Of Delta Birds, Bulls and Clouds..

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Dena

As it was the last day of the year I thought I’d go down to the Ebro Delta to see if I could add any last minute birds to my list. It was a lovely still day here in Mora d’Ebre but on the Delta it was blowing a gale! It wasn’t cold just incredibly windy – so much so that I could barely hold the binoculars steady! Needless to say it was a bit naff for birdwatching because most of the birds were either taking cover deep in the scrub or huddled in reeds at the side of the lagoons. Nevertheless, I spent several hours tootling around and the wind did drop a little after a couple of hours. In the end as well as birdwatching I was watching the clouds too -like this spaceship that hovered over the Delta for most of the afternoon:

Spaceship over the Ebro Delta. (lenticular cloud)

Nearly all the birds I saw were the common Delta birds that were already on the 2011 list. But this was a nice little trio – a lapwing, a glossy ibis and a cattle egret:

Trio of birds: Lapwing, Glossy Ibis and Cattle Egret

And the flamingoes were braving the wind:

Flamingoes, Ebro Delta

And then some bulls wanted to cross the road. Well I wasn’t about to argue…!

Ebro Delta Bulls

And finally I got my first tick of the day and the last tick of the year. A Spotted Redshank:

Spotted Redshank

And then on the way home I had a Red Dragon:

Red Dragon Cloud

A Walk to the “Cliffs Which Block the Mistral”

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Dena

Length of walk: about 5.5km

Time: Stated time 1h 45 mins (but see last paragraph)

Level: Easyish

Starting point: Village of Pradell de la Teixeta

This walk is one of the routes featured in the new walking leaflets produced by the Priorat Tourism Dept

The village of Pradell de la Teixeta is a small village of around 200 inhabitants which is tucked in a valley at the Eastern boundary of the Priorat. Above it to the East is the cliff which separates it from the Costa Dorada and this walk takes you from the village through groves of olive and almond and then up to the ridge on a series of short,steep climbs eased by some gentler climbs in-between. At the ridge there are alleged to be panoramic views towards the Mediterranean. I’d like to be able to vouch for that but yesterday when we did this we did it in quite a thick fog!

It is not unusual at this time of year to have a mist over the river in the mornings which usually burns off within an hour or so. Yesterday, I have to confess, it was a thick fog. Even so we fully expected that by the time we had driven over the mountain pass to Pradell we would rise above it. We didn’t . Pradell was also enveloped in a thick grey shroud. Undeterred, we set off, in the optimistic belief that we would climb above it or that the sun would burn it off. Neither of those things happened entirely!

In the end we completed almost the entire circuit in swirling mists and dripping vegetation. It didn’t stop us enjoying the walk at all. In fact, we enjoyed it enormously as it lent an air of mystery and atmosphere to the walk. The smell and feel of damp earth and vegetation made it reminiscent of walking in the Lake District! At the ridge we were almost out of the mist. We also met the wind there, which played games with the fog giving us ever-changing and tantalising glimpses of blue skies and the views towards the coast. The photographs turned out to be some of my favourites from any of the walks we have done in blue skies and sunshine!

An atmospheric walk in the mist

This photo and the one above are my favourites

Swirling mists

Tantalising glimpses of blue sky from the ridge

We want to try this walk again on a clearer day. Not least because we want to check the timing. The leaflet indicated that the time needed was 1 hr 45 mins. It took us 3hrs 30mins! We always take about an hour longer than the stated times as we like to stop, have a picnic, birdwatch etc. We only stopped briefly for a coffee and a donut, so we either went terribly off route in the fog or we were in a time-warp! We will report back on this one once we’ve done the walk again

Siurana Walk – in the Footsteps of Princesses and Warriors

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Dena

Length of walk: about 5km
Time: 2hrs 30 mins
Level: Moderate
Location: Montsant Natural Park.
Starting point: Siurana Village

This walk is one of the routes featured in the new walking leaflets produced by the Priorat Tourism Office

The village of Siurana has a spectacular position on top of a high cliff deep in the mountains of the Priorat.

