views

[stewartwillsher]

With the recent stunning photo's of the Dolomite run, it got me thinking (always a risky thing at my age!).
Funny how one gets used to the view and terrain.
Lived most of my life in East London then Mid Essex.
Both of which had zero stimulus vista-wise.
Son lives in the Humber plain, so flat as a proverbial witch's wossnames and see for miles in every direction; and nothing to see; unless the Drax power station inspires you.
Daughter, on the other hand has a similar location to ours, but to the North of Madrid, close to the Sierra de Guadarrama, so a view like ours.
Her mountains, and ours (Sierra de Gredos) reach over two thousand metres altitude, snow capped for many months of the year.
Our holiday home down South is another contrast, being fifty metres from a huge fine sandy beach with a view across the Bay of Cadiz, and of one of the largest NATO sea and air bases in Europe; bit scary when I read up on what armaments those grey ships carry.
When we bought our land in wild West Spain, we paid a premium for the view, and I designed the house to make the most of it.
Weather permitting, I can sit with a beer at sunset and look along the foothills, or up at the mountains or down toward a huge plain of the Rio Tajo; all uninterrupted, and unless visibility poor, beautiful, with colour changes for the times of year.
Having just returned from yet another indulgence of doing bu99er all, except eating and drinking, at the seaside, I get a smile and glow of satisfaction just walking out onto the balcony that runs the entire width of the West side of the house.
Our parents never got to see our views, and the kids and grandkids don't appear to be that impressed, but then maybe at their ages I had more important things to focus on.
Glass needs topping up ....

 

[Plecodoras]

In that last picture, that's how big my house actually is !!

Lovely views, which as you say, you appreciate later in life especially so with a scotch in yer hand !!

I'm truely envious Stewie, but sounds like you have deserved it with your career history, so now all that's to do is to enjoy it - both of you !!

Is that a watering hole in the North view ? ? any fish in it ??? :thumbup:

Cheers M.. :beer:

 

[stewartwillsher]

Is that a watering hole in the North view ? ? any fish in it ??? :thumbup:

At either end of our land are small reservoirs which farmers use for crop irrigation, using pumps or gravity.
They are called charcos, and maybe twenty or thirty metres across.
Locals do catch a few small fish in them, but I haven't a clue what they are.
There are also a sort of fresh water crayfish which are caught in baited mesh boxes.
Being a practical lot round here they all go in the pot.
The charcos are fed from a regadera (irrigation channel) which crosses our land and was designed, along with the terraces, by those clever Romans in the first millennia.
The source is way up in the mountains, with channels following the contours for many kilometres.
Larger storage thingies are called pantanos, which are often over a hundred metres across.
The fire fighting helicopters dip their buckets in them.
Pantanos usually are filled from the gargantas (gorges) which are impressive water courses in valleys carved out during the last ice age.
Huge boulders (we have loads of them) are dotted around from that time; several form the foundations of our house.

 

[stewartwillsher]

Ice age glacial boulders: