Two Go Back to Spain

[Viennese]

@bobandjanie - yes, Segovia, where you found me with my secret (from you!) lover! 13 years now Janie, I shan't be sending him back!

@DBK - I am quite easy to bump into really. We will be going down to Cornwall in June - will you be back then?

XX

 

[DBK]

@bobandjanie ...will be going down to Cornwall in June - will you be back then?

XX

Sadly no, we are not back until 6th July.

 

[Anthea M]

We visited the Valle del Los Caidos at the end of yesterday - it's free between five and six if you show your passport . The name translates as "Valley of the Fallen" and is either a memorial to the dead of the Civil War or Franco's equivalent of the Great Pyramid of Cheops depending on your point of view.

You can get a feel for the controversy over the place in these references, plus of course many others available about the place.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_de_los_Caídos
https://www.independent.co.uk/trave...cist-dictator-spanish-civil-war-a7652841.html

But whatever your views there is no denying it is a spectacular monument. To get an idea of the scale look at the trees to the left of the base of the cross.

View attachment 226190

The cross is 150m (500 ft) high and is made of stone. A lift and staircase go to the top but these are not open to the public.

There are two main sites, the monastery side, where the photograph above was taken and the basilica side where Franco's tomb is. The sun was perfect for taking pictures of the cross from the monastery but from the basilica side the sun was directly behind the cross. Literally in fact because it cast a shadow on the parade ground in front of the basilica.

View attachment 226191

And if you stand in the shadow you can experience your own private solar eclipse.

View attachment 226192

We didn't go into the basilica.

The circle round the cross does look amazing.

 

[DBK]

After our visit to the Valley of the Fallen we stayed one night at the nearby Camping El Escorial then the next morning we drove a few kilometres to see the place the site is named from.

You wouldn't think finding the monumental palace of Philip II would be hard but the signage to it was as minimalistic as Philip was in his private life.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Escorial

The complication is the palace is in a big town also called El Escorial so I was thrown at first until I remembered the full name of the palace is San Lorenzo de El Escorial and there were signs which just said "San Lorenzo" and these were the ones to follow. Until you get close and they stop to be replaced by signs saying just "Monastario".

I only wanted to see the palace and get a photograph but the road system was wierd and the only parking I could see at first was underground. In desperation I took the road to Avila and found a row of metered bays where I parked (FLT'd) for a few minutes.

The palace is huge but Philip II only lived in a few small rooms from where he issued the orders for the sailing of the Armada and invasion of England - a plan mostly thwarted by the lack of long term weather forecasting skills at the time.

We are now having a couple of days in Toledo. We weren't going to stop here but after leaving El Escorial I reminded myself we weren't in a hurry. We are staying at Camping El Greco, where we stayed before, but it is no longer ACSI and has put its prices up accordingly. So we will move on tomorrow after doing the laundry this afternoon.

But we haven't been completely idol and went for a walk around the city this morning.

It took us just over two hours, following the path beside the river then returning on a route along the city walls. There is of course a huge amount to see in Toledo but today we just wanted to stretch our legs. On our previous visit here I saw a Night Heron by the river and today I saw two! The first was flying down the river but the second stopped for a while before it too flew off.

We ended the walk by the Puente de San Martin which now has a zip wire running parallel to it.

I don't think screaming is obligatory but everyone we watched going down it did.

In the shot below the lady above is somewhere in the middle of the photograph.

I spent the afternoon doing a little gentle bird watching. A pair of tree sparrows were building a nest in a hole in a tree near our van and after glimpsing what I thought might be a bee-eater I found a bank full of holes where they will no doubt breed in the coming weeks. Then while watching a bee-eater on a branch I saw it disgourge what looked like a pellet. A bit of Googling confirmed they do produce pellets of the indigestible parts of their prey. Every day a learning experience.

 

[DBK]

Before we left Toledo we drove first to the Mirador on the south side of the river. The route up there is marked by signs with a picture of a camera and we picked them up from the first junction east of the Puente de San Martin.

I took a series of photographs and will try and stitch them together into a panoramic shot when we get back home but here is the right hand one.

The big "four poster" building on the hill is the Alcazar.

Driving south we took a short detour to see the castle at Almonacid which is sited on top of a conical hill. Sadly the sun was directly behind it and it would have been a steep walk to reach it so we drove on to the touristy but still attractive windmills and castle at Consuegra.
@Lenny HB was here only a few days ago and covered it in his thread very well. So to avoid duplication here are just a couple of snaps.