Siurana -a village on a cliff

Its almost impregnable location enabled it to remain as the last Moorish stronghold in Catalonia. Legend has it that when the Christian forces eventually reached there about the year 1153, the beautiful Moorish Princess, rather than be captured by the “infidels”, charged from the castle on a magnificent white stallion and leapt with it over the cliff to their deaths…

This walk begins from the ruins of the castle and has a breathtaking start along a cliff ledge with sheer drops and wonderful views. After traversing the cliffs it drops steadily to the valley and then climbs back up to the village from the other side. The ledge at the start was once used daily by the villagers to reach their vegetable gardens in the valley. It is not dangerously narrow but would not suit anyone with vertigo and children would have to be carefully watched. We thoroughly enjoyed this walk on a lovely sunny day in early November with a temperature of around 20ºC. The photographs say it all:

Walking along the cliff ledge at Siurana

Along the Ledge

Contemplating the magnificent views from Siurana village

A nice spot for a coffee break, high above the Siurana dam

Life on the Edge!

Entrance to Siurana Village

Missing the Boat

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Dena

Permit me to let off steam…

This morning we were due to go on a sea-bird watching trip. I was hoping to add a significant number of birds to my 2011 birding year. More than that I was looking forward to a few hours relaxation and calm after a horrible week in which I have received some upsetting news. So we were up at 6.30am, walked the dogs, had coffee and cereal, made sandwiches and a flask of coffee and we set off in good time to be at the meeting point in Tarragona Port for 9.00am.

Tarragona has a big port so (sensibly) I’d checked the maps and Google Earth to pinpoint the meeting place. I’d been told that the meeting place was near to where you enter the port at the level crossing. Ha – easy! I thought. The level crossing is at the East end of the harbour not far from the train station. We know our way there well enough so all we had to do was head for the station, drive over the level crossing into the Port and we’d be right there.

But as we know …”The best laid plans of mice and men – don’t take into account the tricks of the Tarragona Road Dept…

We couldn’t get to the level crossing because of road works. No warning. No signs beforehand. We drove up and down and round about but no - Nothing! Zilch! Nada! – to inform people where and how to find an alternative entrance to the harbour. “Well we’d better find somewhere to park on the outside then and take the footpath in” says hubby. Seemed a good idea. What a fruitless exercise that was. Up and down the side streets the parked cars were crammed in like sardines. The underground car-park was some distance away and would have been a good 15minute walk back. We were starting to worry now because it was 8.55. At this point we were back at the road works near the level crossing and were probably no more than a 100metres away from where the meeting point was -on the other side! So near yet so far!! So I telephoned and spoke to one of the organisers. You have to go to Serrallo she tells me. Where? I ask. Serrallo – the residential area of the Port. There is another entrance there. Find your way back to Eroski (the shopping mall) and then turn left. We will wait for you.

Ok fab – which is the quickest way back to Eroski through these one-way streets? Disagreement No 1. Well we got back to Eroski – but no left turn permitted! Arrgh!! Roundabout and turn round? Good idea. But at the roundabout we see a sign for Port. Yayhay- that must be what she meant – go left after Eroski! Not yayhay – it took us to the industrial side – authorized vehicles only. Which way now? This Way? No -that way! Disagreement Number 2. This time we ended up at a works entrance! Lets turn round and get back on the main road. We reached the main road. No right turn this time. We had to go left which was taking us out of the city and further away. Nerves were getting decidedly frayed now. My mobile rang: where are you? We took the wrong road. I explained “we’re about to turn round now and come back”
“Ok – we will wait 5 more minutes.”

We headed back towards the city – keeping our eyes peeled for signs for Serrallo. Nothing.
Then the phone rang again. “sorry – the boat has to leave”. I understand, of course I do – you can’t have people waiting indefinitely for others to find their way there. And I honestly really appreciate that they waited as long as they did. But I was sooo disappointed.

