Description of the chosen space:
The place I will be talking about is «The Weir of Fortaleny» a place sorrounded by nature located in Fortaleny (even though legally it belongs to Cullera, but I eon’t talk about that) the town where my dad is from and a place I love and enjoy going to. If you follow the river in direction to Sueca you will bump with the weir, there’s no lost you can go by walking, bike or car it’s only a few minutes away from the town.
While you are arriving you will notice that there are a lot of fields of orange trees and when you arrive there you will see even more and that’s part of the charm of this place. This weir is connecting the Xuquer river that passes through Sueca with Fortaleny.
Depending on the direction you position yourself looking you can see the «Iron Bridge» where the sun sets and gives you an amazing view or looking directly at the weir where at the backgound you can distinguish the mountain of Cullera with the particular white letters of Cullera that are painted on this and the castle of Cullera looming up on the right.
Flying over the weir there are a lot of birds such as woodpeckers, swallows, herons, ducks and «water cocks» and lot of amphibians can be seen near the concrete walkway. Everything is very green due to the amount of trees surrounding the weir.
You can also see almost every day people fishing near this part of the river because in Fortaleny there is like a kind of fishing culture and we all do it even if it’s just to spend some time with our friends and family and not for competitions (but a lot of fishing competions are held in Fortaleny and my cousin has won some).
Why did you choose this place?
– I’ve chosen this place because it calms me a lot, sitting there or just standing there makes me feel at peace. It’s really reconforting to be there and you can walk along the river, listen to the birds and sometimes in sumer swim there.
What makes you comfortable?
– The nature, the singing of the birds, the sound of the wind crashing into the leaves, the water running wild and free…
There is some disruptive element?
– There are a few houses (three) but they don’t disturb too much, because they have a lot of plants, so it feels like they are «in peace» with the sorroundings.
Do you think you’d feel the same way in another space right now?
– I don’t think so, that place brings to my memorie to many beautiful and special moments that any other place has never brought me.
I also think that i wouldn’t feel the same way in another place because I always go there by bicycle and that helps me a lot to clear my thougts and it calms me a lot. (And the sunset hits different from there, the view is spectacular).
Do you think that the conditions of this space influence its occupants?
– I hope so. Every time I see people there I feel like they are relaxed, just chilling and talking with their friends and they give me the same vibe that I always have there.
At least to me it does, because I leave all my problems behind. For me it is like a holly space, really spiritual, but not in a religious way.
How?
– Because as well as the music calms the beasts the nature does the same, you can feel it and sense it. It’s like there’s a botton or a lever in you that the closest you get to this place it switches or even like traspassing an invisible barrier that canges your mood and makes you happy.
Would you change anything?
– Definitly…
When I was younger there was a really old park in front of the «weir» and two «paelleros» and a few years ago the town hall retired them and it feels a bit weird now, and also it is now full of weeds and the town hall is not cleaning it and making it beautiful again.
But for me is the road that passes behind the weir what mosts disturbs me, because in summer a lot of cars pass throuh it every day and it’s relly noisy.
