Homeward bound….

Ampudia Aire (Spain)

Ampudia

Alas we still saw no bustards but the scenery and weather have made up for it! We have stayed in several little walled border towns, one of which, Almeida is in the shape of a 12 pointed star. It had bastions, dykes, inner walls and outer walls, moats and cannons and was difficult to imagine what it must look like from above. The inner walls which we walked around were grassy, very pleasant surface for the dogs. We were greeted at the aire by a very enthusiastic German speaking Belgian lady and her husband who proudly brought out her 10 year old whippet, fussed enormously over Dash and Belle and then proceeded to show us photographs of all her ‘late’ dogs, explaining to us their names, where she had got them from and how old they were when they died. Several of them, it seemed had been rescues in years gone by from her previous holidays in Portugal, she said she’d been going there since 1969!

Strange dichotomy between old and new More wind turbines than we’ve ever seen  before on the drive into the  quaint old Spanish town of  Ampudia and very hypnotic too when they all spin  in time with each other!

Ampudia town centr

We’ve come today to the town of Arguedas on the edge of the Bardenas Reales Natural Parque (near Zarazoga) which we will explore over the next few days before the dash up the coast of France. Richard and Aoife came here on a field trip during their final year at University. Ric reminded me that it was here that he was bitten on the leg by a horsefly or some such, a nasty bite which got infected and his tutor had to take him to hospital here and again when he got back to Aberystwyth as it had still not cleared up. Nasty insects in Iberia, especially for the Cromptons……..see below!