ibores – Mygeopark.com

My Geopark, photos and Rock and Roll

03/03/201719/04/2018Posted in ArticlesTagged biking, Cáceres, extremadura, geopark, hiking, ibores, phothography, spain, tourism, travel with kids, villuercasLeave a comment

At last I had the opportunity of testing my brand new Kodak Pixpro AZ525 around the Villuercas-Ibores- Jara Geopark. As I am a newcomer in photography, this kind of camera “bridge” – halfway between compact and reflex- fits perfectly with my needs because enables me to practise easily with a wide range of functions (manual, automatic and Wi-Fi connection). The best of all is its price, significantly lower than the same category you can find of Canon and Nikon.

KODAK Digital Still Camera — Pic 1. Ibor River. F:3.6; ISO 100; V:1/43

First stop, The Ibor River. I lost count the number of photos I took by focusing and defocusing. I really loved it. Focusing allow you to obtain powerful and meaningful photos, big deal better than pics with just good composition (Pic 1). Getting good results is easier with the 52x optical zoom of my camera. However, it was disappointing when I attempted the “silk effect”, which means getting the water to look misty and smooth. (Pic 2) It was impossible. A tripod is needed among others settings. I´ll keep on trying!

The following photos were taken with the automatic functions “Black and White” (pic3), the “Image color option” which emphasizes one color of the scene (Pic 4), the “Landscape mode” (pic 5) and the function “water reflections” (Pic 6)

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Finally, drinking a refreshing beer at one of the bars in Castañar, in which the time seems to stand still – both for its pieces of furniture and the regulars – was the best way to finish our photography trip. Good drink, company and the Rolling Stones sounding in the radio was a good end before falling back into monotony of our day to day in the city.

Photography route:

Geodisea: the valuable heritage of the Geopark

07/10/201608/10/2016Posted in NewsTagged archeology, extremadura, geodisea, geology, geopark, ibores, jara, spain, villuercas geopark, villuercas-ibores-jaraLeave a comment

The second edition of “Geodisea” consists of 44 activities related to geology, gastronomy and cultural heritage in the area of influence of Villuercas-Ibores-Jara Geopark. All the activities are held in most of the villages of this region of Extremadura (Spain) from the 22nd October to the 6th November. Click here to see the programme (in spanish).

panoramicaguadalupe — The holy city of Guadalupe celebrates some of the Geodisea activities

I would underline three activities: The First Archaeological Congress (on 22nd October in Berzocana), The route called”Isabel La Católica” (hiking trip from Cañamero to Guadalupe on the 30th October) and a street market that shows the magnificent gastronomy you can find in the geopark (on the 5th November in Guadalupe).

cruziana — Cruziana located at the Cancho del Fresno reservoir in Cañamero

Searching fossils, cultural displays, folk music and live cooking are also scheduled. Undoubtedly, this annual event is the best way to know every place of the Villuercas-Ibores-Jara Geopark.

canchodelfresno — The Cancho del Fresno reservoir in Cañamero

For further information: geodisea@360ingenia.com or 0034 924367379 and +695557848

Giving flavour to the geopark

21/09/201612/05/2017Posted in ArticlesTagged alía, berzocana, carabal, cheese route, eat in villuercas geopark, extremadura, geopark, honey, ibores, jara, spain, tourism, unesco, villuercas, where eating in villuercas, wine route, wineloversLeave a comment

On the table: one glass of crianza red wine “Carabal” and one plate full of pieces of cheese and slices of ham. It was what I encountered going into the front-yard of my grandfather´s house during my last visit to Alía. Nothing is better than being with family.

That moment led me to write this post to explain My Geopark Villuercas-Ibores-Jara is not only an ideal place to go hiking, look for fossils and enjoy its landscapes, but it is also an area to delight a wide range of excellent local wines.

These products have been advertised very heavily by the Government of Extremadura. Both commercials ” The Ribera del Guadiana wine route” and “The cheese route” are two examples of an intensive advertising campaign quite well developed. These videos were produced by a friend of mine, the sole owner of A.S. Producciones. The wine route was largely filmed at the Carabal winery, in Alía.

Moreover, the Villuercas-Ibores-Jara Geopark is a source of inspiration. In Berzocana is located “El Brezo rojo“, a comfortable restaurant with innovative dishes created by its chef Pedro Galán. I recommend the sandwich named “El Geoparque” with one big sirloin steak seasoned with a special Ibores cheese salsa. However, if you opt for a filling meal, I would order the roast lamb with honey and couscous. Simply delicious!

Roast lamb with cuscus

Pedro Galán at El Brezo Rojo

By the way, speaking about honey, the following video filmed by my childhood friend Abel Moyano (@AMoyanoPrieto), from Alía, is well worth a minute of your time. I am sure that most of you have never seen the honey being extracted from a beehive.

This newcomer wants to remain forever

25/07/201627/04/2017Posted in ArticlesTagged biking, cañamero, Cáceres, Desfiladero, extremadura, fausto maldonado colegio, geopark, global, hiking, ibores, jara, landscape, ruecas, rural, spain, tourism, treking, unesco, villuercasLeave a comment

Nature did a great job in the Spanish region where I live by leaving us ancestral rocks, high mountains, the deepest valleys and a wide range of minerals and fossils. The problem was that nobody had been brave enough to boost and make attractive the outstanding Villuercas-Ibores-Jara landscapes that we have always had before our eyes for thousands of years. Until now.

2011 marked a point of no return. It was when this vast area located in the province of Cáceres was declared “Geopark”. My dreams then came true because I had always been convinced that this zone needed some kind of environmental protection to have a brighter future. The Villuercas county had endured a harmful emigration by the late ´80s. Since then the increasing lack of jobs, due to many factors, has made a deep dent in the local economy. In the aftermath, my family (including myself) and all my friends had to move from Alía whose population plummeted from 5.000 inhabitants to barely 1.000 inhabitants in just one decade.

Nowadays the Villuercas Geopark is both a challenge and a chance. Tourism is predicted to become bread and butter for this area in the coming years overtaking the traditional farming sector. But at the same time, I do believe that those who will guarantee a better future for this often neglected zone in Spain are still at school. The Geopark is playing a central role at the schools of this area. I was fascinated when I visited the Cañamero local school “Fausto Maldonado” where the teachers familiarize the students with terms like “Trilobite“, “cloudina” and “cruziana“. Both students and teachers are crucial to enable this area to remain alive forever.

Without a doubt, having landscapes like “The gorge of the Ruecas river” at just a 10- minutes-walk from the school of Cañamero help the teachers succeed in their educational programs and, on the other hand, discourage the students from leaving their villages.

This place is well worth a visit, so I suggest the following route:

http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/spatialArtifacts.do?event=view&id=7506410&measures=off&title=off&near=off&images=off&maptype=S

Where the giants live

28/06/201630/04/2017Posted in ArticlesTagged biking, calabazas, castañar de ibor, chestnut trees, extremadura, geopark, giants, hiking, ibores, jara, lord of the rings, new zealand, spain, tolkien, tourism, treking, unesco, villuercasLeave a comment

Today´s post is not about New Zealand where The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy was entirely filmed. It is about a Spanish site that could also have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write some of the chapters of his famous novel: the “Calabazas´ pass”, located in my geopark Villuercas-Ibores Jara.

Continue reading “Where the giants live” →