If a group of butterflies comprises 2400 species, we can expect some identification challenges! In the Spanish Pyrenees, I found plenty. The upper Hecho Valley is rife with puzzling satyrs. Satyrs are a subfamily of nymphalids, or brush-footed butterflies. These are the pearly-eyes, the wood nymphs, … Continue readingThose Challenging Satyrs
Hiking took Wendi, Leona, Alan and me into various nooks of the upper Hecho Valley, a splendid region of the Pyrenees, and one replete with butterflies and flowers. These public trails wind through sectors of the Parque Natural Valles Occidentales, or Western Valleys Natural Park. … Continue readingPyranees Butterfly Sampler
The Pyrenees in the Hecho Valley (Photos by Narca) As we drive into the Hecho Valley in the Pyrenees, nor far from the border between Spain and France, the grand massif rises around us, and wildflowers cloak the slopes. We’ve arrived at the peak of … Continue readingThe Pyrenees!
If you drive the back roads (and even not-so-back roads) in Spain during the nesting season, you’ll still find the iconic village storks, their immense stick nests decorating church steeples and farm houses. These are White Storks, and they have nested in small Spanish villages … Continue readingVillage Storks
The Sierra de Guadarrama towers between Madrid and the ancient Roman town of Segovia (our next destination). Forests of pine and Holm Oak cloak the slopes. Any of several wide places in the road give access to hiking trails, and we find a couple of very rewarding … Continue readingButterflies in the Sierra de Guadarrama
On this trip to Spain, Wendi, Leona, Meeka, Alan and I added a few days in Madrid in order to visit two of its world-class art museums. Usually Alan and I are so taken with wild places that we bypass the human artifacts, but it … Continue readingArt in Madrid
Greetings, Friends! Very soon I’ll be posting accounts (with photos) of our recent journey to Spain: the Pyrenees at the height of blooms and butterflies, complete with Wallcreepers; the fantastical Gaudi architecture of Barcelona; tips on travel in that marvelous country. But for today, here … Continue readingPreview