A stony silence settled over the car. We drove on. “Are we still going to find it” I ask. “Damned right we are gonna find it! At least we’ll know it for next time” he says. We were approaching Eroski by now - presumably we had to turn right from this direction. But there were still no signs for the harbour or for Serrallo. At the last second, we took a little slip-road which looked like it was going into the car park because the only sign said Parc Central (shopping mall). And 50 metres further on we found this:

See the sign? It’s almost a whisper. “psss – Serrallo – it’s down here”. Just the one little sign when you’re virtually in Serrallo district at this point anyway. Too little and too late. Anyway, a couple of minutes later we were on the port-side of the level crossing, just 50 metres away from where I’d made my phone call about 30minutes previously. I couldn’t bring myself to look out to sea. I might have seen a boat. And seabirds.

But why oh why, given that the level crossing entrance was closed wasn’t there a dirty great sign just before the slip road at Eroski? ..”LEVEL CROSSING ENTRANCE TO HARBOUR CLOSED. HARBOUR ENTRANCE VIA SERRALLO NEXT RIGHT ” (In Catalan of course). And if there had have been we would have seen it at 8.30 this morning when we passed that way and have been saved a whole lot of stress, tears and disappointment.

So thank-you Tarragona Road Department. For nothing. That just nicely finished off my week. Not.

Walking in the Priorat, Southern Catalonia

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Dena

The tourism department have this year produced a set of 10 leaflets of walking routes around the Priorat. What’s more they are available in English, French, Spanish and Catalan. You may not think this is very exciting but when we first came here the only information we could obtain about walking routes in the Priorat was typed and photocopied on A4 paper, in Catalan – and poorly described at that!

The new leaflets are professionally printed and are a neat pocket-size with generally good descriptions (if occasionally a little brief), a basic map outline of the route and a couple of paragraphs about the area. A lot of work has been done around the region clearing old walking routes and pack-horse trails between villages which combined with the European Hiking Network (GR routes) now work together to offer some superb hiking around this stunning region. The routes are also available in GPS form.

The routes cater for different abilities and are classed as follows:
4 are classed as easy/suitable for families with children with lengths from 3 to 7.5 km.
2 are classed as moderate hikes – 5km and 11km
3 are classed as demanding – 12 -18.5 km and with ascents of up to 990m

Southern Catalonia has not previously been a well known area for taking a walking holiday. It’s always been a mystery to us why it was not better promoted but now it seems things are on the up! With these new leaflets and the Cicerone book with 30 routes in the Els Ports area (released a year ago) you now have lots of choice in the mountain ranges on both sides of our valley!

Perhaps we’ll see you soon at River Ebro Apartments!

Click the following links for our experiences of some of these walks.

The Soul of Montsant (Congost of Fraguerau)

Common Cranes – In September on the Ebro?

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Dena

A few days ago, (last Wednesday, 28^th September to be exact) Keith and I were just pulling up in the car outside our house when from the corner of my eye I saw a large grey bird taking off from the other side of the river island. For a split second I thought it was the usual heron that hangs about in that spot. Then as I was doing a double take – 4 more birds took off from behind the tamarisk trees- this would be about 250 metres away from our front door. It was a bright sunny day and as they were lifting themselves above the water with their backs to me I could clearly see that these birds were huge and “feathery” – they were certainly not herons!! I left Keith to gather the shopping bags and I took the stairs two at a time to get into our apartment. They were already heading off upriver but from our balcony and through my binoculars I could see a flock of 5 huge, grey, birds. Birds with long necks held straight out, not retracted like a heron. More like a stork. But I was sure they weren’t white storks either. They were grey and black(or a very dark grey) not black and white. And there were no red beaks. Cranes? Could they be cranes? They could only be cranes. But here on the Ebro? I needed to try and get a photo. I grabbed my little Fuji but there they had almost gone out of sight. I snapped a few shots in desperation as they were disappearing round the bend in the river and also made some quick notes: Grey and darker grey plumage in same general pattern of grey heron. Big wide wings. Feathery. Pale coloured neck and head. Neck outstretched – not rigidly straight – slight dip. Beaks looked pale, def not red! On downloading most of the shots were devoid of any birds. Except one, which had a small grey smudge. I cropped in as much as I could but obviously the clarity was poor and I was disappointed that it didn’t show any long neck.

