[Even though I know it won’t be read by them, I dedicate this post to my nunerous relatives living in the Extremadura region: los Barroso y los Sánchez (from which I took the name), los Fernández, los Gómez, y todos los otros…!]
I went to Spain for the first time in my life and wanted to learn more about my origins. My father never taught me Spanish (he speaks it very well) nor spoke about his past and his family in Spain. Until now at least. I’m very happy that we got to visit his hometown together. I learned many things about both the country/region and my own family. I was very surprised to see that about a third of the inhabitants of the village were actually relatives! To find this out so late in my life… it was simply unimaginable!
Well… I think I’ve rambled enough. Now let’s take a look at all the pictures I’ve taken while on this trip!
[Disclaimer 1: All the pictures shown in this post have been taken by myself. Please make sure to credit me, as a matter of principle, if you ever want to use them. (they are under a Creative Commons license, see Legal page.)]
[Disclaimer 2: All pictures are raw images, I did not edit any of them.]
[Disclaimer 3: I suck at taking photos.]
Here is a list of the cities and towns I visited during this two-week trip:
- Bohonal de Ibor (where I stayed)
- Mesas de Ibor
- Castañar de Ibor
- Navalvillar de Ibor
- Valdehúncar
- Peraleda de la Mata
- Navalmoral de la Mata
- Rosalejo
- Tiétar
- Losar de la Vera
- Jarandilla de la Vera
- Guadalupe
- Plasencia
- Cáceres
Bohonal de Ibor
Bohonal de Ibor is a village located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura. It has a population of 500 inhabitants. This is where I stayed most of the time.
Its location on the map…
…and its coat of arms (’cause I’m into heraldic). Image source. The upper half represents the Ibor river that was passing through it about a century ago. El río Ibor has unfortunately almost entirely dried up since and got substituted by an artificial continuation of the Tajo (more info). As for the lower half, it is an exact reproduction of the village’s bell tower (see picture further below).
The village from afar.
The Church which also serves as the town square.
The town hall (ayuntamiento).
A shepherd guiding his sheep to the mountains.
Found this alley cute, might delete later~ lol
This imposing instrument was used in the past to press olives and make oil. It is now used as a decoration at the entrance of the town.
Some old houses.
This one has been built by my great-grandfather in 1885! 😮
Marmitas de gigante del río Ibor
A little place lost in-between Bohonal de Ibor and Mesas de Ibor. It is traversed by what is left of the river.
Photo taken another day from a slightly different angle.
Sunlight passing through leaves.
Really like these reflections on the water.
An old watermill.
We can’t see it on this picture, but there are lots of different cactus species around this house. The person living there must be a cactus nerd (I’m sure these people do exist).
I have tasted the yellow fruits on it (called ‘Figues de Barbarie’ in French). It didn’t taste bad at all. Oh and btw, if anyone is interested, the name of this cactus is Opuntia ficus-indica, it is a quite common species (more info).
I love it when signs tells you stories about the place. Environmental storytelling at its peak.
Roman ruins of Augustóbriga
Templo los Mármoles.
From another angle (note that only the facade is still standing).
What’s left of el Templo de la Cilla.
Very interesting information about these ruins can be found here.
El Tajo. The Tagus. Le Tage.
Olive groves next to the Tagus.
Guadalupe
Guadalupe is a municipality located in Las Villuercas comarca, province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain with currently just over 2,000 inhabitants.
Olive trees as far as the eye can see!
The city square.
Arco de San Pedro.
Iglesia de la Stma. Trinidad.
Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe.
The inside.
Splendid paintings.
Pico Villuercas
The highest mountain of the region.
360 degrees shot I took at the top of the mountain peak.
There is a secret military zone at the top of the mountain. Hope I won’t get into trouble by taking this pic x)
Found some blackberries! Yum!
I kept this piece of slate from the mountain as a keepsake.
Tiétar
Tiétar (not to be confused with the river of the same name) is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It has a population of 900 inhabitants.
The village is well known for its gigantic tobacco fields.
Funny how the tobacco museum is right next to a pharmacy.
Jarandilla de la Vera
Jarandilla de la Vera is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It has a population of 2800 inhabitants.
Castillo de Jarandilla.
Nuestra Señora de la Torre.
A small chili field.
These entrance halls are so atypical!
A fountain drawing water from the neighboring mountains with a mosaic representing their coat of arms.
I sincerely hope I won’t end up being listed on wikiFeet after posting this.
Mesas de Ibor
Mesas de Ibor is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It has a population of 170 inhabitants.
Plasencia
Plasencia is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Western Spain. It has a population of 40000 ihnabitants.
Look at the level of detail on this building 😮
Cáceres
Cáceres is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Cáceres (population of 97000 inhabitants).
Iglesia de San Mateo.
Arco de la Estrella.
Torre Bujaco.
Plaza Mayor de Cáceres.
It was dark when I got here and my phone ran out of battery… That’s why I couldn’t take more photos in Cáceres outside of the old town part, unfortunately.
Valdehúncar
Valdehúncar is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It has a population of 170 inhabitants.
Cuties!
Goats.
Goats.
Even more goats.
Sheep driven away by the sheepdog.
CATS!!!!!! <3
Cats going nuts for milk.
I gave chorizo to this lil’ guy and he followed me for so long..! <3
A doggo.
Lil’ pups.
Even more doggos.
Her name is Palomi. She’s such a good dog :3
A mule.
Donkeys. (I rode the brown one, first time ever riding a donkey!)
A pony!
Food :p
Local dish called ‘Olla’ (literally ‘pot’). It consists of chickpeas, various meats, some vegetables (generally green bean) and spices. P.S: Drinking is bad for your health.
Magro de cerdo con tomate.
Oreja de cerdo en salsa.
Vegetables that were given to me and my father by a relative living in Tiétar who owns an organic farm. Go check his website: verduravital.es
Meat and cheese bought at the local market. From left to right: Lomo, Morcilla, Chorizo, Cheese (Marcos Conde).
Cons: The local bread sucks. As a Frenchman I am outraged. It looks like it’s made out of plastic or wood… (thank goodness bigger cities have bread that roughly looks like real baguettes lol)
Pros: You’re often offered free tapas/raciones when you order a drink!! Though, if I were to live there I would probably become an alcoholic, ngl…
Spanish people have an obsession with milk. When you ask for a coffee they always ask in return if you want it ‘solo’ or ‘con leche’. Well… if I said ‘a coffee’ that’s because I wan’t a simple coffee. If I wanted milk I would have said it from the start! Cultural differences I guess x)
Conclusion
It was great! I hope to go there again soon! I want to go back to Cáceres and visit Badajoz so bad!
Even though I’m going back to France, I’ll do my best to continue learning Spanish (just enrolled in a Spanish course at university, wish me luck!)
Thank you for taking a look at this post!
If you’re new to my blog:1) Hello there 👋 2) You might be interested in other stuff I write on here. I mostly write about translation & linguistics (French, English and sometimes other languages) and review stuff (anime, manga, video games, books)… but not only! 3) Please note that I’m posting only very occasionally.
Take care!
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