The Pudent pond, the legend of an estate under the waters

PalmaJoan Castelló Guasch collected in Rondaies de Formentera (1976) the story of two sisters who “if one was envious, the other was even more so; and ill-spoken, which is not for saying.” The drama began when, after the mother's death, instead of making the eldest heir, as was customary, and leaving 'her rightful share' to the youngest, she divided everything – property and houses – equally between the two. Every now and then they had fights and arguments, each time more inflamed. “Well, you'll see that one day when the dispute was more heated than ever, the youngest let loose in a bad way. And she ended up saying to the eldest: ‘May you have a bad end, and your property too.’ ‘What you wish for, may you have!’, she replied”. In the end, a large and strong wave swept everything away. It submerged the property from top to bottom, burying houses and sisters and everything under the water.

This popular fiction, rooted in the supposed existence of foundations of old houses beneath the murky waters of the lagoon, is what fuels the fantastic origin of Estany Pudent, the epicentre of Formentera's salt flats for centuries, a breeding ground for fish species in the 19th century, and a seaplane base during the Civil War. South of Punta de les Illetes and northeast of the urban centre of Sant Francesc Xavier, the pond covers an approximate area of 3.5 km2 and has a maximum depth of 4 m. The opening of a communication with the sea in the 19th century, known as ‘la Séquia’, increased its extent, depth, and salinity. Around it, we find the ponds where salt was cultivated. The toponym is already documented in the 13th century.

The route

[00 min] We start walking from the same port of La Savina towards the La Mola road (PM-8020), although we immediately turn left on Carrer de Ponent, which immediately connects with Carrer de Llevant. The first borders the disused ponds of the Ferrer salt pans; while the second, once we have crossed the road to El Pujols and the beach of Ses Illetes [05 min], places us literally on the edge of the Estany Pudent, oriented from the beginning towards xaloc (southeast).

What was initially an asphalted road, Carrer de Llevant, soon becomes a dirt track, Camí dels Brolls. It is an emblematic and historic route of Formentera that borders the Estany Pudent, known for its great landscape and ornithological interest. [25 min] We arrive at the Brolls lookout; because the Estany Pudent, like other wetlands in the Mediterranean, constitutes a place of importance for European birds, during the spring and autumn migratory passages.

Els Brolls is configured by an area of freshwater reservoirs, currently very brackish, as a consequence of the surfacing of groundwater. This fact is conditioned by the fact that the land is almost below sea level. To channel these outcrops, already documented at the end of the 17th century, and the rest of the rainwater, there is a ditch around the pond to La Savina (today in very poor state of conservation).

[1 h 00 min] At the end of Camí dels Brolls, we come out onto the road that encircles the Estany Pudent, at the height of Es Pujols, on the right. We turn left to approach the Ca na Costa archaeological site [1 h 10 min], the most spectacular megalithic tomb in the Balearic Islands, located between the Estany Pudent (formerly also called Estany dels Flamencs) and the town of Es Pujols, in the parish of Sant Ferran de ses Roques. Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1984, its actual dating could be between 2000 and 1600 BC.

We come out onto the road again and cross it. On the other side of the asphalt, we find a dirt track that, facing south, will take us to the path leading to Es Pujols beach [1 h 25 min]. Facing the sea, we turn left, towards the north wind, and follow the small path that connects the corner of Es Pujols with the beaches of Ses Canyes, La Roqueta, Es Trucadors and Tanga, until we reach the small hill of n’Adolf [2 h 25 min]. From here, we continue towards the narrow peninsula of Es Trucadors to cover the last 2 km to the tip of the Espalmador pass [2 h 50 min]. In this place, an important naval battle in 1529 is documented, between the forces of Emperor Charles I and 15 galleys from Algiers (source: eeif.es).

We travel in reverse along the Trucadors peninsula to n’Adolf’s small hill [3 h 20 min]. From here we follow the dirt track that, starting from Marroig’s mill or El Carregador [3 h 30 min], skirts, on the west side, the salt flats of the same name, to the left, and Les Illetes, to the right. These islets, from north to south, are called Tramuntana island, Forn island (in front of which is the Illetes well, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest), Pou islet, Redona island – or Conills island – and Palla islet. Very close to the road that encircles the Estany Pudent, our path turns towards the seashore. We enter what is known as the Camí de la Guia, a trace of the old railway line for Formentera’s salt flats that still connects the docks of La Savina (Guafe) with the northern ponds of Estany Pudent.

Water resources

[3 h 50 min] The Marès well, to the right of the path, keeps alive the human imprint on the territory and the need to provide oneself with water resources. A little further on, the Guia path crosses 'la Síquia', an artificial opening to the sea of the Pudent pond, created in the 19th century, which increased the extension, depth, and salinity of the lagoon, while at the same time reducing the number of epidemics caused by the accumulation of brackish waters.

Little by little, we enter the urban area of the port of La Savina, until we reach the Guafe, where our itinerary ends [4 h 10 min]. This old building, whose name has an uncertain origin, although it seems to come from English, served as a warehouse for salt from the Formentera salt pans before being loaded onto ships. We conclude this walk with the verses that close the poem Formentera (1958), by the Ibiza native Marià Villangómez: “Formentera: sea and sky / around a heart of greed. / Beauty is stripped / to join dry roots.”

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