This comparison shows the changes of the Tudela area in Cap de Creus, Girona, over a 20 year period between 2005 and 2025. In the first image, buildings of a tourist complex constructed in 1962 are visible, while in the second, the bungalows have been dismantled and the natural park has been restored.

Cap de Creus is the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, where the Pyrenees mountain range meets the Mediterranean Sea. In the early 1960s, 370 bungalows were embedded among the rocks of this natural park, designed to mimic the homes found in small Mediterranean fishing villages. The complex also included two swimming pools, tennis courts and restaurants catering to tourism. Named Club Méditerranée, better known as Club Med, the resort could accommodate up to 900 guests.

In 1998, the area was declared a Natural Park, receiving the highest level of protection due to its geological and botanical significance. This new status laid the groundwork for dismantling the tourist complex, as its structures were incompatible with the updated conservation regulations for the protected area.

Club Med closed its doors in 2003. In 2005, after years of negotiations, Spain’s Ministry of the Environment acquired the property for €4.5 million and transferred much of its management to the Generalitat of Catalonia. The demolition and environmental restoration work lasted until 2010, requiring an investment of approximately €11.5 million. A total of 443 buildings were demolished, invasive plant species were removed, and native flora was restored in an effort to return the landscape to its natural state.

The designation of the area as a Natural Park in 1998, along with subsequent government actions, was crucial in restoring this space, despite some contradictions in the process, such as the use of oxidizing materials and plastic ropes. Today, the Tudela area has become a site of high ecological and scenic value, open to the public with educational and recreational trails.

2005: Lluis Serrat Masferrer via Sonda Internacional
2025: Pablo Tosco for Sonda Internacional