On the outskirts of Agua Amarga, in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, and on a curve of the dry river bed of the Viruegas river, one finds what the local people call "the millennial olive tree". It is a surprising discovery the first time that one sees it. A really incredible old olive tree. Its trunk has been formed by two limbs which have grown together, it has an eight metre perimeter (2,5 m diameter), and its crown grows out in a circle of about 25 m in diameter; judging by its dimensions and the appearance of its trunk, its age is probably much greater than that indicated by its local name, and in our opinion is, by a long way, one of the best and oldest olive trees in Spain, and even in the whole Mediterranean, superior even to the trees of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, so often cited as examples. In spite of lack of care its state is acceptable, though could be better.

Fernando Gil-Albert Velarde
Professor of Fruit Tree Forestry
Polytechnic University of Madrid