a new era – a trip to extremadura without Casa Alfarera

my visit this March was in fact in order to sign over the house in front of the notary. a wonderfully stately process of describing the property by reading out the names of all the neighbouring landowners; the parcel of land to the north east owned by so and so, and so on.

the weather was not very spring-like, there was rain, cold, and more rain, but when the sun did come out it was very nice to sit outside or wander around my friends’ fincas, or take a walk up to Montanchez

for a coffee in Emilio’s (dodging the rain)

I got a bit damp on the way back down, but enjoyed the cloudy skies.

the rain will have produced an outstanding crop of wildflowers by now

and filled all the underground reservoirs in the granite, one hopes, it had been a fairly dry winter.

there were already plenty of flowers; this yellow one is typical of the olive groves and wood pasture any time there is rain

also this pink one is ubiquitous

and the tasselled lavender was already in flower.

the wild lupins were starting to come out, and the tasselled hyacinth, but I was too early for orchids and the little blue iris.

everywhere the white broom was out, with its distinctive bitter-sweet scent.

views over the rocky outcrops that fall away from the sierra from the house I stayed in.

their own rocky outcrop host to all these beautiful lichens.

on the other side of the sierra, we visited friend Manfred’s new venture – holiday homes in a series of old watermills

the views behind more open, but looking out all the way to the Gredos mountains – snowy that week.

little rough stone cabins, each with its own sleeping and living area. wishing Manfred success with this! and huge thanks to him and Pippa for all their help.