Sierra de Guadarrama

Sierra de La Cabrera

Sierra de La Cabrera. Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid Province. I THINK I may have posted this twice already on ipernity, but I haven't checked yet. Yes I have. But it stays! I like it that much!

Great walking country.

Sierra de La Cabrera. I found it difficult at first to capture these Griffon vultures, but eventually I found a way. And it meant stealthily climbing upwind and in shade. www.ipernity.com/doc/2247598/album/1022196

Giant granite boulder on the flank of Cancho Largo. View from the Sierra de La Cabrera towards the centre of the Sierra de Guadarrama.

OK, mid October but the summer did drag on and on that year (2011)! A small pine tree of some sort in the foreground and a holm oak (encina) seemingly growing out of the rocks.

Granite, lavender and cistus, Sierra de La Cabrera.

Granite shapes. Cancho de La Bola (home to vultures-a-plenty), Sierra de La Cabrera.

Granite and lavender, La Sierra de La Cabrera.

Shadows can throw up some surprising things! Sierra de La Cabrera. Sight and Sound; www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-4uKgXRnpI

Convento Monasterio de San Julian y San Antonio, Sierra de La Cabrera.

View from Cancho Gordo, to the Bustarviejo Valley and (from L to R) on the horizon, the rocky extravaganza of La Pedriza, Bola del Mondo and Peñalara, the highest peak in the Sierra de Guadarrama. The mountain goat shots posted a few weeks ago were taken just round the corner to the right but I couldn't quite get them in shot from these rocks.

No rain so far this year for large parts of Spain and the reservoirs are at late August levels.

A solitary juniper tree ( Juniperus comunis , thank you Isabel!) and one of my favourite trees. This is on one of my more regular approaches to the ridge and so I greet it like an old friend. Surrounded by lavender and so I suppose the terrain should be called 'cantueso'.

Sierra de La Cabrera. I have the name of this orchid somewhere, just not not on the tip of my tongue. I'll add it later! Later Isabel provided the answer; Orchis Mascula . Thank you, Isabel! For Marie-claire.

Cantueso, cistus and granite. Sierra de La Cabrera.

Peña del Tejo, Sierra de La Cabrera granite, Spanish lavender, cistus and gorse Sight and sound: No reason to post this except to say this is the greatest pop song of all time! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PinCg7IGqHg "

Sierra de La Cabrera, the gentler northern slopes. I am standing on the main path that passes through the Sierra. It's difficult to see here but it goes off to the right in the foreground, re-appears at the right, half way up the shot then splits in two. The path going off picture to the right goes up to the ridge proper and the one that swings back left into the centre of the shot stays safely below the crest. Guess which I prefer to use!