Trevélez and the undine of the Vacares Lagoon
Located high up on the peninsula, the Laguna de Vacares is a legendary abyss. There are those who may be a little gullible but say that it is actually an "eye of the Mediterranean" because it is so deep and contains such enormous fish. Legend also has it that souls in purgatory gather here and that it is the home of a freshwater mermaid, known as an undine. These terrifying creatures appear in the form of a white bird, their beauty attracts travellers lost in the mountains and they drag them into the dark waters to devour them mercilessly.
The massif of Sierra Nevada was hardly frequented for centuries and generated numerous legends and myths, was the supposed hiding-place for Moorish treasures and there were tracks left by fabulous beings that hid among the peaks. One of the tales that spread by word of mouth says that in the Laguna de Vacares, in the valley of Trevélez, there lived a freshwater mermaid known as an undine.
During the night, this mythological being takes on the form of a bird and looks down from the skies from above. When she spies the lost soul of a traveller, she transforms into a beautiful and sensual woman and, by deceit and persuasion, she lures her victims to the edge of the lagoon, hides them under the water and violently devours them.
But on one occasion, the undine fell in love with a traveller, spared his life and they lived a beautiful love story, in a grotto under the lagoon. Until one day, the lover discovered the corpses of his beautiful partner's victims and fled the cave in panic.
The Laguna de Vacares is one of the three deepest lagoons in the sierra, and both its eye shape and the total absence of vegetation make it a propitious source for legends. It was said to be bottomless, that it was an 'eye of the sea' that connected with the Mediterranean and was inhabited by strange, huge and blind fish. Other tales say that long ago the lagoon was a fantastic garden, a place where a princess met her lover. Another rejected lover, a Moor, heard of this, murdered the first lover by cutting off his head, which immediately turned into a black stone. On hearing about this, the princess cried and cried until her tears created a lagoon, at the bottom of which a dark rock can be seen. Is this the head of the murdered lover? It is also said that on certain nights, when there is a storm, horrible moans can be heard which are attributed to the jealous Moor.
Shepherds who climb up to the lagoon via the Trevélez river say that there are times when they hear the howling of the angry undine. However, there are others who say that is due to the collision of air currents from both sides of the mountains. But they are both talking in a nice, warm a tavern, in Trevélez, enjoying the excellent wine from the Contraviesa region and the renowned Trevélez ham, life is really so good in La Alpujarra!
