El Perro Negro

Grumpy old mountain man living in Spain

Social-Feed

El Perro Negro (@elperronegro) on Khumbu

Gabi Fava admiring the magnificent Mt Fitzroy (Chalten) from our campsite alongside the Glacier Sur de Gorra Blanca, on our approach to the Patagonian Icecap

A man with green jacket is stood on a small rise below the giant mountain of Mt Fitzroy in Patagonia. Blue skies all around

3 weeks ago we put a small polytunnel in our swimming pool. Did it to improve water efficiency in a smaller area. Yesterday evening we ate our first lettuce and the rest of the crops are shooting up. Tomatoes, red & green peppers, chilli, broccoli, cucumber all doing well. And, no problem with wild boar destroying the crops 😂

A small polytunnel is filled with green vegetables. Some light comes through in the centre section

Chilli plants hanging off the plant

A green polytunnel is built inside of an old swimming pool.

Came across some Pine Tree Honeydew whilst walking in the forests of the Sierra Nevada last week.

Honeydew is a sugary liquid that some small insects secrete as they feed on the sap of certain trees, including pine trees. Honeybees collect these sweet secretions and process them into dark-colored, full-flavored honeydew honey. Pine honey is highly prized in some European and Asian countries for its reputed healing properties and culinary value.

Came across this spring yesterday with remarkable cooling properties. The Fuente de Corcuela at Moclin. I suspect originally built by it's wonderfully creative Arabic originators. It might have been 30c+ in the sun but on entering this area we were met by lovely cool air, generated partly by the shade but also by the water circulating through and away to lower regions. A wonderful spot and worth a visit if you are visiting the Granada area.

Water drops from a spring into a circular system of water channels that creates cool air

Yesterday we hiked the Ruta Gollizno at Moclin. A beautiful descent into a dramatic gorge with rope bridges and a heavily vegetated (cool!) river valley, followed by a tough ascent in the afternoon heat back up to the town. The cold beers afterwards were most welcome!

3 hikers cross a exposed walkway above a river with steep sided walls

A narrow bridge spans a gorge with overhanging rock walls to the right and a green forest further to the left

A steep sided rocky valley is to the left. Coming down from the right is a narrow hiking path with some hikers

A narrow path with 2 hikers on it drops into a wooded steep sided gorge

Morning everybody, it maybe but here is a waterfall that I encountered two days ago. It's the Tajo Cortes with the Rio Bermejo waters flowing down. A spectacular setting on the edge of Spain's Sierra Nevada National Park.

Water plunges down through a narrow gorge to form a waterfall. To the right is a lush green area of vegetation

Yesterday's saunter with a group of aspirant writers linking up the GR240 and the Rio Bermejo. Lovely day, beautiful weather and perfect temperatures for hiking.

A person sits at the bottom left of the image enjoying the view. Above is a huge sky filled with wispy clouds. Some trees are to the right

A group of hikers enter a forest, above is a huge blue sky

A person sits on a rocky outcrop looking at the view of forests, mountains and blue sky

In the foreground is a rocky gorge, the right hand rocks have trees on top. In the distance are green forests and a range of low mountains

Saw these little beauties up in the high Sierra Nevada today. Gentians (Gentiana sierrae), enjoying life by a mountain stream. Endemic to the Sierra Nevada, they grow between 1800m to 3200m). Always a welcome sight in the spring.

On the right some bright blue flowers (Gentians). To the left and blurred is an iron rich mountain stream

I love these village "fuentes" you find in the villages of the Alpujarra in rural Spain. Built in times long gone by. You just can't beat the sound of running water, especially in these difficult times.

Three water taps from mountain springs emit water into a trough. To the right there is a road illuminated in the morning sun

The quiet and quaint little village of Ferreirola in the Alpujarras, this morning, as the initial rays of the sun arrive. Just stunning!

A narrow street with a narrow building to the right and lush green foliage to the left and ahead

A narrow village street in rural Andalucia, blue sky above and green foliage to the right

An early morning village scene in the village of Ferreirola in the Alpujarra. Some of the street is in shadow whilst the first rays of the sun illuminate the rest of the buildings

5am and the moon was shining brightly. Just had to get out of bed, grab my wife's camera/lens and take a quick handheld shot.

The image is a close up of the moon taken from southern Spain. There are the major craters and features to be seen.

Beautiful morning here in . Here's a view from our dog walk showing the valley of the Rio Lanjarón leading up into the Sierra Nevada and the Ermita Tajo de la Cruz on the hill to the right. Have a great Friday!

A rural spanish scene with the outskirts of a small town to the left. A deep valley runs up towards the mountains. On the right is a small chapel on a hill.

Queen Boudica (Boadicea) of the Iceni was my 66th Grandmother!

Yes, it's true! I came from Granny Boadicea. My 66th Grandmother in fact. Here is the research done by my father establishing that. Thanks Dad.

The family tree (see link) also includes such illustrious names as:

Alfred (Ælfrēd) "The Great" WESSEX King of England (871-899) (849 - 901)

and unfortunately

Baldrick ie Balderich (Baldric) Teutonicus de COURCY (970 - 1018)

https://elperronegro.com/queen-boudica-iceni-was-my-grandmother/

Took a punt on the €75 TTArtisans 25mm f2 APS-C lens. (37.5mm full frame equivalent). Very cheap and with some obvious weaknesses, especially corner sharpness at f2, but in general for the price paid the lens doesn't do a bad job. Best of all the weight is under 200 grams which all helps my ageing legs when walking up hills!

Three yellow cactus plants sit amid a lot of green ones

To the right is the town of Lanjaron in Andlaucia. Above is a blue sky with some whispy white clouds

Relaxing and enjoying lunch on the summit of Chullo 2612m today. We climbed this from the Puerto de la Ragua, traversing the peak from north to south. In the distance there is still snow on the summit of mainland Spain's highest peak, Mulhacén 3482m

People sit and eat lunch on a mountain summit. There is a large trig point to the right. In the distance are some snow covered peaks