Mountanious Landscape

Tajo Algarin and two horses bonding in the sunset

The landscape and nature here is amazingly beautiful and endlessly discoverable. Rocks, clay, flowers, trees, spiky bushes, thistles, small ecosystems, insects and wild boars! Yes! I saw wild boars one of the first days I was here! I was wandering around in the hilly area, to find some of the 80-100 horses that are here. I found them, but far away from the volunteer house “El Nido” (The Nest/Reden). Suddenly the horses look up. I look in their direction and I see two big, big black wild boars and a bunch of “piglets”. Oh my quack, I am telling you, my heart was almost falling out through my throat after all that talk about fencing between Denmark and Germany, because of wild boars (btw that is such a stupid idea). I picked up a stone and left silently in another direction.

The Mountain behind La Donaira

Crystal stones in the area

Rainbow Mountain of clay

Amazing big old spanish oak trees

Typical native flowers of the season

I think it is an almond tree

A butterfly taking a break on a wild savage plant 

I enjoy the nature every day, either when walking around the 700hectares that this Finca/farm occupies, with all its different plants and animals to discover. Or when I am walking back to El Nido after working in the garden, and stops to sit and stare in a new spot. It takes about 10-15 minutes to run down to the garden and about 30minutes to walk back uphill, so breaks are needed! I feel wonderfully free when I am running downhill in the morning, always with a bit of adrenalin from the fear of breaking a leg. It is a good warm-up and awakener! Or I enjoy the view from El Nido, laid back on the terrace, from where I can see the beautiful mountain, Tajo Algarin, in front of the Finca/Farm and the mountain behind the farm.  

The left ring is around El Gastor, the middle ring is The Garden and the right ring is La Donaira and where we live.

Tajo Algarin seen from both sides

This weekend i finally climbed Tajo Algarin, which i have been longing to discover ever since i came. I went there with a girl from Lithuania, who walked at least 400Km with her horse and with a very philosophical guy from England. We had a great hike with deep philosophical conversations and ended up smearing black olives from the trees in our faces and hair.

The importance of rain

Today it rained for the first time since i arrived on the rainy 1th of February. Both February and Marts is usually rainy months, but ever since i came we have only had hot, sunny days. This weekend we had about 22degrees Celsius and we were burning in the sun. The small streams are already drying out and the clay soil is cracking. I was lucky the other day where I found a teeny tiny waterfall on the field. 

The old farmers are predicting that it will rain a lot very soon as it is supposed to and then the summer will be extra warm this year. Let us hope that they are right about the rain, but the heat I am a bit scared of! How will 40-50degrees Celsius be for a silly Danish girl who is not used to that!? It is going to be insane! My garden master Andrew keeps talking about how to make shadow for our plants in the garden with green nets and tall beans planted in the beds. I surely understand why it is so important to provide shadows for our crops here, but I will have to relearn that in Denmark where it is kind of the opposite. It is also super important to have good water storage and management, such as ponds and reservoirs. Juan Jo, a local guy working here, showed me the water system here and it is huge! It is on the whole farm and it is necessary.

I pray for rain while learning to play “Regndans” by Danseorkestret on guitar.