I then contacted a few local birders and described what I’d seen. Yes, conceded one of them– your description sounds like crane but it is several weeks early, cranes don’t normally arrive in Spain until around mid-November. The other guy was more sceptical and basically said “has anyone ever seen cranes in Spain in September? I think you probably saw storks in bad light”

And that’s when I shot myself in the foot. I posted the bad photo on Facebook and both birders came back with a resounding “That’s a heron!” And of course, it was. When I looked in the cold light of day the photo was of the flippin heron. Stupid woman – should have been pretty obvious that it was the heron, for one thing it’s flying downriver. The cranes were flying away!

But… I had also contacted a 3^rd birder in Huesca, Aragon which borders our province of Tarragona because I’d discovered that nearly all migrating cranes pass through that territory – his local patch. He too said that the main influx of cranes was normally late October onwards but, he added, that’s not to say that small groups can’t already be around. He said he would let me know if he or anyone else got a sighting. Yesterday – music to my ears – he contacted me to say “the first cranes have arrived in Huesca” (jumps up and down with big cheesy grin)

O f course there is no way of knowing if they are same birds, but by car from Mora to this location it would take just over 2 hours. Easily reachable by cranes in 2 days I would think! And even if they are not the same group, there are cranes about! And I am, I think, justified in claiming a life tick and tick for my 2011 birding challenge. And because, I know what I saw…

A Day Out in Terra Alta – Arnes and the Toll del Vidre

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Dena

It was a snap decision to go out for a drive this morning. It was just too perfect a day to stay indoors doing housework or office work. So off went the computer. Camera, binoculars, water and a few other odds and ends were thrown into a bag and 10 minutes later we were on the road. All in the name of research you understand so that we can recommend day-trips to our guests! We decided to head into the Terra Alta region which borders our own county of Ribera d’Ebre. It turned out to be very pleasurable combination of rolling vineyards, medieval villages, the Els Ports Mountains and ended up with a dip in a lovely mountain pool!

From Mora d’Ebre we headed to Gandesa, from where we took the road towards Bot (TV3531) on which you are immediately in the midst of acres of vineyards. Being harvest time it wasn’t long before we encountered a tractor pulling a trailer piled high with grapes. Other than 3 or 4 tractors we barely saw a vehicle and we were soon at Bot from where we took the road to Horta de St Joan. As we neared Horta, the Els Ports mountains loomed ahead rising abruptly from the fertile plain. Horta itself is a village worth spending time in for its medieval buildings, Picasso connection and a superb ecomuseum. But today our destination was the next village of Arnes.

We arrived at Arnes 50 minutes after leaving Mora. A small village of only 500 people it enjoys a fabulous position looking out towards the Els Ports Mountains. It has a Town Hall dating from 1584, which, built from honey-coloured stone and with it’s ground-floor arcade, columns and rows of arched windows makes a very attractive building. One of the traditional products of this town is honey and it’s quite a surprise to find behind the mediaeval facade a state-of- the-art museum about bees and honey production with multi-media presentations and 3D visuals!

Arnes Town Hall

Mind you it seems that this village has always been very innovative! On the outside of the main village you will find a “snow well.” A snow well? Yes – as far back as the Renaissance this mountain village used to conserve snow and ice by keeping it deep underground insulated with blocks of hay. It was quite a lucrative business selling the snow for chilling food and drinks, medical purposes and preserving food during transport. Genius!!

We continued our stroll around the village. We were in need of a drink and we eventually found a little bar tucked in between the houses. We went in and had big surprise! Inside the bar was big, bright and spacious – not only that it had a huge terrace out the back with magnificent views of the mountains.

