Viaje a la Alcarria

Un buen libro de Don Camilo José Cela que me ha ayudado a conocer y ver de otra manera esta peculiar comarca.

La Alcarria es un país que a la gente no le da la gana ir, así decía en 1946. Lo cierto es que ahora hay municipios muy turísticos cómo Brihuega donde hemos dormido 3 días. Los campos de Lavanda que florecen en Julio se han convertido en su gran reclamo.

Un pueblo de una bella arquitectura

El río Tajuña vertebra está parte de la Alcarria.

Guadalajara es una Provincia de contrastes, la zona del corredor del Henares hasta Guadalajara concentra la mayor parte de la población. Es un paisaje urbano industrial continuo desde la Autovía A-2, pero ya enseguida que pasas Guadalajara en la cuesta de Valdenoches uno ya encuentra un verdadero paraíso de tranquilidad.

Rio Tajuña

El Alto Tajo es uno de los paisajes de Guadalajara. Más verde que otras zonas más altas, con mucha agua para disfrutar de un buen baño en verano. Lo cierto es que el Tajo tiene la fama, pero es el Barranco de la Hoz Seca el que le aporta el agua y lo convierte en un paraíso.

Alto Tajo

Un pequeño vídeo con imágenes de Guadalajara

Lo cierto es que también nos acercamos a Madrid, parque acuático, pero esa parte del viaje no fue tan tranquila.

El parque acuático del Megatrix

Desde los bancos de Madrid no se puede ver el Mar…

En fin una escapada a Guadalajara nunca defrauda…

On the road

I enjoy traveling by car, because you can enjoy if you open your mimd and forget that you go from point A to B.

The nicest villages of Spain have this…

Stop everywhere to take a picture and look at the most interesting points.

Discover amazing landscapes

Villages out of the main road

Places that the art made interesting

Lot of places to discover, the map have lot of treasures to see at detail.

All the time to enjoy, until the end.

I did it

Sometimes I need a chance to feel full of life. Always I did it and also think about the next.

Today was the time of a Church that is possible to arrive with car, but the adventure is doing trail running with my puppy Rex.

Cingles de Berti is a place that I enjoy a lot, good view a lot of variety of tracks. Today I saw 2 churches and also a castle, this area is full of live centuries ago. Young forest in some areas for a big fire in 1994, and also new trees that hide old country fields with rock fences to use even places that aren’t flat.

Sant Pere de Berti a church with a house in the middle of the forest

The abandoned castle of Casclar

Nice view in a warm day

Here is my chance of the day…

Be careful Rex!

Very nice area to spend time to discover

In the map

The green is the winner

I start to think the next chance, also is this area a waterfall. I don’t know when will be, but sure that one day I do it.

Discover new places

The last weekend I was in Castello, a region that I didn’t visit, just the coast and by the highway. Very interesting place and a great discover for me.

Just enjoy the river from inside

Montanejos is a termal village. The temperature of the river is warmer than should be, it makes very comfortable to swim inside the river. I did more than 200 meters up to the river in the canyon.

During this weekend I also enjoy the largest green track of Spain. It was an old train from the port to the minery area, now a paradise to go with bike. Tunnels and trees around, remember the past of the track. The new track sometimes is very close and is posible to see the train.

The new from the old one

Tunnel with light and water inside

The landscape is nice with mountains and lot of trees.

The bridge cross a dry river, quite normal in this region of irregular rain

Mediterranean rivers are very dangerous, from nothing to a floats. The dry rivers are the most dangerous, because there aren’t trees to stop the water.

Olive oil, wine are the typical products of theses area, also good almond. Most dry cultive, even is water in the area, the temperatures are more extreme than in the coast. Orange, lemon prefer areas were freezing temperatures are inusual, not inland where every winter is below zero at nights.

Mediterranean landscape inland. Almond, olive and wine

Also jump in the river is posible

La Alcarria

Es un hermoso país que la gente no le da la gana ir. En 1946 así lo decía textualmente Camilo José Cela.

Personalmente es una zona que me atrae, me gustan los altiplanos, las zonas de transición y la Alcarria especialmente la zona que pasa la autovía es así. Camino entre Aragón y Castilla desde la antigüedad, cruzando la insignificante Sierra Ministra, pero que pese a su modesta prominencia sirve de divisoria de aguas. Porque la Alcarria, no es meseta, tampoco es sistema Central, ni ibérico. Es una zona que abarca diferentes provincias con sus pequeños altiplanos que les separan de los cursos fluviales del Henares o el Tajo.

Barrancos que muestran el relieve de la Alcarria en Alcalá.

