Walk along the Tamuja

The last time we did this walk it was in May, with lack of rain the cattle and sheep had eaten the sparse grass down to the earth, the scenery was dusty and brown with just a trickle in the river. 
Here in Extremadura the coming of the rain transforms the landscape almost within hours. With the sustained rainfall we have had spread over the last two months we knew the walk along the Tamuja would have been restored to a verdant paradise, a perfect example of the iconic Extremadura eco system at work.  And so it was, the river was brimming, lush green grass, Iberic pigs, cows and sheep grazing under the holm oaks, stunning.

 Our usual destination, an ancient watermill only added to the beauty of the environment, as usual it was all for us, not one other person in sight.At the mill we crossed the weir to walk back on the other bank to see different aspects of the scenery.

On our way home to the finca we stopped off, as usual, in Salvatierra de Santiago for lunch at the Bar Fé, our favourite place for many reasons.

Megalithic Sun Temple revealed as Extremadura reservoir waters recede

As waters at the Embalse de Valedecanas, outside Peraleda de la Mata in the Caceres province receded due to the current drought, a circle of megalithic standing stones emerged from the deep.
The stones, that date from the second and third millennium BC, form the site of a sun temple on the banks of the River Tagus and were last seen by locals six decades ago before the area was flooded during the Franco-era to create a reservoir.

Excited locals have been making trips out to view the stones that had formed a part of local legend.

The collection of 144 stones, some of which reach two metres high and have engravings of serpents, are arranged in circles, but like Stonehenge, it is unclear exactly who put them there and for what purpose.
The site would have been created over thousands of years, using granite transported from kilometres away.Similar to Stonehenge, they formed a sun temple and burial ground. They seemed to have a religious but also economic purpose, being at one of the few points of the river where it was possible to cross, so it was a sort of trading hub. The stones began to emerge from the receding waters earlier this summer and now stand on dry land, for now.
There has been no rain this summer, the drought and also a policy of extracting water to send to Portugal has combined to lower the water table and reveal the stones but that can all change very quickly once the autumn rains start.

There is a  group of local residents campaigning to move the stones to a site on dry land before the waters rise again and they are lost. They say “If we miss this chance it could be years before they are revealed again and the stones, which are granite and therefore porous, are already showing signs of erosion and cracking, so if we don't act now it could be too late.”
They hope that the regional government of Extremadura will step in to move the stones within weeks to a nearby site.

The Romans were the first to value the site which was then left neglected until Hugo Obermaier, a German priest and archaeologist enthusiast visited it in the 1920s. He excavated the site and took whatever treasures could be moved back to Germany where they are displayed in a museum in Munich.
The stones themselves were left in situ and disappeared beneath a reservoir when a dam was built in 1963.

We also visited a Roman site, Augustobriga, further along the shores of the lake. Originally the site of Augustobriga was further down by the banks of the Tajo river, it was moved stone by stone to its present site when the valley was flooded to make the reservoir unlike the fate of the menhirs.
 All that is left are some columns belonging to the temple of La Cilla, know locally as Los Marmoles even though the construction is of granite

A SPRING WALK IN THE CHESTNUT WOODS OF MONTANCHEZ

Lucy and I went on the magical walk 'Donde Nace'  8 kms walk through the woods and pastures of the sierra at their most magical now that we are at the peak of the wild spring flowers.
On the way there are fabulous views from the highest part of the sierra.
We see happy little pigs,contented sheep and the cascade that give the walk its name, donde nace means "where it is born" meaning the source of the water which then runs down the deep gorge to Arroyomolinos.
Finally back over the sierra to a splendid view of Montanchez and its Moorish castle with vineyards in the foreground just coming into leaf.
One of my favourite walks, mostly easy with a few steeper climbs, firm footpath and well signed with the blue arrows. At this time of the year the entire walk is accompanied by the fabulous trilling of nightingales.

THE MOST IDYLLIC PICNIC SPOT IN EXTREMADURA? CABAÑAS DEL CASTILLO, SIERRA DE VILLUERCAS

Approaching the village of Cabañas del Castillo with the Moorish tower, opposite is the abrupt rock known as La Peña Buitrera, rock of the vultures. Not only Griffon vultures frequent this area but black storks and various species of eagle.

    Steep climb from the village up to the castle rock but the path is secure and quite easy

    Eerie rock formations with amazing lichen colouring.

    Looking down on the other side of the castle rock down into the deep river valley

    Still climbing up through a narrow defile, rocky underfoot and full of slender young cork oaks.

 
    Finally reaching the top

 
     Rewarded by stunning views of the Sierra de Villuercas

 
     Looking back the way we came to the Peña de Buitrera. We explored on this side of the castle            tower and found the most heavenly spot for eating our picnic, perfect peace except for the cries of      the circling birds far up in the pristine sky.

 

     On the way back Lotti looks apprehensively at the iron bridge crossing between the rocks.
   

     Back down the steep path, we look down to the village and renovations of the moz-arabe church.

A bit of a scramble, walking sticks are useful. Back past the church, it was open, we had a quick look.        

   Very austere and not very characterful but with a pretty 17th century polichrome azulejo side altar

 

 Back down at the bottom in the village looking up at the bridge, we had to drag Lotti over in the end.

Autumn Oaks on Finca al-manzil

Changing colours on the finca where we have three different species of oak trees. 

Quercus Robur is the "English" oak which creates the dramatic golden splashes at this time of the year as the leaves become golden. 

