The best theme parks

WITH the perfect spring weather upon us in Costa Calida, bright sunny days with a cool breeze, now is the time to visit the best theme parks Costa Calida has to offer.

The first on the list is Terra Natura which is a wildlife park with more than 300 animals from 50 different species. It offers shows, entertainment, and a variety of restaurants. It also has a waterpark open during the hotter months.

Next, we have Peke Park in La Manga, it is an attraction park with Go­karts, a carousel, Crazy Golf, a boating lake, trampolines, and much more.

It has some pizza and burger restaurants too.

Third on the list is Parque de Tentegorra, a unique theme park that has zip lines, rope bridges, and a swimming pool. The highlight of this park though must be its famous maze which is the largest natural maze in Spain.

Then we have the Oasys Mini Hollywood theme park found in the Tabernas desert

Rice dishes

considered to be the only desert in Europe. It features cowboy stunt shows, can­can shows, museums, a zoo, a saloon bar, and a themed swimming pool for the summer.

Lastly, just in case the weather takes a turn for the worst you can find the Nickelodeon Adventure indoor family­themed park in the Commercial Centre Thader. It has fun rides and a 4D cinema.

PAELLA, the Valencian rice dish, probably the dish most associated with Spain, is one that combines rice, saffron, various types of meat, and seafood but in Costa Cálida, it is not the only rice dish on the menu. You will find a variety of rice dishes similar to paella but how do you know the difference and which one should you order based on your own taste?

The first dish I mention is Caldero. This is the most popular in this region, especially around the Mar Menor. Caldero is a rice dish named after the type of pot it is cooked in ‘the cauldron’. This is cooked together with different fish and seafood which accounts for its salty flavour but the difference about this dish is that the fish is usually served separately.

Another dish that you will typically see in this region is Arroz y Conejo (rice and rabbit). A rice dish often seen on menus is Arroz

A Banda, my personal favourite, it is a recipe that hails from Alicante but is very popular in Murcia also. This dish is like paella but the seafood it contains is peeled and chopped and mixed through the rice making it, in my opinion, easier to eat and therefore enjoy. It doesn’t usually contain meat.

The final two rice dishes are Arroz Mixto, mixed rice, so named as it contains chicken and shellfish, and Arroz y Marisco, rice with shellfish.