Senora DBK in blue in the last one.

This was ironic. A group from the Netherlands visiting windmills.

Our main objective for today was the Tablas de Damiel wetlands. You can overnight here which we are going to do but there are no facilities. There are toilets open during the day but the water is not for drinking according to signs and the toilets on this busy Sunday were a bit unpleasant - as observed from a distance.

But we came here for the birds!

The duck furtherest away is a Ferruginous duck. The middle one a Pochard. The nearest is possibly a female Ferruginous but the Pochard was still interested and they do interbreed.

You have to agree God has a sense of humour. A Ruddy duck. So called because when asked they reply: " Who the **** gave me this ruddy blue hooter?"

Red Crested Pochard nearest the camera and a Shoveller furtherest away - and a Swallow.

Red Crested Pochard showing off white wings.

But the star of the afternoon was this.

And it was building a nest.

A first for me - a male Penduline Tit which build an extraordinary nest hanging from the tip of a slender branch out of the feathery seeds of bullrushes and other plants with similar seeds.

If I can get up early enough tomorrow we will explore some more.

N.B. As normal all bird identifications are provisional. Feel free to make corrections.

P.S. We also saw a male Marsh Harrier.

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[jumartoo]

Look out for the resident fox, although its probably long gone now.

 

[DBK]

Look out for the resident fox, although its probably long gone now.

Bit too busy tonight too I think. There must have been over a hundred cars parked here this afternoon plus a couple of buses. Almost all gone now and just about 8 MHs left. Us and two from the Netherlands. The rest Spanish.

 

[DBK]

Now listening to a Scops Owl. Very distinctive "tyuh" sound repeated every couple of seconds or so. The YouTube link below should help because I bet a lot of other Funsters have heard this sound at night but perhaps not recognised it.



On a more sour note just spotted a tick walking across Charlie's coat.

 

[DBK]

Before I forget, as I use these posts as a diary (and I will forget if I don't write it down) in the rough ground beside the field where you can park up at the Tablas de Damiel there were a lot of quail. I didn't see any as they are professional skulkers but they have a very distinctive call, usually described as "wet-me-lips". If you try to approach the sound the bird will fall silent and another will start up twenty feet away.

There were also a lot of corn buntings and these are easy to spot as they liked perching on the top of small scrubby bushes. Fairly nondescript to look at they have a heavy bill and viewed from the front a sort of necklace hanging under the bill.

In the bushes around the edges of the reeds there were a lot of nightingales. Another nondescript bird in appearance, mostly a smooth brown back with a hint of chestnut in the tail. We watched one singing just fifteen feet away and not a Berkley Square in sight.

I can recommend a night at the Tablas, more if you have the cassette and fluid capacities but don't go on a Sunday as we did. It gets busy.

Continuing the "days of the week" theme we made another diurnal error today. The plan was to visit the Calatrava la Nueva castle and monestry. Well, if you are going to see a castle it might as well be a big one.

The road up to the castle is steep and mostly stones or cobbles. Near the top at the steepest bit they have added cement. This shot looking down from just below the castle shows the smoothest bit of road there was but it is very steep. First gear and brakes needed going down on this bit.

The road is mostly single track with a few passing places. I would avoid weekends if you want to visit in a MH and the ideal day to avoid traffic on the steep road is Monday.

The castle is closed on Mondays.

But it made a nice spot for lunch. This is what you can see of the castle from the car park.

On the opposite of the valley are the remains of a Moorish frontier fort captured in the 12th century.

We are slowly making our way to Cordoba but probably won't reach it until Wednesday. We have only been in Spain for a week so far. We must slow down!

 

[WSandME]

We visited the Valle del Los Caidos

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43864116

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[WSandME]

Now listening to a Scops Owl. Very distinctive "tyuh" sound repeated every couple of seconds or so.

We first heard them a few years back in Croatia. I was about to complain to the site management about lorries reversing all night Google saved my embarrassment.
Since them, we seem to hear them all the time!

 

[DBK]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43864116

Very interesting - many thanks.
@matamoros may be interested too.