Quercus Suber ,Cork oak and Quercus Ilex the Holm oak stay green all year. All the members of the Quercus family produce acorns but some are not fit for consumption by man or beast especially Quercus Robur which can be fatal for horses, it gives them terrible colic. Fortunately our finca is covered with Holm and Cork oak which produce huge quantities of edible acorns much appreciated by our horses and donkeys. Not so long ago the acorns were gathered for human consumption too. We have tried them, very similar to chestnuts when roasted and go very well with jamon which is not surprising as the wonderful jamon of Montanchez is produced from Iberic pigs exclusively fattened with acorns in the vast dehesas of our area.

THE CRANES ARE BACK!

 1 hour from Finca al-manzil

Each winter, starting at the beginning of November and continuing until late February thousands of Common Crane (grus grus) decend upon Extremadura from their breeding grounds in Northern Europe. At the peak of their migration there are up to 20,000 between 15 December – 15 January. There are two specific areas where they arrive. One is South of Badajoz and the other is Dehesa Moheda Alta South of Gudalupe within the irrigation system of the Guadiana river near Obando. There are hundreds of hectares of rice fields nearby as well as arable land and huge areas of dehesa covered with cork oak and holm oak both laden with ripe acorns that start to fall at this time of the year. These are ideal conditions for the cranes, they gorge on acorns, insects and herbs in the dehesa and grains of rice and corn left after harvest in the fields. It’s a wonderful sight to see these huge birds crowned with a startling red crest grazing amongst the trees together with the chubby iberic black pigs who have free range of the dehesa for fattening purposes. They form large separate groups of several hundred birds, however, family groups of adults and the current year’s chicks, one to three, can be seen grazing by themselves. All very fascinating, the cranes are quite content to graze within a short distance of passing walkers. There are two observation towers in the area which give an even better viewpoint.

A REMINDER OF WHY WE LIVE IN EXTREMADURA

The Christian armies fought a long, hard campaigne against the Moors, slowly gaining territory on their way south during the early 13th century finally crossing the Douro into the land that became known as Extremadura, liturally the land beyond the Douro. Most of the Extremadura was under Christian rule by the middle of the 13th century , the very last stronghold of the Moors was Granada which held out until 1492.
Extremadura was far from the sea and was always known as wild and remote area, fortunately it escaped much development and today is the largest "green" area, together with the adjoining Alentejo in Portugal, in Western Europe.


a face appears ........ peaks of Sierra de Montanchez


Monfragüe in the Tajo gorge has a colony of griffon vultures, the Iberian lynx is still a resident in these parts, hawks and other birds of prey abound. Wildflowers are a delight in the extended Spring from February to May. The Sierra de Gata in the north, the Sierra de Guadalupe in the centre, Sierra de Montanchez , the plains between Caceres and Trujillo and the country of the south-west around Jerez de los Caballeros all are refuges for flora and fauna.

typical spring flowers and ride on Finca al-manzil

Extremadura is cattle country, with fighting bulls and the local Retinta

breed grazing the gentler lands. Black Iberian pigs roam the vast woodlands known as dehesa gorging on the acorns of holm and cork oak which help to create the flavour of some of the finest jamon in Spain, especially from the mountain town of Montanchez. The river valleys, notably the Tiétar, Tajo and Guadiana, are well-irrigated provide a varied array of fruit and vegetables including apricots, cherries, peppers and tobacco. South of Merida is the Tierra de Barros a vast area of red clay soil which produces excellent white and red wine. There is virtually no industry which is not based on agriculture. The area around Finca al-manzil is a mixture of dehesa, rich olive groves, fig groves and the special flora and fauna of the sierra . An amazing array of wildflowers and herbs grow amongst the huge granite boulders of the sierra, ancient paths from Moorish times make the sierra easy to explore, a delight in the wilder parts and also giving access to the well tended olive and fig groves and vineyards which are an important part of the local economy. The views from anywhere on the sierra are breathtaking..............

a walk in the sierra..........

History and architecture are as rewarding as the landscape. Before the Visigoths and Moors this was a major Roman colony with Mérida, Augusta Emerita, serving as capital of the western province of Lusitania. Today it is a UNESCO site because of the extensive Roman archaeological remains including the stupendous Roman theatre still used today for the famous classical theatre festival held every summer.

Above all, this is conquistador country. An astonishing proportion of the leaders of the rough bands which savagely conquered South and Central America in the names of king , queen and Christianity came from Extremadura e.g. Pizarro

and Cortes. Trujillo and Cáceres are well known for the rich monumental palaces built by conquistadors returning with their ill-gotten gains. Both have the most carefully preserved old city centres with buildings from Moorish, medieval and renaissance times.

The spiritual centre was, and remains, the shrine of Guadalupe. Here a rich and beautiful Hieronymite monastery grew up, with swirling Moorish-Gothic tracery all in honour of the diminutive black Madonna , the Virgin de Guadalupe. The first Aztecs brought back from the new world were baptised here. There is a marvellous collection of paintings by Zubaran. The little mountain town which formed beneath the monastery is balconied and full of geraniums, one element of a varied architecture which is a particular Extremeñan pleasure.

A marvellously atmospheric place is Yuste, the monastery to which the Emperor Charles V, gout-ridden and exhausted, retired to die. He chose it, he said, because of its climate of continual springtime.
In its deep rurality and wonderful ancient cities Extremadura is a place that has a million secrets to discover...........