El Mojón, San Pedro del Pinatar
El Mojón, Pedanías San Pedro del Pinatar
El Mojón is a district of San Pedro del Pinatar and a residential area on the coast in the east of the Region of Murcia.
Its name refers to the boundary marker which denotes the border between the provinces of Alicante and Murcia. The area straddles this boundary, about half of the homes being on one side and half on the other, and those which are in the Region of Murcia belong to the municipality of San Pedro del Pinatar.
On the other side of the line is Pilar de la Horadada.
San Pedro del Pinatar has beaches on both the Mar Menor and Mediterranean coasts, and has attracted settlers and visitors from many cultures, beginning with the first known inhabitants during the Paleolithic era,(60,000 - 10,000 BC).
There are remains left by many who have passed through the area, including the Phoenicians( around 700 BC), the Iberians ( 525BC to the arrival of the Romans) and the Carthaginians (500BC to 209BC). When the Romans arrived (209BC), the area became important in industrial terms, the natural salt flats exploited in the salting of fish and the production of garum sauce which was exported via Cartagena ( Novo Carthago) across the Roman Empire.
An important land trading route which stretched from Cádiz through France and into Italy, the Via Augusta, passed through the “Campus Spartarius” (Campo de Cartagena), increasing the obvious commercial advantages of the coastal location and distribution routes.
In El Mojón the remains of a Roman villa have been found, ( Click Villa of La Raya) and it seems that the main activities associated with the building were farming and fishing. This activity could have lasted as long as six centuries, from the 2nd century BC to the 4th AD, but it seems that it reached its zenith in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
After the departure of the Romans, the Moors (713AD to 1243) were the next important culture to leave their mark on the area, introducing the “encañizada” fishing technique which is still practiced in some parts of San Pedro.
The problem of the border line between Murcia and Valencia dates back to the 13th century
In the first half of the 13th century (1243) the kingdom of Murcia was assimilated into the kingdom of Castile, but it was later conquered by Jaime II of Aragón between 1296 and 1300, becoming part of the Kingdom of Aragón. Within what is now the Region of Murcia there was a border between the kingdoms of Aragón and Castile, but the exact definition of where this border lay proved difficult to define, causing headaches to Jaime II of Aragón and his Castilian counterpart Fernando IV, the grandson of Alfonso X, El Sabio, who had originally conquered Murcia in 1243.
This border was finally established by the Sentencia de Torrellas in 1304. By this agreement it was decided that the frontier would cut right across 
the Campo de Cartagena, ending in the town of El Pinatar, and a marker was placed on a rocky outcrop in the sea. This gave the name of El Mojón to the location, and at around the same time the population increased due to the number of Castilian families who settled in the area, attracted by generous offers of land.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the main economic activities continued to be related to fishing, agriculture and the salt flats, although the population was very small.
The livestock migration paths of Vereda Real and Vereda Hilada passed close to the town, used by transhumence shepherds who would follow established routes with their flocks in search of pasture, heading for the winter pasture land of Dehesa de la Albufera, and this also brought economic activity to the area. There is a path from the Roman Villa site at La Raya which crossed this route, emphasising the importance of this economic activity throughout the centuries.
However, this peace and prosperity came under threat from the frequent Berber pirate raids to which the whole of the Murcian coastline was subjected, and between the 16th and 18th centuries a series of watchtowers was built along the coast to provide defence and advance warning of any imminent incursions, although the area was largely depopulated due to the very real danger of the pirate activity.
In the 19th century a marine customs house was built, together with a port and quay, to deal with coastal trading ships and boats, and in the 1970s the tourist boom arrived in San Pedro del Pinatar.
At this point the small fishing village of El Mojón became a large residential area, which was (and still is) particularly popular with the inhabitants of the city of Murcia, who come in summer to enjoy the sea, the wonderful beaches and the natural environment.
Click for map, El Mojón, San Pedro del Pinatar
Fiestas and important events in El Mojón
The inhabitants of El Mojón have a wide range of leisure activities to choose from within the municipality of San Pedro del Pinatar, some of them having been awarded the status of Regional Tourist Interest, such as the two main annual fiestas.
These are Easter week and the Fiestas de la Virgen del Carmen (16th July).
Other annual fiestas include the Procession of the Three Kings on 5th January, the San Pedro del Pinatar Carnival, and the Fiestas Patronales dedicated to the patron saint, San Pedro Apóstol, in June. There are also various events over the Christmas period and Three Kings.
The natural environment in El Mojón
The natural environment of El Mojón is dominated almost exclusively by the beach of El Mojón, which is 465 metres long and 50 metres wide. Part of it is flanked by a promenade, while the rest is on the boundary of the regional park of Las Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar, with access via wooden walkways erected over the sand dunes.
A small inlet separates this beach from that of Playa de Torre Derribada, the name meaning fallen tower, indicating that a watchtower was formerly located in this position, next to the regional park, while at the northern end is the Playa de las Higueritas, which belongs to La Torre de la Horadada.
Parque Regional de Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar
The Regional Park of Las Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar is a wetland area which covers 856 hectares, and includes salt flats, dunes and beaches between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean. Most of the park consists of the salt flats themselves, which are divided into different "ponds" by small earth ridges or stone walls. Part of the area is private property with restricted access, and is used to produce salt on an industrial scale by the company "Salinera Española".
The part of the park which is open to the public consists of beaches, dunes and pine groves, and visitors can get around by bicycle or on foot. A green route has recently been set up around the park.
The best known fauna in the reserve are the pink flamingoes which usually arrive at the end of the summer, but apart from them, there are also gulls, albatrosses, herons, grebes and crakes. The whole area provides a wealth of leisure opportunities for walkers and cyclists, as well as those who enjoy bird watching or just a stroll along the beach.
Economy of El Mojón
Since the 1970s the Mar Menor area has experienced a tremendous period of growth and tourism development, which has completely transformed the urban, demographic and economic landscape of the area.
The tourism and service industrial sectors now dominate the economy, and El Mojón has been transformed from a small fishing village into a significant agglomeration of second homes, popular with both Spanish and ex-pats alike.
As well as the obvious attractions of the sea and the sand, there has also been a significant increase in health tourism, taking advantage of the therapeutic properties said to reside in the salt water and the mud in the north of the Mar Menor.
The main focus of this is the area known as Los Charcas, in the Pedanía of Lo Pagán.
