The Playa de Mónsul is one of the most beautiful beaches in Cabo de Gata. The beach is flanked by weird overhanging volcanic rocks, and there is a large mobile dune in the shape of a half-moon (technically a barchan dune) at the entrance to the beach.
Cabo de Gata is the best example of fossil vulcanism in the Iberian Peninsula. It was caused by the crashing together of the Eurasian and African plates during the Miocene.
Set in the heart of the rugged and arid Cabo de Gata, the abandoned gold mines of Rodalquilar are a fascinating and extremely atmospheric spot to visit. The mines experienced a minor gold fever in the 1880s . They were reopened for a brief flash in the pan in 1989, before finally closing a year later. There are a number of abandoned mining cottages in the deserted village of San Diego, though some have been renovated now for tourism accommodation. At the bottom of the slope, the village of Rodalquilar itself is attractive and has a few bars offering cool drinks after a visit to the mines.
There are a number of blowholes known as bufones along the Asturian coast, the best of which is perhaps the Bufones de Arenillas near the village of Puertas de Vidiago. Closeby is the similarly spectacular Bufón de Santiuste. Both of these blowholes are capable with the right tide of throwing up noisy shoots of water as high as 40 metres. They were formed by karstic and wave action. Bracing stuff. Continue reading
The town of Ea, in Vizcaya, the Basque Country, holds the honour of being the shortest place name in Spain and one of the equal shortest in the world. The town takes its name from the river which runs through it. Ea is attractively sited on the edge of an estuary which cuts through the cliffs of the Bay of Biscay. There is a small beach which the local shellfishers harvest each low tide.
Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja has the longest placename of anywhere in Spain, as far as I can work out. It looks like a pleasent enough place to have lunch.
During the Little Ice Age in Spain temperatures were somewhat lower than today. This is shown by the presence of an extensive network of ice stores known varyingly as neveras, pozos de nieve, ventisqueros and glaceres, which were built and maintained between the 16th and 19th centuries along the Eastern Mediterranean, some in areas where it no longer snows even one day. The storage and distribution of ice was a lively business involving whole sections of the rural population. A good example are those of the Sierra de Espuña which is home to a number of ice wells, including those in the photo shown on the map. Most of Murcian wells were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, and continued to function until the 1930s when industrial ice production made them utterly inviable. Warming and much less snow in the last 50 years would make ice production here very difficult today.
The first saline springs here were documented as early as the year 822. In the Middle Ages, salt production made the Salinas de Añana one of the most prosperous towns in the North of the Iberian Peninsula. A plan is underway to restore the site.
The lighthouse at Cape Vilán signals one of the most dangerous stretches along the treacherous Costa da Morte, It is also one of the most beautiful and atmospheric places in Northern Spain, and a great spot for watching seabirds such as guillemots, shags and divers, particularly in winter. See also the nearby Cementario de los Ingleses where the crew of HMS Serpent were buried, after it sank off this coast in 1890.
A bear’s claw is nailed to a church in the village of Navacepeda de Tormes in the Sierra de Gredos. The old people say a man had been attacked by a bear and had defended himself with scythe. Bears became extinct in Gredos at some point in the 16th century.
This video poetically tells the story. Kindly sent to me by Claire of Gredosvivo, bird watching tours in central-western Spain.The video was researched and made by Enrique Sacristán. Also available in Spanish.
The Mallos de Riglos are remarkable, almost sheer rock formations in Huesca, forming part of the foothills of the Pyrenees. The rocks are conglomerates and were formed during the Miocene.
Unsurprisingly, these 300-high cliffs are a Mecca for climbers from around the world, and the little village of Riglós nestled improbably below the rocks does a very nice business in accommodating them. However, some of the most demanding routes require spending a free night in a tiny tent strapped to the bare rock face. I suffer from a degree of vertigo and the idea of waking up half way up the sheer face of Los Mallos is one of my all-time favourite nightmares, though I do get a frisson (and a stiff neck) watching those who dare to climb these looming beasts, each of which has its own name; El Puro, El Pisón, Castilla, Volaos, Cuchillo, Frenchín, Visera and Fire.
