|
Finca Santa Marta's visitors praise the vastness of the surrounding "dehesas", the scenic views from the silent roads winding through unspoilt nature and the dazzling beauty of wild lavender and red poppies covering hill after hill in springtime.
It is the outcome of partial clearance of woodland. The dominating tree is the holm oak sheltering the merino sheep and the black or brown Iberian pig which feed on the oaks' acorns during the autumn months giving the meat its sweet flavor. The cork-oaks, their bark ripped off every 9 years, grow in the humid mountain folds. But as the soil is poor and the pasture insufficient, transhumance of merinos and cattle used to take place to the northern pasture lands along the age old "caņadas". These tracks however no long echo the romantic shepherd ballads as the moving is now done by truck.
Half an hour driving from the Finca, a dehesa-area stretches between the Natural Park of Monfrague and the medieval village of Guadalupe (Monastery with its black-faced Holy Virgin, victory on the Moors; later, Columbus paying homage to the Queen of Castilla). It is home to a magnificent diversity of birds and is very popular with birdwatchers and nature-lovers from all over the world.
|