A bar with a view

We sat on the terrace with a couple of beers and a delicious selection of tapas (which came to the “ridiculous” amount of 6,60 euros) and watched griffon vultures soaring over the mountains in the distance. It would have been a pleasure just to sit there all afternoon but we’d noticed a sign at the edge of the village pointing to a natural pool and we wanted to go and find it. So off we went.

And we found it! Now, anyone who knows me well will know that I’m not a water-baby – it takes a lot for me to launch myself into cold water! But, you know I really couldn’t resist having a dip in this delightful natural pool. It was wonderful. And it was a perfect end to our impulsive day out. Sorry – our research work! ;)

Toll del Vidre - A natural mountain pool

Summer is passing – and the mountains are calling

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Dena

The fiesta has finished, the town is quiet, many of the bars and shops are remaining closed for the week and there is a distinct feeling that summer is over! Mid-day temperatures are still 30- 35 degC but the early morning heat has a comfortable softness, the light is different, the smell is different and the sound is different! No swifts are screeching round the skies. The electric cables are bare as all but a handful of House Martins and Barn Swallows left us a few weeks ago. No longer am I waking to the sound of Golden Orioles and Bee-eaters or drifting to sleep to the rhythmic call of the Scops Owls. The grape harvest has started and daily the farmers are driving past our house with their trailers brimming with grapes. It’s undeniable, Autumn is knocking on the door. It is only a matter of weeks now before we get those early morning mists and the arrival of flocks of cormorants!

I always feel ambivalent about this time of year. Another summer gone! Where is the year going already? We’ve been so busy with our guests and fiestas and laundry and cleaning we’ve hardly had time to go to the beach! Our guests are more suntanned than us! And yet, apart from the fact it is followed by winter, I do love the Autumn here in Spain. It lingers on until late November. The trees slowly turn colour and reluctantly shed their leaves. The Autumn rains bring a “little spring” as green grass and a few wild flowers replace the dry, dusty land. Nights are cool. Days are pleasantly warm. And the mountains call! It is simply impossible to walk in the height of summer, so in a couple of weeks time we’ll be back in our walking boots and trying out more walks in the Priorat or Els Ports mountains or if we’re not feeling too energetic some flatish walks on the Via Verde, coastline or Ebro Delta.

Yes - Summers lease hath all too short a date, but Autumn is a season to truly enjoy and get to know the wonderful landscapes of Southern Catalonia. I love them both!

It’s Fiesta Time in Mora d’Ebre!

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Dena

So, you think life in rural Spain is pretty quiet do you? Not much going on? Bit boring perhaps? Well, you’d be surprised! There’s barely a month goes by without some fiesta or celebration going on somewhere. But in the summer from the smallest village to the major cities – Spain rocks!

Today is the first day of our towns “Festa Major” and it continues until Sunday 28th August. Yep – that’s 9 days of music, parades, theatre, live bands, food and fun.

There will be something for all ages to enjoy over the next week or so. No-one gets left out. In addition to the “official” stuff organised by the Town Hall many of the bars also put on various attractions and there are also some cultural events organised like art exhibitions. It starts off pretty slow on Saturday night and then pumps up towards next weekend. I’m not going to bore you with the whole programme (the official programme is 10 pages long!) – just enough to give you a taste of what’s on offer during our Fiesta Week……

SUNDAY 21st

18.00 – Parade of Giants! (Hmm -this is a whole other post!) For now suffice to say it’s a Catalan tradition and a great sight.

TUESDAY 23rd

21.30 Community supper. Dozens of trestle tables are set up on the street alongside the river. Everyone takes along their own food. There is a bar and music and a great atmosphere.

WEDNESDAY 25TH

21.30: Youth “It’s a Knock Out” type games. Followed by a foam and water party.

01.00 Open air concert in one of the town squares. Two groups will play until around 3.30am

THURSDAY 26TH

13:00 – The Official opening of the main fiesta weekend. The Spanish love fire and noise! A hundred or so LOUD firecrackers are strung across the square to get the party started with bang!

18.00 – Beer party. With aperitifs and tapas (at Bar Megalitic)

18.30 -Childrens Theatrical Show (on the street just behind Bar Megalitic – how convenient!)

