Lori's Travels

Sunday morning after breakfast, birding guide Pau Lucio picked me and 5 other Anglos up from our Madrid hotels. We 6 birders are a couple from Scotland, a British man who now lives near Valencia, an American couple from Ohio, and me. We took off in a van toward the region of Extremadura in southwest Spain.

It was another beautiful day, sunny and warm. We ate a picnic lunch that Pau had brought at some tables at a small park near the dam. Then we drove closer to Trujillo, where we would stay overnight, and birded the steppe and fields near Belen.

Around 5:00, we reached our lodgings, Las Canteras, a family-run country lodge (casa rural). Its on a hill overlooking a very large plain. There are about 25 nesting pairs of storks on the property. And it’s very quiet!

We had about 90 minutes to settle into our rooms, look around, and get ready for dinner. Dinner was in the town of Trujillo, about 15 minutes away by car. We parked in town and walked to the town square. There’s a statue of Pizarro in the square, since he came from there. After a few photos, we walked another 10 minutes through the old town to a restaurant, where we were seated toghether in the banquet room about 7:30. We had our choices of tapas plus 3 courses, and of course wine was on the table. I chose migas, a traditional dish, cod fish in a nice sauce, and creme caramel for dessert. It was all delicious. We finished about 10 p.m. and walked back to the car, then returned to our lodge by 10:45 or so.

Here are a few pictures.

We saw more than 50 species of birds yesterday, tallied up at dinnertime.

Today’s (Monday) birding was very good too. Another sunny day. We had breakfast in the lodge at 7:30 a.m. and then left soon after to go to another steppe area about 45 minutes away. Today we saw the hoopoe, an orange and black strange-looking bird. We birded around a dam again, and saw many more species. 

Tonight, and our remaining nights at Trujillo, we’ll eat at the same restaurant in town.

I may not post to the blog tomorrow, since it will likely be very similar to the last two days.

 

 

 

 

It was sunny and cold again this morning. After waking up at 7:30 and showering in my tiny bathroom, I went to the hotel’s breakfast room. My room is in a separate building from the hotel front desk and breakfast room, so I experienced the cold morning firsthand as I walked next door. As usual, it was a buffet style breakfast, so I filled up on my choice of fruit, pastries, yogurt, and juice, with a hard-boiled egg added in for extra mileage. The hotel is in a residential neighborhood that’s next to the expressway. This is what my 1-minute walk to breakfast looked like.

Around 9:15, I set out to the subway station to go into central Madrid again. My plans for part 2 of my Madrid sightseeing included the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, and San Miguel Market. I found the Royal Palace first.

Then I walked through the Plaza Mayor, where a Chinese dragon dance was taking place on the other side of some white tents and barriers.

I also found the San Miguel Market, which is a restored indoor market that specializes in selling beautifully made tapas and desserts.

Then I walked by the Prado Museum. If I were an art lover, I might have waited in the very, very long line to get in, but it wasn’t worth it to me. Instead I went next door to the Royal Botanical Gardens, walked right up to the admission window, paid 4 euros and walked in. It’s a large garden that is mostly dormant since it’s still winter. But they also have many bonsai on display that are really striking.

I saw a couple new birds in the garden too, including a robin (which doesn’t look like ours) and a Eurasian blackbird. After more than an hour enjoying the garden, I emerged to find lunch. It was only 1 p.m., so still early for Spaniards. I went into a family-style restaurant called VIPS, which was nothing fancy. But I was seated right away and enjoyed a beer plus an avocado and chicken burger. When I left about 45 minutes later, there was a waiting line out the door.

My feet were getting tired, so I walked to the nearest subway station to return to the hotel, found the station was closed for renovation and had to walk a few blocks further to find an open one. But I also found an ATM along the way, plus a store that could sell me a big bottle of water, two things I needed. The water in the hotel tastes terrible, but the air is so dry, I need to drink a lot to keep moderately hydrated.

Tonight I pack again and get ready for my birding trip start tomorrow morning.

