just a few more details

Before we return to Portugal, and make our way back to Morocco...

tones of red and rust

Cáceres, located in the Extremadura region of Spain, is home to a stunning medieval town that boasts Roman, Islamic, Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles. We decided to take a drive up from Marvão on New Year's Eve to wander Cáceres' tiny streets.



The setting sun cast a redness upon the buildings, which were primarily stone, some carpeted in spots of rusty-coloured lichen. I was not aware of it until this visit, but many of the Spanish conquistadors who ravaged the Americas came from Extremadura, and within the walls of Cáceres stands a building called the Palacio de Toledo-Moctezuma.

The daughter of Moctezuma II, Tecuichpoch Ixcaxochitzin (later baptized Isabel), founded a line of Spanish nobility in what seems to be a complicated series of marriages and widowing in which Hernán Cortés was involved— who fathered an illegitimate daughter with Doña Isabel. Her sixth and final husband came from Cáceres, and one of their sons eventually returned to the Spanish town to marry into a notable family, later constructing the palacio. Regrettably, my photos of the palacio's exterior are not very exciting, so we'll return to some eye-catching details in between the narrow streets.



The feet of San Pedro de Alcántara are polished golden by passing palms wishing for luck.

sketches from a canary island

a farewell feast

There was one stop we had to make on our way to the airport, and this was to look for some Trumpeter Finches in Juncalillo del Sur. When we passed a lonely penitentiary, I marveled at how birds can take you to some pretty random places; from the inside of a volcano in Eastern Turkey for example, to a sewage treatment plant in North Cyprus. I could have lived happily without ever visiting the latter.

At some point while watching a delightful troupe of finches inspect the vegetation, I began to feel hungry, and became anxious at the thought of missing the opportunity to grab lunch before catching the plane back to Morocco. Luckily Pedro seemed to read my mind, and we soon packed up the telescope and set off in search of food. Things were looking pretty grim with little more than dive bars on offer, until we came across a lovely little restaurant by the water called Mama Gata, which offered a fine array of seafood.

Octopus? Limpets? Assorted fried fish and papas? Yes. Yes. Yes— why yes, I'll give those little potatoes another chance!



Oh I was such a happy traveler!

in the pines

...and back down.

bocadillos and papas

Ah, the beauty of a fresh slice of bread piled high with meats! Be it a seductive slice of smoked salmon or jamón, a dollop of crab salad or a fine piece of morcilla (as modeled by Pedro below), there's simplicity and an understated elegance in a mini bocadillo. We enjoyed these trendy versions of the bar snack with a few glasses of gorgeous wine at the Mercado del Puerto in Las Palmas for dinner one evening, while the next day...



It was the humble deviled egg and a beer for lunch, accompanied by a dish of olives, pickled anchovies, and papas arrugadas— salt crusted potatoes.



I must admit that I was not impressed by the papas, and tried my best to scrape off the salt and smother them in pepper sauce. It was a delicious sauce, but goodness how my tongue hurt from the salt!

surrounding colours

While Pedro searched for birds, I took out my fountain pen and watercolours to sketch a pretty little Kleinia Neriifolia. Heavy clouds hung above, teasing with a bit of sun, then returning to an inky grey. With the sketch complete, I wandered up the path a little to marvel at some lichen and the ribbons of colours that ran through the surrounding volcanic rock.

in plain sight

The colours of that morning were green, white, ochre, rust, and so many grays— the beautiful palette of a volcanic island under an overcast sky. While Pedro scanned the waters and shore for seabirds, I studied the shapes of the shadows between the rocks. Suddenly with a grin, he asked if I noticed anything interesting about the rocks I had been so focused on. "No," I replied, but then, my eyes caught the tiniest movement.
Do you see it?

morning coffee in agaete

upon a bed of pine needles

High above the black volcanic beach of Agaete, a vivid green pine forest spread along the jagged spines of the rocks. At times the summits were swallowed by a grey fog which slid into the valleys like a serpent, obscuring everything in its path. The pines, and their resident Blue Chaffinch were our goal, and we were determined to brave every hairpin turn up, and up, and up...



It had been a while since I felt the soft crunch of pine needles under my foot, and smelled their sharp yet comforting scent. Though we missed our bird, I felt a profound sense of peace while inspecting the forest floor.