23.30 Live Indie and Folk music at Bar Sota de Copes

24.00 Dancing to a Quartet. (in the Top Square) Think Frank Sinatra, Gershwin, Latin Music and cheesy pop! Multi-generational there will be families with kids and people into their 90′s here until as late as 3.00am.

01.30 Three DJ’s will have the young ones dancing to Electro-pop / Tecno Music until around 7.00am. Yep that’s until 7.00am at the Outdoor Sports Court. (no sleep if you live near there!)

FRIDAY 26th

10:30 – Community bike ride around the town. Open to everyone. Prize for the youngest and oldest participant and for the best fancy dress! (Do we join in? Oh yes!)

12.00 Foam and water party It’s supposed to be for the kids but everyone joins in! Take your water pistols or balloons or buckets. Anything with which you can sling water at people! (Oh yes – you’ll find me here too!)

13:00 -”Musclada” A few hundred kilos of mussels freshly griddled. Stand in line, get your free mussels, find a seat at one of the nearby bars, order a beer and enjoy! Repeat until they run out!

22.00-The Correfoc! Organised madness with devils, fireworks and drums!! Has to be seen to be believed!

23:00 – Music and dancing with “Orchestra Pensylvania”. A stage is set up across the road on the main street (which is closed to traffic for the night) Middle of the road music aimed at the older generation.

01:00 – Crazy fun with band “La Loca Histeria”Rock and Pop medleys and some crazy antics. Silly but fun!

03:00 – XEIC – a Catalan band with their own brand of Ska fused with Reggae, Rock and Latin will play until around 5.00am

SATURDAY 28TH

13.00 – Running races for kids by the river

17:00 -River party. Rowing boat races, swimming, greasy pole etc.

18.00 – Inflatables for children (bouncy castle etc)

23:30– Rock concert (usually heavy metal) on the Workers Bar Terrace

24.00 – Dancing in the street! Until around 4.00am various DJ’s will play popular music from the 60′s up the present day. (yeah this is my choice!)

SUNDAY 29TH

06.00 – Fishing competition

10.00- Falconry Exhibition in the Lower Square

10.00 Karting Competition at Mora Circuit

23:30 –Spectacular firework display on the Riverside.

24:00 -Final ball of the fiesta with with “Orchestra Tangara. or…

24.00 – Live music – Acoustic guitar covers of Pop and Rock at Bar Sota de Copes

MONDAY 30th
SLEEP!!

Beer n Bitterns

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Dena

We’ve had a couple of pairs of Little Bitterns around during the last two weeks. I wasn’t 100% sure when I first saw a skulking shape in reeds on the other side of the river. Then, from our balcony the following morning I was confident that I’d seen a bird in flight that came to rest in the tamarisk on the river island just to the left of us. I stood for 15 mins with my bins trained on that tree! My arms ached! But, determination paid off and eventually it flew in an arc around to the other side of the island. It was unmistakeably a Little Bittern. Yay -a lifer for me! Even better, during the course of the day it became apparent that there was more than one – two pairs in fact! Had I had my eyes closed all summer? I checked with one of our regular birding guests and he said that although they usually see Little Bitterns further upriver they don’t usually see them right here in Mora.
Over the next few days these Bitterns showed well every morning and evening. They were very active – regularly flying over the reeds and feeding at the edge of the water. Beautiful birds they are! Hubby was pleased about it too. There is a bar that opens only in summer right at the end of our street and the reeds the Bitterns were residing in were directly opposite the terrace! So every evening – “Fancy a beer love? Bring your bins and watch the bitterns?”
I guess there are worse ways to spend an hour or so! So for over a week it was Beer n Bitterns every night! At time of writing we haven’t seen them for around 5 days, so I’m guessing that they have moved on. But most evenings we still wander down to the bar at “Bittern o’clock”. Well, you never know….

River Ebro Babble

All about living, working and playing in the River Ebro area of Tarragona, Spain

Yearly Archives: 2011