 

[WSandME]

By the way, we just arrived at Ainsa, after visiting St Lorenço de Morunys

(I tried to upload a photo - uploaded it all, then MHF tells me "too big" )

 

[DBK]

By the way, we just arrived at Ainsa, after visiting St Lorenço de Morunys

(I tried to upload a photo - uploaded it all, then MHF tells me "too big" )

The campsite at the end of the valley there is in a striking location but I fear the weather forecast may be poor for the Pyrenees - it's decidedly cool here in central Spain at the moment with occasional rain.

I have used "photo & picture resizer" to reduce images. I've put the name in inverted commas because if you search for resizing apps there are millions but enter what is in between the inverted commas and you should find it. It uses a logo of a blue square with two arrows. It is very good and can even handle RAW files and output a jpg. I tried several before deciding this was the best for me.

 

[WSandME]

The campsite at the end of the valley there is in a striking location but I fear the weather forecast may be poor for the Pyrenees - it's decidedly cool here in central Spain at the moment with occasional rain.

We're staying at the camperstop aire (carpark) at the old town. It has rained today, and has been a little chilly, but as I write, the sky is clear and we're hoping for better tomorrow.
We have the best part of three months available, but just looking at the places to see around here will take much more than that!
Re. the re-sizer, I'm au fait with those, it's just that I had a rather nice HD panorama shot to exhibit Also, I wonder what the actual limit is - I'd be miffed if I re-sized and it still failed

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[DBK]

We're staying at the camperstop aire (carpark) at the old town. It has rained today, and has been a little chilly, but as I write, the sky is clear and we're hoping for better tomorrow.
We have the best part of three months available, but just looking at the places to see around here will take much more than that!
Re. the re-sizer, I'm au fait with those, it's just that I had a rather nice HD panorama shot to exhibit Also, I wonder what the actual limit is - I'd be miffed if I re-sized and it still failed

I think the limit is 10Mb from memory - but I could be wrong!

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

On a more sour note just spotted a tick walking across Charlie's coat

Just out of interest as Charlie is a well travelled mutt have you had much trouble with ticks?
Does he take tablets and have a tick collar?

 

[DBK]

Just out of interest as Charlie is a well travelled mutt have you had much trouble with ticks?
Does he take tablets and have a tick collar?

We use Advantix once a month and haven't had any problems and we also brush him every day. We used a Scalibor collar for one trip as well as Advantix but I wasn't sure if we were over-dosing him so we don't use one now but I think the collars are a good alternative. But not both at the same time I think. Advantix contains a pretty powerful insecticide (imidocloprid) the stuff linked to bee problems. The collars likewise from memory.

 

[gus-lopez]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43864116

Yes the families of the four men won a court battle last week.

 

[DBK]

We are staying at Camping Despeñaperros in St Elena for a couple of nights. We would have preferred an aire but reasonable ones with services are scarce around this part of Spain.

This morning we went for a walk from the site along a track through pine woods.

The trees are well scattered which has encouraged plenty of flowers to grow in the clearings. This I think is Frittileria lusitanica but I'm not 100% sure.

The next one threw me completely but the gimlet-eyed @Mrs DBK recognised it as a tulip but because it wasn't really open it wasn't sticking straight up like a tulip should. So when I looked in the book I couldn't see anything resembling it but Mrs DBK read the description and when in bud the flower is nodding, which these ones were. It is either the Wild Tulip Tulips sylvestris or the ssp Australis but this isn't easy to determine until the flower is fully open and virtually all were still in bud except for this one.

We could also see the remains of many wild daffodils which had now finished flowering. Their flowers had probably been no bigger than snowdrops when they had been open. There are a few different types but they were well over so I couldn't identify them.

But a few orchids were in bloom. This is the Loose flowered I think.

And it's opposite, so to speak and one I've not seen before - the Dense flowered orchid.

And another new one. The Pink Butterfly orchid.

But it wasn't all flowers. These remarkable creatures were hard to miss.

Red-striped Oil beetles which can grow up to 6cm long. A female in front being followed by the slightly smaller male. You often see a similar but smaller beetle in the UK which lacks the red stripes and lives as a larva in an ant nest. The Red-striped version is brought up by bumble bees. The larva after hatching from the egg climb up to a flower and wait for a suitable bee to arrive. They then grab the bee and are hopefully carried back to its nest where they grow by consuming the food meant for the bee's own larva. They are also known as the Blister beetle because when alarmed they exude a liquid which can cause blisters.