Son unidades de relieve no tan claras como la meseta, con un sistema ibérico que muere en forma de panameras como la del señorio de Molina. Tierras frías, meseta elevada por encima de 1000 metros una buena extensión de terreno en una España vacía, pero que a día de hoy con las carreteras existentes no parece tan fiera. Su especialidad es el frío nocturno, la nieve es más abundante en cualquier sistema montañoso. Las heladas son abundantes, los datos pueden asustar un poco, pero las amplitudes térmicas son elevadas con humedades bajas.

Relieve de la Alcarria pegado al río en Henares en algún tramo, son prácticamente acantilados. Para contraste en la otra orilla hay la famosa vega del Henares donde se asientan multitud de poblaciones y se aprovechan sus fértiles tierras.

No soy geógrafo, así que la descripción quizás no es demasiado técnica, pero es una zona difícil de definir dónde están exactamente los límites, por ello me atrae, no esta claro dónde esta el final de la Alcarria.

Campos de cereales en los altiplanos Alcarrienses

Un relieve singular que permite multitud de senderos muy divertidos, en la zona de los cerros de Alcalá, sin fuentes y pocas sombras.

En el Barranco Del Río Dulce, el agua si es abundante y muy fría

Poco más puedo contar de mi pequeña escapada de dos noches, corta pero intensa.

Ayer fue en inglés, hoy en castellano, pero más o menos el relato de la escapada, en pequeños apuntes ha quedado en el blog para el recuerdo.

Es una zona que seguro que volveré, aún me queda recorrer más pueblos del Viaje a la Alcarria de Cela. De momento Torija ya lo visite, pero a la próxima toca Brihuega, Cifuentes, Trillo, Pastrana… La Alcarria me espera porqué a mi si me da la gana de visitarla. Se suma mi interés por las Panameras de Molina y la visita a Sigüenza, así que aún me queda bastante Guadalajara, con el encanto de recorrer la España vacía y la esperanza de volver a verla llena de vida ahora que la vida urbana nos muestra su lado negativo.

Very intense days

We stay 2 nights in Alcala de Henares, 600 kilometers from home, short but very intense days.

Some pictures to show better this monumental city. Is the city of Cervantes and the culture is very important. Center of the town is nice with a big square call Cervantes and Mayor street with lot of shops and restaurants. This strange year is quiet, but normally is a very crowded city for tourists, some of them come from Madrid.

Also the nature is important, the river Henares is a good place to walk. The mountains are in the other side of the river, the famous Alcarria, not very high mountains but interesting to see the views of all the region of Madrid.

Following the maps I did a very nice running route there, but there was a problem with a bridge that was in a private area where isn’t allowed walk. Finally I went to the next bridge, the result more than 28 kilometers running.

City, river and mountain, vey complete route but for me too long to do everyday. I like do some long routes sometimes.

Nice views from the top.

After this long route, just a shower and we went to the river.

Rio Dulce is a natural park where you can follow the river in the canyon. When you are in the highway isn’t posible to imagine this canyon, is a plateau at 1100-1200 above the sea, but when you take the road down and discover how the water eat the rocks during years.

Dry air make the air more clean, this area close to Madrid but full of nature

Very cold water, the coldest river of this year. Is posible to walk up the river and discover nice places.

We spent a nice day in the river. The next day we come back home at the afternoon, very short but nice to discover places.

Guadalajara is a regional that I like a lot, isn’t too crowded, the population isn’t dense, just the capital that is in the Madrid urban influence.

Summer is different, more dry than Centelles, run 28 kilometers now in Centelles loss more water your body and I feel more tired. The days that we spent the temperature were normal after lot of very warm days.

Pedraforca

Yesterday was a familiar day in a very special mountain. Pedraforca is a classic in Catalunya, one of the most popular. Despite isn’t the highest and is Prepyreness, the technical climbing and the image makes it very special, also crowded normally.

Now people of Barcelona can’t go there, is still a quiet place. We walk part of a route that is a 360° of the mountain.

This is the best view of the power of this amazing mountain.
2507 meters above the sea, but isn’t the highest mountain in Barcelona.

All around is forest and mountains, but never forget the past than this region the minerals are the main work of this region. The forest are very good, because they work down, also some open miners that still you can see. All trains are now just for tourist, green tracks to enjoy this amazing area.

The north face with and easy track, not in winter with ice.

Rivers cross the track, also some rocks can fail, specially in winter with snow and ice.

The storms are near, but we were lucky, we leave the area with fog. During the way coming home, rain was very heavy.

The picture in a peak with good view and lot of trees.

Great day in a place that always can discover places. Lot of paths to walk, some are very technical, but also you can do it easier. There are lot of possibilities in this area.