The Castillo de Loarre is a superb example of a Romanesque castle and one of the most spectacular castles in Spain. It was built in the 11th and 12th centuries, occupying a strategic point on the frontier between the Christian north and the Moslem kingdom of Zaragoza to the south. The building was begun in around 1020 by Sancho el Mayor, after conquering the land from the Moors. It is sometimes claimed to be the oldest fortified castle in Spain”
The castle offers stunning views from the craggy ramparts of Sierra de Loarre across the plains of the Hoya de Huesca. A number of films have been shot here including, Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven.
I have fond memories of Loarre, watching vultures soaring just a few metres past the turrets where I stood on a freezing November afternoon.
The monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes is one of the most important of all Catalan Romanesque sites. Perched high on a hillside overlooking the Gulf of Léon, the setting is as impressive as the ruined walls and towers themselves. The first written record of the monastery dates back to 879 AD, when it was one of the many religious institutions founded in this area after the departure of the Moors. The magnificent Bendictines edifice was constructed between 979 and 1022, and was sacked and abandoned in the eighteenth century. Best preserved is the church at its centre with three wide naves and capitals of delicately carved acanthus leaves and animal heads. The 27-meter high bell-tower has fine arcades. The ruins are at their most atmospheric when shrouded in swirling mist, which is not uncommon in autumn and winter. On the hilltop above Sant Pere are the remains of a medieval castle, and fantastic 360º views that sweep from Cerbère in France to Cap de Creus to the east, to Montgrí and Begur in the south, to the high Pyranees in the west. There is an interesting Romanesque church above the main parking lot. On the hillside just below the monastery there is a pretty grotto with a fountain. This is a good spot from which to look up in awe at the mighty edifice above.
The true origin of the monastery is not known, which has given rise to speculation and legend; such as its foundation by monks who disembarked in the area with the remains of Saint Peter and other saints, to save them from the Barbarian hordes that had fallen on Rome. Once the danger had passed the Pope Boniface IV commanded them to construct a monastery. Read on Wikipedia
The wolf trap just outside Lubián is a remarkable piece of popular architecture designed to capture wolves. It was in operation until the mid-1960s. It is doubtful whether it was ever an efficient way of capturing them, and it must have involved a huge effort on the part of the local population to build and maintain it. Whataver the case, whenever a wolf was found to be killing local sheep, a goat or sheep would be tethered inside the trap. When, an unfortunate wolf jumped in. the high walls prevented it from jumping out and it would be trapped. The church bells in Lubián would rang. The animal would be caught, caged and paraded around the local villages, who would give presents to the Lubians in thanks, as they tormented the condemned animal.
The Almagro Corral de Comedias is the only 17th century theatre to retain its original structure in Europe, and has probably been in continuous use since it was first opened, possibly in 1628. Corral de Comedias means open-air theatre. There are performances almost everyday of the works of classic authors from the Golden Age of Spanish theatre. Continue reading
Castellfollit de la Roca is a village in la Garrotxa, spectacularly perched on top of a steep cliff. The best view is from the bridge over the river Fluvià. The cliff is illuminated after dark until midnight for about 6 months of the year. I am told that road widening near Castellfollit has done away with the very weird and wonderful privately constructed free children’s labyrinth beside the river that used to make drivers stop and stare. Castellfollit itself has a spectacular old church, some narrow medieval streets, a parador and a fonda, but in my personal experience is a very unfriendly little dump. To be enjoyed from afar.
Consuegra is the site of the famous La Mancha windmills immortalised in Don Quixote. The mills were used to grind grain and their ownership passed from fathers to sons. Most consisted of two rooms or levels. They fell into disuse in the early 1980s.
Ullastret is the name of both a charming village and of the fascinating archeological site about 2km away for which it is famous. The latter, set on a lush hillside, was inhabited continually from 7BC until its mysterious abandonment in the late 17th century. It has been carefully excavated to reveal Cyclopean (pre-Iberian) foundations and the remains of houses, water reservoirs and canalisation, and the main square resembles those of certain Greek settlements. There is a small but excellent archaeological museum in the 14th century Sant Andreu chapel. Here you can really see the impact of the Greeks on Iberian culture.
Ullastret village is a medieval precinct surrounded by three distinct lines of defensive walls. There’s a nice café with terrace in the main plaça. Look across the square for the dungeon in the NW corner tower. Continue reading
The Arribes del Duero is a stunning gorge separating Spain and Portugal. The gorge cuts through granite rock and runs some eighty kilometres, of which fifty run alongside the Portuguese border, with cliffs rising to more than 200 metres in places. The cliffs support superb birdlife including griffon vultures, golden eagles and black storks are overs. Boat trips starting at Fronteira de Zamora can be arranged. There are also several hydroelectricity dams along the river. Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno described Arribes del Duero as “One of the most beautiful and impressive landscapes in Spain.”
Arribes del Duero is also a natural park, covering 106.105 ha. Portuguese natural park lies alongside Arribes del Duero. Taking the two parks together, Douro Internacional covers 191.255 ha making it one of the largest protected areas in Europe.
La Cueva de los Murciélagos – The Bat Cave is a system of caves in Zuheros, Córdoba, and one of the largest in Andalucia. It is situated on the edges of the limestone Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park. The cave is famous for its rock paintings and archaeological remains dating from Neolithic times, and features beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations.
The Tejeda del Sueve in the Sierra de Sueve is probably the largest yew forest in Europe, and one of the oldest forests in the continent. There are some 8,000 yews, many of which are more than 1000 years old, covering some 80 hectars. El Mundo newspaper considered it one of the eight most important forests in Spain.
Spanish Civil War guided tours in Barcelona
Guided tour around Spain
Spanish natureTravelling around Spain on a scooter
Entertaining video from the Guardian here showing a woman travelling around rural Almeria on a Vespa scooter.
Best tapas bars in Palma de Mallora
The Guardian has this article on the best tapas bars and bodegas in Palma de Mallorca, home to an an impressive ranges of good eateries. I particularly liked the sound of Bodega Bellver:
Tucked up a side street around the corner from the theatre, Bellver is about as far away from Palma’s gleaming 21st- century tapas bars as it’s possible to imagine. Dark and shadowy, with shelves lined with dusty bottles and wine barrels, and rickety wooden tables scattered around the small space, it is steeped in history, atmosphere and the smell of spicy pork frying on the tiny grill beside the bar. Order up icy beers and pinchos and settle into a slice of unchanged Mallorquin life.
Trekking in the Sierra Nevada in June
I enjoyed this post on the iberianatureforum by Maria:
Outside the tapas bars of Lanjaron temperatures reached 30 degrees. 2500m above we donned our duvet jackets as an icy wind tore across the white snow filled plateau. Such are the contrasts this year in southern Spain’s Sierra Nevada, a legacy of the worst winter weather in living memory.
Read the original story here:
Travel guide to Osana
Good review of the county of Osana here from Barcelona writing.
On food of Osona
Pork and its by-products may be the most emblematic food of the county, but Osona has much else to offer gastronomes. The truffle (trufa), a black mushroom that grows underground and is highly prized, and a wide range of bolets (Catalan mushrooms) including pinetell, rovelló, rossinyol, cep and fredolic are found locally, as are the white beans (mongetes) of the Collsacabra Mountains, characterised by their small size. For dessert, the pa de pessic de Vic (sponge cake) is worth trying as are the regional cheeses, curds, honey and jam.
Teruel bat
Detail of modernist forge of the Staircase of the Paseo del Óvalo. The monumental staircase was built in 1921 to link the new railway station with the old part of the city. The work has modernist and neomudejar details. By SantiMB on Flickr
History and culture Notes from Spain