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[DBK]

I found a grove with the tulips fully open this afternoon. They don't look like a typical garden tulip but a tulip it is.

I'm now reasonably sure it is Tulipa Silvestris ssp. australis because of the short anthers and orange tinge to the back of the sepals.

Just thought I would put this mystery to bed in case it was keeping anyone awake.

 

[tboy]

oil beetle in england the same life cycle with bees, spring time use mineing bees

 

[DBK]

oil beetle in england the same life cycle with bees, spring time use mineing bees

Thanks for that. I was already having doubts about what I said. I must use Google more often and not rely on my memory!!

 

[DBK]

Before we left Santa Elena we made a quick visit to the "Battalla de Las Navas de Tolosa" museum. This is an imposing modern building centered around the battle in 1212 which was as I understand it the first major victory by the Christians over the Moors and which started the Reconquest - or the Conquest depending on your point of view.

It is an odd museum given it's theme as it has a lot about events leading up to the battle including a video in English and displays of the sort of armour each side might have worn.

But what it lacked completely was any description of the battle. I was expected at least a model or drawing showing the gorge where the battle took place but there was nothing. I can only assume they know there was a battle but have little evidence of what happened.

Our destination today was Cordoba but to get there we had to pass Andujar which has a Roman bridge. But unlike Santa Elena they don't make a big thing of their history. Driving into the town I was hoping for signs to the "Puente Romano". Zippo - so we stopped outside a Lidls and after a quick shop (who can resist a cut price power washer, this week's star bargain?) I found the bridge using Google maps. It is well hidden and from the direction we approached well guarded by industrial units.

In the second picture there are two interesting construction features. Like the Roman aquaduct at Segovia all the stones have a mark in the centre of each face. These were for the grips used to lift them. The second feature are the steps or ledges cut into the bottom of each arch. These must have been used to support the wooden former during the construction of each arch. Amazingly, the bridge is still in use today for traffic with no weight restrictions and we used it to return to the motorway. Taking this route revealed the best viewing points for the bridge are from the south west and are best reached from the western junction with the motorway, not the eastern one we used.

Another hour or so brought us to Cordoba and the heaviest traffic experienced so far on this trip. We aimed for the "Parque Centro Historico" (CC 10741) which is about twenty minutes walk from the major historical sites. The aire is a bit sloping but we have managed to get fairly level and no one seems to mind about using blocks or sitting outside. A council employee came around noting registration numbers and wasn't troubled. I am not sure what he was recording them for as you can't escape without paying your €12 at the parking machine to get the barrier to open. Water is an optional €2.

We are hear to see the Mezquita, which is just the Spanish word for mosque but has become synonymous with this building.

On the way to the Mezquita we passed some of the old city walls.

And (another) Roman bridge.

Which is next to a curious waterwheel used I guess to lift water up to the city.

Then on to the Mezquita. I haven't got a photograph of the outside but imagine a typical rectangular supermarket with a flat roof and you will get the idea.

But your typical supermarket doesn't have a "Patio de los Naranjos" where the worshippers did their ritual bathing before entering the mosque.

The orange trees were in blossom and the scent from them strong and not confined to just the Patio, the whole historical quarter was heavy with orange blossom scent.

The tall building in the background is the bell tower, built around 1600 on the site of the original minaret. Which fact usefully illustrates this was originally an Islamic building taken over by the Christians.

Here are a few shots of the inside. Firstly one taken near the entrance which shows the typical arch and pillar construction. The pillars were second hand. Taken from Roman buildings conveniently to hand.

There are over 850 columns and the colours on the arches are not painted on, they just reflect the materials used.

The photograph above shows how the Christian stuff is blended into the Islamic.

In the middle of the mosque they built a cathedral with a bling altar.

The roof is well done.

But the Christians didn't destroy the mosque. The Mihrad where the immam stood remains and is impressive.

The Mezquita is an extraordinary place. Much bigger than I expected.

 

[DBK]

I probably won't be posting a lot for the next few days as we going to chill out at Camping Cabo de Gata until at least Monday.

Leaving Cordoba two days ago was frustrating as I did my usual trick of forgetting to take my binoculars when I gave Charlie his first walk of the day. We were staying on an aire near the historical part of the town and next to a park. As I walked amongst the trees I saw a bird flying in a very distinctive manner. It was brown with both long thin wings and tail. It flew in a way I can only describe as "languid" - which is probably of no help at all in helping imaging how it was flying but this is the best word I can think of. It was just gliding through the trees on its long wings with hardly a wing beat to keep it afloat. Then suddenly it just flopped onto the ground. And "flopped" is also the only word I can think of to describe how it landed. One moment it was gliding in horizontal flight and then it suddenly rolled and seemed for a second to be flying directly into the ground. At the last minute it rolled again and was suddenly sitting motionless on the ground. During this manoeuvre I caught a glimpse of the upper surface of its wings and was able to confirm what I was already suspecting. The bird had a pale patch at the end of each wing which taken with the overall shape and colour of the bird meant only one thing - a Nightjar!

But which one? There are two, it could have been the ordinary Nightjar or the Red-Necked Nightjar. If I had been able to get a good look at it through binoculars while it was on the ground I might have been able to tell which but I'm not sure. They look very similar. I suspect the bird was still in migration as an urban park isn't their favoured haunt I think and they normally rest up during daylight.

I've only seen a Nightjar once before and that was by headlights in the jungle of Belize. It did the same swoop and flop onto the ground, displaying the white spots on the top of the wing tips.

Perhaps because of its nocturnal lifestyle the bird has attracted a fair amount of superstition and legend. In some parts of Europe they are known as a "goatsucker" as they were believed to feed from goats as they were often seen near livestock. In these less fanciful and more boring times we now know the birds are attracted to the insects around the farm animals. A more interesting legend originates from New England where folklaw held them (known as Whippoorwills in the US) as psychopomps who wait for the dying and try to catch their fleeing souls. This legend probably originates from an older North American belief that the birds were a death omen. H P Lovecraft makes several references to this belief in his superb short story "The Dunwich Horror" - a tale (and author) I unreservedly recommend.

Two days later and still alive I think I can say I've cheated Death although one of my ankles is a bit swollen and sore. Perhaps it was for the better I didn't have my glasses with me and get too close a look at this ominous ornithological visitor from Africa.

But then again within minutes of watching the dissapearing Nightjar I needed the missing binoculars for a second time! A very distinctive male Pied Flycatcher was sitting on a branch near by. Of course there is an Iberian sub-species it might have been instead but I doubt I could have spotted the slender differences between this and the Pied Flycatcher even with my binoculars so I'm happy to put it down as the normal version.

After a night at the Alta de Viñuelas campsite near Beas de Granada (CC54128 and ACSI) which has good views of the Sierra Nevada but limited dog walking) we drove to Camping Cabo de Gata. This is a bit isolated from anywhere and it is a good kilometre walk to the beach but there is an interesting lagoon (the Rambla Morales) nearby where I watched Ruddy Ducks this afternoon. I also watched a tern hunting over the scrub. Another new species for me - a Gull Billed Tern and fairly easy to identify as it is the only tern (I think!) with a tail uniform grey on the upper side plus it had the black cap and black trailing edges to the wings. On the beach end of the lagoon were a small group of potentially interesting looking gulls. I shall return there tomorrow!

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[icantremember]

There is a clearing near us in Thetford Forest where we have seen and heard the distinctive churring Nightjars flying just after dusk.

This clearing is very close to the Thetford Forest CC site.

 

[rb62]

Brilliant as ever,must try and keep up now!

 

[jumartoo]

We get the Red Necked variety here. I only know that because of their call. I first thought it was someone's burglar alarm going off!

They used to "nest" on the upper part of what is now the camperstop so they've had to find a new place .

 

[WSandME]

We have just overnighted at Chinchilla de Monte Aragon. We were surprised and confused by the amount and variety of birdsong all through the night. I have no idea on how to go about trying to identify the calls. I am aware that there are night-singing birds and also aware that normally day-singing birds can get out-of-sync due to incessant artificial lighting.

 

[DBK]

We have just overnighted at Chinchilla de Monte Aragon. We were surprised and confused by the amount and variety of birdsong all through the night. I have no idea on how to go about trying to identify the calls. I am aware that there are night-singing birds and also aware that normally day-singing birds can get out-of-sync due to incessant artificial lighting.

I think there is a lot of bird song at the moment as it is "that time of the year". We are surrounded by house sparrows at the moment and the males are constantly displaying and calling to attract mates.

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