this is the Park of the Doves, there are many pigeons and doves.
Pigeons, doves, and chickens in the park – one big happy family.
Children love feeding the birds, or chasing after them.
Some parrots. Can you see four green parrots in the picture?
These two donkeys were abused animals rescued from farms. Apparently, they are endangered species. But they didn't say what species are these.
I don’t quite know the story of the goats.
So far, I have only seen three rabbits.
And one guinea fowl.
There is supposed to be a couple of peacocks, but there was no sign of them this year.
The park has numerous water points such as these all over the premises. A small container is placed under the tap to hold the water for the chickens and birds.
Or a water fountain like this one here.
There are three refreshment outlets. One sells souvenirs and ice-creams, drinks and light snacks. The other two do drinks and light meals. This one is rather new, and hip looking.
Some people exercise in the park – walking, and jogging. There are quite a few exercise stations like these, for those that include them in their exercise regime in the park.
There are two very big playground for children too.
There are many green areas in the park. These are ideal for picnics. On weekends, you see families or groups of friends having picnics.
The most distinguished sounds/noise you will hear in the park are rooster crowing. It goes on non stop, all day long. It can be music to your ears, or it can drive you mad.
Still, it is quite pleasant to sit in the park and just observe the going on – the ‘residents’ go about scavenging for food, children chasing after the birds and chicken, some dogs like to chase after the chickens too, dragging their owners along. And if you have a loaf of bread or a packet of corns, you will attract a following. You can sit on a bench and feed the chickens and pigeons gathered around you, or you can disperse the food as you walk with the chickens and pigeons following you. A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon indeed.
And that more or less sums up Parque la Paloma – a park with a difference. Of course, words can’t do the park justice. It has to be experienced to be appreciated. Oh, I said that already.
From the park, you can look out to the sea.