Normally the road have trafic jams, all the secundary valleys, have roads to the main one of the Llobregat river.

The views of the parking of the sightview where start the walking. Also there is a refuge of mountain.

South Meseta

Big natural region where are important cities like the capital Madrid.

South Meseta is lower than the North Meseta. Also is drier and warmer, winter could be cold specially at nights. For me the most interesting natural thing is a big aquifer that we call the 23. Is very big but with too much use, lot of years with problems like subterranean fire for a natural process.

Lagunas de Ruidera are 16 lakes in the middle of a semidesertic area with less than 400 liters every year.

This is the green Mancha

The natural park of Daimiel is amazing area in the middle of cereal area.

Another important thing of the region are big number of castles and the windmills. Don Quijote the most important Spanish novel is in this area, he fight against the wind mills.

There are lot of places to visit following the famous novel, based in Argamasilla de Alba. There are a cave to visit and lot of windmills is a cultural visit to understand this landscape.

Consuegra is one of the best examples. Also Campo de Criptana with very colorful house and famous windmills.

Campo de Criptana

The last lake of Ruidera

Madrid and Toledo are the main cities to visit in this region if you like the history and need to see urban architecture.

Toledo is a very nice city to visit. If you prefer walk quiet and see from outside, the Tajo river has a natural way with nice views of the city.

Here is the 0 point, the main radial roads, just 6 start here in Sol.

Plaza Mayor, nice to visit at Christmas time with the traditional market. Big city, museums, theatre, shopping and big parks.

Cristal Palace in the Retiro Park of Madrid.

The Meseta is flat with some hills but you only see mountains when you arrive to the end or you go down into a river that can form a Canyon like the Jucar River.

Nice village with caves is Alcala de Jucar. The way is very nice, you start to go down in a totally flat area, when you are down looks like mountains is just a Canyon.

The wines are also important is this region where isn’t easy to find a shadow in the warm summer. Trees aren’t in this area, only in the mountains and areas near the rivers.

Quiet region with nice natural places to discover

My favorite place in the region is following the Guadiana river, even now isn’t totally clear where is born. Lagunas de Ruidera are the place that appears in most of the books. Sometimes is a subterranean river in the famous 23 aquifer. There the eyes of Guadiana where originally appears the Guadiana again. The irregular rain, and specially the massive use of water for the agriculture is a danger for this amazing natural water aquifer.

Enjoy this region with good roads in a flat area where the trips are easy.

Tarragona

Today the province of Tarragona. The last day I talk about Ebro River forms a big Delta, maybe one the most interesting visit of Tarragona.

This picture from my best friend.
Vidajeros.es

Delta is very windy area. Summer is warm and with the humidity feel warmer. Rice is the big product of the Delta. Now also they produce lot of sea fruits.

They produce in the sea, like farms

Totally flat area, the sea is going to make this area that enter 30 kilometers from the coast.

The capital is one of the most important cities in the peninsula, the old Roman city of Tarraco. Lot of historic things to visit, and also beach and important port.

Tarragona is very industrial area for the oil, is the only area of Spain with oil. There refineries. Also there are 2 Nuclear plants, Vandellos in the Coast and Asco in the Ebro river.

Summer is full of tourist

Also the are rocks in some beaches

Hospitalet de l’Infant the most windy area

The mountains close to the coast produce electricity

The highest mountains are in the ports, lot of rocks some trees that are the southern point that they live. The rainfall is bigger than all the areas arround.

The Estrets rivers in the north entrance to the natural Park

The rocks are huge

Very good area, quiet with lot of animals

Nice village, good wine big contrast with the coast.

There are more mountains in Tarragona. Montsant paradise to climb, Prades the red village with amazing forest. Just and example of the variety of this region.

Strong winds from the sea form clouds in the Prelitoral mountains

Places quiet to think about

Escalada Dei runes very interesting to discover the life in this important religious center

Church inside the stone

Clear sky in windy day in the Priorat with the best wines. Slow visit, lot of curvy roads. Rally uses this roads.

Siurana one of the most popular visit in Cornudella de Montsant

Lot of people come just to take this pictures of Siurana

Prades the red village for the buildings. The forest are important in Prades.

Stil in Tarragona we find a very nice village with walls Montblanc in the Conca de Barbera.

Medieval village, very interesting for the architecture

Just a small presentation of a region with more interesting places than you expect.

The Ribera is interesting to find historic places from the battle of Ebro in the civil war.

Miravet and the castle, with still a boat to cross the river. In this point is a very big river.

There is important the traditional Calçots, specially in Valls the capital of the Alt Camp.

Very complete region, the biggest river, important factories, beach, Delta, mountains, the country produce lot of Mediterranean products.