After yesterday’s great presentations by all the Spaniards and a delicious paella dinner at 9:00, we were treated to a performance by Vaughan emcee Pete after dinner. He concocted a powerful drink for the group from fruit, coffee beans, and Spanish orujo blanco, which is brandy that’s 40% alcohol. Then he set it on fire for a while, creating quite a spectacle. It evidently reduces the alcohol somewhat and blends the flavors. Although I just drank a tiny bit because it was so powerful, it tasted good. Then, many of the group (including me) went to the nearby bar, Massimo’s, for a celebration. I just stayed for one drink and then headed back to my room to get to sleep by 12:30.

This morning after breakfast, we checked out of our rooms and had the final two hours of one-on-ones. At noon was the completion ceremony, with everyone receiving Vaughan certificates. The Anglo volunteers additionally received nice key rings. Then it was time for tapas and goodbyes. It’s a little sad to leave the people you’ve talked to and learned so much about over the past few days. Several of the Spaniards left to drive home around 2:00, while the remainder waited for the bus to arrive at 2:30 to take us back to Madrid.

Arriving in Madrid about 5:00, I collected my bags, said more goodbyes, and walked to the subway. It was amazingly warm – probably 70 degrees – and lots of people were on the street after work, probably going to tapas or home. The subway ride to my next hotel went smoothly. After spending a few minutes walking around getting oriented after coming up from the subway station, I walked 10 minutes to my new hotel.

This hotel, not too far from the Madrid airport and next to an expressway, is new and inexpensive. Also it has tiny rooms, so it’s a jolting change from Belmonte.

 It’s time to plan my second day of sightseeing in Madrid for tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Another hour of free time this morning allowed me to walk up to the nearby windmills. They have been restored from the originals and look quite good from the outside. However, they are locked so you can’t enter.

 

I brought my binoculars along to do some birdwatching and saw a handful of new birds flitting around the nearby fields. Using the Merlin app, I was able to identify them as a Eurasian linnet, European goldfinch, and Calandra lark. But you’ll just have to trust me on those identifications since I don’t have enough skill to take photos of them.

This afternoon at 5 p.m., the Spaniards each have to give a presentation on a topic they were given. They’re nervous about presenting in English, of course, and many of them are using their siesta time to practice. I imagine that we’ll all probably be celebrating with them at a bar after dinner. Dinner tonight is paella, a traditional dish from Valencia. Since there are a couple of Spaniards from Valencia who will judge whether this paella is anything close to authentic, it will be interesting.

Some more interesting tidbits about Spain:

It’s not afternoon in Spain until lunchtime at 2 p.m. Until then, it’s still morning.

Spanish toilet paper isn’t perforated.

This region grows almonds as well as wine grapes.

 

I have an hour of free time this morning, since there are more Anglos than Spaniards, so we get a break occasionally. I have time to write a bit in the blog about yesterday and today’s activities.

It was a full day’s schedule of conversation and conference call practice sessions yesterday. But during the siesta time, Susan, Elizabeth (both Anglos) and I walked 15 minutes up the hill to the castle. The castle was closed so we couldn’t go in, but it’s an expansive view from the top. I read that the movie El Cid with Charlton Heston was shot at this castle.

At the end of the day, there was an entertainment hour with music and a skit, then dinner at 9:00. After dinner, at 10:30, nearly everyone went to a bar in town (a 3-minute walk) that opened specially for us, and Pete hosted a pub trivia quiz. There were 4 teams of 6 people each and all the questions were in English, of course, although there were also music questions and some of the songs were Spanish. My team didn’t win, but it was fun. A group of us left at 12:15 after the trivia ended, but many others stayed to drink more.

This morning, it was lightly foggy outside at first, but the sun is burning that away fairly quickly. At noon today, after the first two conversation practice hours, we’re all going to a nearby winery for a tasting session. The staff members collected 8 euros from each who wanted to attend, and we’ll carpool there in the cars of Spaniards who drove to Belmonte rather than taking the bus. 

Some other miscellaneous information:

Of the 14 Anglos here, 6 are from the US, 6 from the UK, and 2 from Kenya.

Our hotel was built on the ruins of the oldest building in the town, which dated back to the 1300s. It was first the palace of regional ruler, then later was changed to a nun’s cloister, not a monastery as I reported before. It’s immediately next to a very old church.

In the summer, Belmonte hosts an annual jousting tournament where people wear medieval armor, even in the 90-degree heat.