Stone pine (Pinus pinea) tree bark. Galicia, Spain
A came across this amazing tree earlier this year in Galicia, Spain. It was partially prostrate, but still growing. The beautiful, plate-like bark was adorned with mosses and lichens, which gave it a strangely artistic effect, almost like an abstract painting! It is, I think, the stone pine (Pinus pinea L.).
Stone pine (Pinus pinea) Rio Sor, Galicia, Spain
What struck me most about this tree however, was the remarkably beautiful composition and texture. The presence of the lichens pointed to clean and pristine environment.
Stone pine (Pinus pinea) with lichen
The bark of this tree is thick and plate-like, an adaptation which protects it against fires.
Stone pine (Pinus pinea) bark
Just a natural phenomenon, but a joy to see because somehow it conjures up a deep seated desire to connect with the substance of the world from which we have emerged.
Stone pine (Pinus pinea) bark. Rio Sor, Galicia, Spain
And also, I think, a love of patterns and textures, which must somehow be related to our ability to find meaning in the complexity of nature.
If you find yourself passing through La Coruña airport in northern Spain any-time, make sure you have a look at the frogs. This small airport is located in the suburbs of La Coruña – also called A Coruña in Spaanish – and is one of a number of gateways into the province of Galicia. A far cry from the hustle and bustle of Heathrow airport – where flights on the airline Vueling depart from – it is relaxed and uncrowded, with a great restaurant. They even serve you a delicious soup from a steaming hot cauldron at your table. Imagine that at Heathrow!
Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi)
It’s always fun landing at this airport, which is located on a hill about 7 km from the city centre. But what I have come to appreciate as I have passed through this little airport over the years, is that it is a really good place to see Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi), also known as Iberian water frog, Iberian green frog, or Coruna frog. I’m not joking! There is a series of ponds at the at the northern end of the airport, just by the road leading out of the airport, and close to the car park. It is easy to find it as there is an example of the traditional Galician stone gain store (or horreo) besides the ponds.
Frog pool or lily pond at La Coruna airport
The ponds themselves are covered in water lilies on which the frogs can be seen resting, if you approach carefully. More likely you will hear plop, plop, plop as all the frogs hear your footsteps and jump into the safety of the water!
Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi) La Coruna airport
This frog species is not endangered (although amphibians are vulnerable everywhere), as is widely distributed and common across the whole of the Iberian Peninsula and is found in southern France, and elsewhere where it has been introduced, like Madeira, the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi) with bubbles
They are highly variable in colour and patterning, and look a lot like the Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibunda) which is what I thought they were when I first came across them (1). Confusingly, they also hybridise with each other to form a type of hybrid frog!
Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi)
So whilst not being unusual, you might not come across a better place to see them whist visiting Spain or Portugal, and it is a good way of whiling away some time waiting for a flight. They are particularly vocal and lively, jumping around and inflating their vocal sacs, during the breeding season (Spring) (1).
The small city of Mondoñedo is located in the province of Galicia in northwest Spain. It lies along the so-called Northern Pilgrim Way, of the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) (1). Although, it is now a relatively small town of about 4,000 people – the population has been declining since the nineteenth century – it was once a mediaeval city of great historical importance.
Mondoñedo, with the cathedral church rising above the town in the centre
The central square is dominated by a large Cathedral Church which dates from the early thirteenth century. Construction of the church began in 1219 under the first Bishop, San Martín. It is worth remembering that this was at the time of the crusades, just 15 years after the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, and at the time of the Fifth Crusade which failed to recapture Jerusalem. It was also at the time of the so-called Reconquest of Spain, when large areas of southern Spain were being recaptured from the Moors by Christian states. Indeed, by the time of the church was consecrated in 1248, most of Iberian Peninsula – apart from a small territory of Granada in the south – was under Christian control.
14th Century mural depicting the Slaughter of the Innocents (detail)
So against this background, it is interesting to look at the 14th century murals or frescos, in the Central nave of the Cathedral, which were only found when the choir was removed from the central nave. They are said to reflect some aspects of St Peter’s life and the Slaughter of the Innocents and the Flight from Egypt.
