¿The ‘Jomo’? What is ‘Jomo’? It’s the acronym, in English, for ‘Joy Of Missing Out’, or in other words: the enjoyment or pleasure of disconnecting or missing out on things. We have selected 5 locations from Spain’s Cultural Routes where you can experience Jomo at its wildest.
El Jomo es un a trend very linked to our times of hyperconnectivity, social media, and excessive exposure. It is the A reassertion of the simple life before the internet's arrival and smartphones in our lives. It is enjoy the simple pleasures, do it alone or with the best possible company and that's it. Without wasting time recording it, without communicating it, without shouting it from the rooftops, without uploading it to social media… Simply living it and enjoying that unique moment… as has been done all our lives.
Camino del Cid. Fuente de los Baños. Montanejos (Castellón, Valencian Community)
What is it?. One unique natural swimming pool in Spain, with turquoise waters, a river beach, and enclosed by large limestone rock walls. It could be a cove on a remote Greek island, but no: it is located in the interior of the Valencian province of Castellón.
How to disconnect. Very simple: put on a swimsuit, walk towards the water which stays at 25ºC all year round, dive in, float, swim and so on. until every square inch of skin on your body wrinkles or night falls.
Reasons to ditch your mobile phone
- The water from the Fuente de Baños has hydrogeochemical and biological properties. beneficial for health but very unhealthy for your phone if it falls into them.
- If instead of on the screen, you cast your gaze around you, you might be lucky enough to spot some of the wild spices that populate the environment, such as the trout, carp, the kingfishers (who will try to hunt the first ones) or the Iberian ibex.
2. Routes of Emperor Charles V. The landscape of Horcajo de las Torres, in the region of La Moraña (Ávila, Castile and León)
What is it?. The infinite landscape of La Moraña is reasonably easy to describe. A (nearly endless) plain with pristine horizons and straight roads connecting small towns. The writer Camilo José Cela couldn't have described it better: “La Moraña grows cereal, tolerates vines, and curses trees. Each village (as in the case of Horcajo) is a cultural, human and gastronomic parenthesis in a simple and captivating landscape.
How to disconnect. A wise man once said: “Everything fits into nothing.” And that's what happens in La Moraña, a landscape to fill with thoughts, to think about nothing (and everything), to disconnect from cities full of stimuli.
Reasons to ditch your mobile phone
- There are other regions in Spain with a similar agricultural tradition to La Moraña, but in recent times, they have shifted to cultivating grapes or olives. Where once there were minimalist dry fields, today there are lush vineyards and olive trees. Here, Cereal remains king, dictating the landscape's colour in every season.
- Imagine an emperor like Charles V (accompanied by his entire retinue) passing through these parts in November 1556, with, surely, an icy wind that no hill or forest would stop, as that kind of thing isn't really done around here. Imagine it, put yourself in his place, and you'll forget about your mobile phone for a few minutes.
3. Paths of Passion. Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sierra, in Cabra (Córdoba, Andalusia)
What is it?. A solitary sanctuary, nestled on one edge of the Subbetic Sierras, in what is considered the Geographical centre of the community and with excellent views over western Andalusia. In fact, they call it ‘The Balcony of Andalusia’ which can give an idea of the extraordinary panoramas it offers.
How to disconnect. The mere act of travelling the 15 kilometres that separate the Cordoban town of Cabra is already a ritual and a declaration of principles. Ascend to 1200 metres altitude (Cabra is 460) along a lonely, barely urbanised road, flanked first by olive groves, then by barren slopes. High above, a pine forest encircles and protects the sanctuary, far from the din of the world. Does one need to say more?
Reasons to ditch your mobile phone
- Although the views of the Andalusian plain are endless and, in the colder months, your gaze can reach tens of kilometres, it's worth forgetting your mobile phone (and its camera). If the day is clear It is possible to see the three great geological icons of Andalusia: Sierra Morena, the Guadalquivir depression and the Betic Cordillera
- The foundation stone of the sanctuary church was laid in the Middle Ages to house the found statue of the Virgin. Time has passed and the current building owes more to a late 16th-century reconstruction than to the original. Inside, It's worth pointing out a very juicy curiosity: The 13th-century Gothic sculpture of the Virgin holds a Child Jesus created several centuries later, during the Baroque period, hence the contrast between the expressiveness of the boy and her hieraticism.
4. Prehistoric Rock Art Trails. Abrigos de la Sarga, in Alcoy (Alicante, Valencian Community)
What is it?. A prehistoric rock art site with hunting and gathering scenes, beautiful abstract drawings, and an occasional disturbing figurative motif like the so-called ‘Sorcerer’. But the reason why you can experience ‘Jomo’ at La Sarga is its location: this natural museum, almost 10,000 years old (in the case of the earliest paintings) It is found outdoors, in the open air, surrounded by nature and in a mountainous environment with capricious rock formations.
How to disconnect. Once the nearby Alicante town of Alcoy is left behind, Everything conspires to make a progressive disconnection from civilisation. We are about 500 metres high and will gain a little more to reach the solitary spots of La Sarga (which are at 850 metres) to arrive at the rocky massif of the sheltersAn authentic geological whim that looks like the work of human handswith the paintings.
Reasons to ditch your mobile phone
- If the peace and quiet that can be breathed in these locations dotted with fruit trees are not sufficient reasons to switch to ‘airplane mode’, there are a few more. The excellent views over the Alcoy corridor would be another, along with the artistic power of these works. The paintings were discovered practically the day before yesterday (in 1951) and in 1998. were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO within the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arch of the Iberian Peninsula.
- Few things are more beautiful than listening to an explanation from a professional (who are usually passionate lovers of the subjects they speak about) regarding art in an enviable setting. The paintings of the Sarga gain many points when accompanied by information about their context and circumstances., especially in relation to the enigmatic macro-schematic art typical of the province of Alicante.
5. Vía de la Plata Route. In Praise of the Horizon. (Gijón, Asturias)
What is it?. A giant 20th-century concrete sculpture located on the Santa Catalina hill in the Asturian city. A place to be, to reflect or to simply disconnect by practising one of the oldest pastimes in human history: gazing at the sea.
How to disconnect. Although it is difficult to turn your back on Gijón and flee the numerous temptations of the city (its food, its cider, its beaches, the alleyways of Cimadevilla…) We must make an effort and stand firm with determination on this idyllic hill carpeted in green
Reasons to ditch your mobile phone
- Gijón is located at the northern end of the Vía de la Plata route, the Roman highway that connected the south of the peninsula with the north. The Praise to the Horizon, by the sculptor Eduardo Chillida, It is surely the most northern artwork on this historic centenary trail. So, it shouldn't be difficult to forget about Instagram, Twitter or TikTok for a few minutes to reflect on this circumstance.
- The Romans (this is obvious) had flaws and virtues. If we speak of the latter, everyone agrees that they knew how to live very well... or some of them, at least, tried to. This explains that very close to Chillida's work, within the walls and next to the Cantabrian Sea, they would build some public restrooms to enjoy their leisure time and, surely, disconnect from the daily hustle and bustle. This is about the ancient Roman Baths of Campo Valdés, a must-see for anyone who comes to the hill to admire the horizon. In other words, if the Romans had had an iPhone, they would surely have left it in the baths' changing rooms. Let's do as they would have done.
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