MARVAO AGAIN

Just 90 minutes from Finca al-manzil is the magical village of Marvao just over the border to Portugal.  Several places for a delicious lunch and endless fascination walking around this completely walled medieval village.

HOW WE CUT THE GRASS AT FINCA AL-MANZIL........

ANOTHER PEACEFUL MORNING AT FINCA AL-MANZIL

CHRISTMAS PICNIC AT THE OLIVE GROVE

We are having the most heavenly weather, blue,blue skies and perfect weather for walking so on Christmas morning we hiked up to La Preciosa our remote olive grove, well equipped with delicious picnic and champagne, yes, the real stuff instead of cava for once.
 Lovely views from up there and a special stillness, no sound from the outside world, just bird song. Started to get chilly at about 4ish so headed back to finca for on- going backgammon contest and settling in for yet more food, ah the joys of Christmas, no family this year, just us, we seem to be surviving!

WINTER SOLSTICE VISIT TO GEOPARQUE DE VILLUERCAS IBORES JARA - CAÑAMERO

We set off on a misty morning in Montanchez. The mist was still swirling around when we reached Cañamero over one hour later. In fact this added to the mysterious atmosphere of the canyon on the Ruecas river near Cañamero. We started off from the interpretation centre De la Zepa y Valle del Guadarranque, completely deserted and obviously not used for some time, a pity. It's in a fabulous position above the canyon and is a very pleasing modern design built with natural stone,slate and sliding iron doors.

 Spot the Weimaraners....Lottie is not so easy to disguise.
The path down to the gorge is through thick pine woods, later on I collected a big basket of pine cones for pretty and effective fire lighters.

The mist starts to lift and sun shines through.  We made a detour to visit the Cueva Chiquita which has several pre- historic paintings still in good condition

 Down to the Ruecas river again, there is a bridge to the other side where the walk to Guadalupe starts, Ruta de Catarina Catolica. The walk continues until the wall of the dam and back to the interpretation centre.  Very easy walk, a bit too close to the village and a little municipal with all the railings and benches etc. but still impressive nature. Must do the Guadalupe walk one day with more time, it's 13 kms.
Our next stop was in Berzocana, a village below a mighty ridge of the Villuercas, we knew a good spot for Medronho berries and I wanted some for Christmas decorations, so seasonal with the vivid red berries, the wild strawberry tree. Patridge and Quail eat the berries as they drop on the ground, they are already starting to ferment so local hunters have easy pickings with totally sloshed birds tottering around.  The fruit is made into the most divine aquadente .

There is a small botanical garden nearby, sadly neglected, yet another project funded by the EU which has not developed. Lovely iron sculpture at the entrance, now wonderfully rusty.

Time to go home, sun setting rapidly, Winter Solstice! The valley was filling up with mist again, amazing effect, looks like an arctic snowscape. A good thought that the days will get a little longer everyday from now on.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND THANKS TO ALL OUR LOVELY VISITORS, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Thanks for following the blog!

It give me a lot of pleasure to share our experiences and photos with you and do hope you will find some great hints and guides not only in Spain but also on our trips to Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Turkey and Portugal.
We have been living in Extremadura for 11 years now and  still discovering hidden gems; a village, a walk, a building, a recipe, a view. Lots more coming up in 2015.

You could also check the new site for the other houses belonging to friends which are available for renting in our special little area of the sierra www.extremadura-rural-retreats.com 
I am adding new information and photos throughout the year.

If you are interested in cooking you could consider one of our cooking holidays 4 - 7 nights either at Finca al-manzil or at the wonderful Palacio de Piedras Albas in Trujillo.
Check here for more details www.cooking-extremadura.blogspot.com  and Responsible Travel
http://www.responsibletravel.com/holiday/6750/cooking-holiday-extremadura

Our walking holidays have grown and flourished and now have quite some acclaim.
You can check them on the Responsible Travel site here  http://www.responsibletravel.com/holiday/11896/extremadura-walking-holiday-spain

Finally please spread the word and add the blog to your facebook page or in any other ways that are possible in these miraculously technical times, it would be most appreciated.

Hope you will be among our visitors in 2015, please contact me at any time  with  questions or comments. finca_al_manzil@yahoo.com 
Saludos ! Pippa and Manfred.

BOOK TOWERS OF MERIDA, EXTREMADURA

Las Siete Sillas ( the seven seats), are situated in the gardens in front of the library by the river in Merida. 

These massive granite towers are furnished with giant bronze tomes and sheaves of bronze documents, heavy reads indeed!

The monolithic sculptures are by Ruffino Mesa, a sculptor, artist and writer born in Badajoz in 1948 http://www.lacomella.org/es/escultura/escultura  for more information on his marvellous works.

The inspirtion for Las siete sillas was from the legend of the seven seats at the Roman theatre in the ancient city of Merida. The theatre was left abandoned after the Christian powers overcame the Roman administration in about 400 AD. The pagan Roman ways were swept away and theatre performances were considered a danger to the new morals. Over the centuries the theatre construction was buried by earth and much of the stone looted for new construction but seven rocks remained above the ruins, named the seven seats and according to legend where the Moorish conquerers sat to discuss the future of the city at the end of the 9th century.

The sculptures were started in 1990 and erected in 2000, in the video it is clear that the now pleasant and extensive green gardens by the river were a barren waste in 2000.  Thanks to progressive town planning several urban projects were began 15 years ago including much tree planting and some iconic buildings and structures by prestigious Spanish architects, the span of Calatrava's signature bridge can be seen in the background .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Calatrava 
A walk along the river is really interesting, park on the west side of the river in new Merida and walk over the 2000 year old Roman bridge into the old town passing by the Alcazaba.