14th Century mural depicting the Slaughter of the Innocents
Another interesting feature of Mondoñedo cathedral is a statue called the English Madonna – Nuestra Señora la Inglesa – which is located in the sanctuary of the Blessed Sacrament. The Madonna was rescued from St Paul’s Cathedral by an Englishman nobleman called John Dutton during during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 to 1541). John Dutton settled in the town of Viveiro, Galicia and brought many wooden images from English (catholic) churches to Spain. Between 1533 and 1675, thousands of Catholics fled England and moved to Spain, mainly in the north(2). One wonders how easily these exiles settled into Spainish society at the time, and what influence they had.
The English MadonaEnter a caption
The Cathedral boasts an attractive stained glass rose window, dating from the 16th Century.
16th Century stained glass rose window
There are some striking reliefs on the outside of the cathedral. I am not sure who is depicted in this work (below), perhaps one of the founding bishops?
The waves were crashing into the rocks on this day in early June. The spray rose high into the air and the water cascaded down the rocks back into the ocean. Few surfers were braving the elements on this day in early June. I stood on one side of the bay and pointed my lens at the waves breaking on the other side, trying to catch some of the power and dynamism of the ocean. On Esterio beach, Galicia, Spain.
Waves on Esterio beach Waves on Esterio beach Waves on Esterio beach Waves on Esterio beach
Galician ponies in their traditional habitat on Serra da Capelada, northern Galicia, Spain
Galician ponies are a hardy breed of short-bodied, semi-feral horses which live on the mountains of Galicia, in NW Spain. They are said to be derived from a mixture of Celtic horses, Roman horses and horses brought to Spain by ancient Germanic tribes (the Swabians), and subsequently cross-bred with other breeds. They are however, superbly adapted to the rugged conditions found on the hills of Galicia, often clad in shaggy coats, highly resistant to the rain and mists of this Atlantic climate.
Galician pony with slightly wet coatGalician pony on rugged hillside
Galician ponies are mainly chestnut, or bay coloured (i.e. light reddish-brown to very dark brown), but there are plenty of white ones, and piebald (brown and white) ones.
Piebald ponyWhite mares with brown foal
There are said to be different types of Galician ponies in different parts of Galicia, but they all have a straight profile, strong legs, and are between 1.20 and 1.30 meters in height (12.2 – 13.2 hands on average) (References 1, 2).
Chestnut pony with blonde mane
They were traditionally bred for meat and horse hair (which was used for brushes), but they are now mostly used for riding or simply as a tourist attraction decorating the hill sides. Many are however, not tame. Although quite tolerant of people, in my experience of trying to take photographs of them, they can be shy, but very protective of their foals.
White mare and chestnut foalPiebald mare and foalVery young foal
They said to be rounded up just once a year, in a ceremony called rapa das bestas, where the foals are separated from their mothers, marked and deloused. I am not sure if this practice – which is a rather dramatic affair as the horses are wrestled to the ground by men – occurs everywhere though. In the past the manes and tails were cut for the hair, and wonderful hair it is! The manes are often long blonde locks as shown below.
Mare with golden mane and foal
The stallions are not so common as the mares, presumably they would fight with each other if kept at too high a density.
Galician pony stallion
It’s hard not to be impressed by the natural, semi-wild lives these animals live in a beautiful countryside. Idyllic when the sun is shining in early June – as in the following sequence – but no doubt a different matter during the cold, wet winters. Nevertheless, they are perfectly suited to this climate, having lived here for thousands of years. They are a living legacy.
The white horse was not the mother, but was very tender and caring of the foalAn idyllic scene of mares and foals on a Galician hillside in early JuneFoal brushing through its mother’s tail
This magnificent dark, reddish-brown horse – below – was very flighty, and took off as soon as I arrived where the horses gathered, in my car. I am not sure if all the horses on the hillsides in Galicia are traditional Galician ponies, but they are magnificent animals.
I came across a small flock of Common Linnets (Carduelis cannabina) having a bath in a small stream flowing onto the beach at Fornos, near the town of Cariño, in Galicia, Spain (1).
Linnet bathing
Linnets (Pardillo in Spanish) are quite common in Spain, and flocks can be seen throughout the year along both sides of the Ria Ortigueira. These birds were bathing and preening in late April.
