The first blooming orchids and other wild flowers of 2014 in northern Spain

Deze post in het Nederlands: Klik hier.

To my great pleasure, last February 8 I have been able to see the first flowering orchids of the Cantabrian Mountains of this year. Because this winter is actually relatively mild and damp, these orchids have appeared  more than a week earlier than last year. Off course these orchids were not yet in full bloom, but on the lower part of the spikes many orchids had already several flowers. The orchid  I am talking about is the giant orchid or Himantoglossum robertianum. The name giant orchid is due to its large size and great length, sometimes with a height of about 1 meter. When an orchid is not blooming, it is often very difficult to determine the exact species or even the genus it belongs to. Nevertheless, with some practical experience it is possible to distinguish some species, using characteristics related to leaf color and leaf shape, which can be recognized but are often difficult to explain.

READ FURTHER AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.

The Liebana, a Mediterranean valley in the middle of the Cantabrian Mountains

Deze post in het Nederlands: Klik hier.  

These days its quite cold on the northern Spanish Meseta and the Cantabrian Mountains. However, in the heart of these mountains there exists a low-lying valley that is completely surrounded by high mountains, with a difference in topography of almost 2500 meter. This valley is called the Liebana and lies at the foot of the Picos de Europa, a limestone mountain range that already in 1918 was proclaimed the first national park of Spain. The surrounding mountains keep the wind and rain away, while the low altitude is very beneficial to the average temperature. The Liebana is blessed with a Mediterranean climate, which is unique for the Cantabrian Mountains, which is also clearly evident in its vegetation.

READ FURTHER AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.

The bufones of the Asturian coast (Spain)

Deze post in het Nederlands: Klik hier.

As promised in the previous post, the turn is now to the bufones of the Asturian coast. Because of the rain and splashing water of the waves and the bufones, most pictures failed or are of a poor quality, but I think I still have been able to make a reasonable selection. By the way, we went back last weekend with some very spectacular results, especially regarding the Bufones of Pría, but these photos will be addressed in the near future.

The bufones are holes, crevices or even small potholes that are connected to the sea through an extensive cave system which is open towards the sea. When the waves fill the caves the air inside is compressed and violently blown upwards through the fractures with a loud bellowing. So a bufón is a fracture which exhales air with great force and noise. This sound is what has given the name to the bufones because "bufar" means "el resoplar con fuerza del toro ", or "the hard and fierce snorting or bellowing of the bull". When the swell of the sea is great the bufones can be heard miles away, but also during summer and insignificant swell most bufones will blow. The big difference is that if there is a considerable swell, the bufones also expel high fountains of water. A Bufon in action is truly an amazing spectacle, and therefore it is astonishing that outside the province of Asturias it is almost an unknown phenomenon. I live only about 140 kilometers away from the bufones and in my village the bufones are practically unknown.

SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS OF SCREEN FILLING SIZE.

READ FURTHER AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.