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El Sosiego
Donantes de Sangre 9
Lagartera 45567 Toledo
Spain
Telephone (0034) 925 430874
Email c/o alisonlever at yahoo.co.uk (I can speak to you in English and pass on messages to Tere, owner of El Sosiego)
Website: www.elsosiego.es
El Sosiego is a 'casa rural'. or a small rural hotel in Lagartera, a village west of Talavera, on the route between Madrid and Portugal, in prime birdwatching country. The Gredos mountain range is half an hour's drive to the north, El Gordo, an important water bird location, is twenty minutes' drive to the west. Lagartera is in a corner of Castilla La Mancha, close to the border with Extremadura to the west, and Castilla y Leon to the north east, so it is an ideal spot for exploring different terrain, plains, hills and mountains.
The Parador at nearby Oropesa (see below) offers a castle and a more bustling town. Lagartera offers peace, and easy access to good walking country, especially to the south of the village. Roads stop due south of Lagartera, but you can drive south along dirt tracks, or take a picnic and walk.
Locally there is a wide variety of birds, especially birds of prey. Rabbits are abundant, and, once you leave the outskirts, much of the land to the south of Lagartera is rough terrain, with granite boulders, untouched by ploughs or pesticides, so there is a friendly habitat for birds. Springtime and early summer are good times to visit. Bee eaters chirrup among the olive trees, Cattle egrets accompany flocks of sheep, Hoopoes dopily appear on the dirt tracks (they are nicknamed 'the silly bird' in these parts). Magpies are abundant. Black kites, cranes and storks fly overhead. Little owls appear on fences at dusk, like little policemen asking why you are still out and about.
Gardeners will be delighted to find that bee orchids, miniature narcissi, lavender and thyme all flower in the spring time. High summer is a little hot in these parts, though if you start out at dawn, when the air is fresh, you can walk for an enjoyable few hours until the heat builds up and it's time to eat and take refuge indoors for a siesta. Autumn starts when the rains come, usually in October, and the grass turns green again. Winters can be cold, but generally sunnier than in England. The cranes are especially noisy as they fly overhead in Autumn.
The Sosiego itself has five double rooms on two floors. All the rooms have ensuite bathrooms heating and air conditioning. Guests can share a living room and a fully-equipped kitchen. There is free parking and there are two tranquil patios to relax in. Often you have the place to yourself, though El Sosiego is usually fully booked at fiesta times, when the village tends to be noisy, with bands playing in a nearby square, very loud fireworks, and disco dancing till dawn Spaniards do like to party. Other busy times include local weddings, so you need to book in advance just in case, and check whether there is a fiesta, so you can choose whether you want quiet, or dancing and noise. Tere is used to English visitors, and communicates well in sign language. For written English bookings, please use the email address above. Tere does not use a computer, so the mail to the email address on her website is not answered!
Tere brings you breakfast, and there are plenty of local restraurants to choose from. Casa Carlos offers everyday fare, generally very acceptable, though it's worth saying you want him to go easy on the salt. Llares is a more sophisticated restaurant for special occasions. There is a good bakery in the Corredera where you can order very tasty quiches and empanadas (pies) to take on a picnic.
The village is an odd mix of austere exteriors and Baroque interiors, which you can see in the Museum and, if you ask, in Llares. Lagartera has long attracted artists and photographers, attracted by the traditional costume and embroideries. There are several murals in village streets which are the fruits of collaboration between local artists and visiting talent. A painting of one of these artists, Carlos Gorrindo, is shown above. The municipal website gives some idea of the surroundings and the rich aesthetic tradition of this place http://www.lagartera.es/ . There is an odd mix of the kitsch and the sublime in the local decorative tradition. Outside the village, there is great beauty in some of the surrounding countryside, which contrasts with the lunar landscape of piggeries to the east of the village, and concrete block walls, which, sadly, have replaced some dry stone walls several hundreds of years old. This is the real Spain, which few English tourists get to see, and it is well worth a visit, both for the birds, and the local culture.
Where to Watch Birds in Southern and Western Spain: Andalucia, Extremadura and Gibraltar
is an excellent guide to birds in the region - Largartera is almost in Extremadura, and is a good base for excursions further into Spain's wild west.
John Muddeman's 'Birdwatching in Extremadura' is an excellent guide to the delights awaiting birdwatchers in this region, as well as offering practical advice for travellers. 'Biology and Wildlife of the Mediterranean' is also worth reading, to understand how the habitats of Extremadura have been shaped, and how the inhabitants have developed. This book is a great eye-opener for anyone who holidays in the Mediterranean region and has an interest in wildlife, whether in the birds found there today, or dwarf hippos found in Mediterranean islands millions of years ago
The Paradores of Oropesa and Jarandilla
The Paradores of Oropesa and Jarandilla offer comfortable accommodation in picturesque surroundings. They are quite pricey if you are on a budget, but can bring a welcome return to civilisation if you have been camping. And what is special about them, of course, is that they are in converted castles and palaces. The Oropesa parador offers easy access to the plains south of the Gredos, while Jarandilla is in Gredos mountain country, and Monfrague is easy to reach from there.
http://www.paradores-spain.com/spain/poropesa.html
http://www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pjarandillavera.html
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