Linnets bathing
There’s not a lot to say about them, but it is interesting to see how vigorously they bath and how they shake their heads rapidly to and fro.
Linnet bathing
Where there were two males together, I got the impression that one would bath and the other would keep a watch out; but this might just have been a co-incidence.
Linnets bathing
They also seem to like to get water right up under the breast feathers. Who wouldn’t! The two males in the following photo appear to have lifted up their breast feathers and you can see black under the red and white feathers. Must be wearing a vest!
Common Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) two males with raised breast feathers
After bathing they spend some time sitting and preening and generally drying off. You can see glimpses of black (skin?) under the feathers on this female (below).
Common Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) female drying feathers
Polarising filters are easy to screw onto a lens, and if used with care, add a whole new dimension to your photography. In particular they darken blue skies and alter the tone and translucency of water as well. I fitted a 77mm polarising filter onto the front of my two favourite Nikon lenses (17-55mm f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8) and had some fun taking images during a visit to Galicia, Spain. On the wide-angle lens, the polariser really enhanced the colour of both the sky and the water in the above photograph. It really emphasised the reflections of the little white clouds. You can of course vary the extent of the polarising effect, by rotating the lens, and the choice of how much polarisation to create is really a matter of choice.
Mud banks Ortigueira with polariser
Another effect of a polariser is to increase the colour saturation and enhance the green colours in a photograph. I think I managed to this in the above photograph, – using the 70-200mm lens – where the green vegetation on the mud banks at low tide, is nicely saturated. A polarising filter will decreasing the amount of light passing through the lens – by up to two f-stops I understand – but the light meter of a modern camera will evaluate the light passing through the lens and adjust the exposure accordingly. Nevertheless, a polarising filter works best I think in bright light.
Fish swimming in the Ria Ortigueira; taken with polarising filter
One area where a polarising filter really comes into its own, is when looking down through water. The filter really worked well in cutting down on reflections producing more transparency into the water, when used on the 70-200mm to capture these fish swimming in the Ria. All of these images were taken around the town of Santa Marta de Ortigueira, which is located at the head of the Ria Ortigueira, Galicia, Spain. A Ria is a coastal inlet, or drowned river valley that leads into the sea, and there are many beautiful Rias in NW Spain.
Esteiro beach – or Playa de Esteiro de Bares in Spanish – is a beach used by surfers in northern Spain, in the Province of Galicia. It is a beautiful wide strip of sand that is rarely busy. Apart from the surfers, there are a few dog walkers, the occasional tourist and the odd, flower-sniffing entomologist, such as myself!
Esterio beach, empty on a calm day
It is located near the Cabo Estaca de Bares (or Cape of Bares) on the road tp Viveiro. There is an attractive headland on the east side of the bay, which affords a good, elevated view of the surfers in the breaking waves. I have visited this spot before looking for flowers (and wrote a blog about a lovely Dianthus (‘pink’) flower called Dianthus monspessulanus on my other blog (Ray Cannon’s Nature Notes) (1). There is an excellent aerial photograph of this beach on Pinterest (2).
Surfing at Esterio beach, Galicia
Surfing looks great fun, but it is clearly difficult to do well, and I have never tried it myself. Probably, I enjoy taking photographs more than I would surfing, who knows. I’ll have to try it sometime.
Surfing at Esterio beach
There is not much to say about these photographs. This set was taken recently, on 23 April 2015. I don’t know any of the surfers, but it would be nice if they could see themselves and hopefully enjoy the images (at least the ones where they are upright!).
Surfing at Esterio beach
The surfers wait in the water for a good wave. Judging the best place to be to catch the waves is obviously quite an art. The action happens quickly, and even a good surf run only lasts for a few seconds. I selected a shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, which was probably OK. It is more a matter of when to press the shutter, as it is hard to judge whether a given surfer will have a successful run. The most dramatic photographs were when there was a ‘wipe out’! Sorry guys! But the ones where the surfer is riding the surf and trailing his hand against the wave are also nice. I particularly like the following image, where the surfer is completely encased by the wave, although it is hard to make out that there is a person inside the breaking wave.
Surfing at Esterio beach; surfer encased by breaking wave.
Galicia, in north-western Spain is a beautiful part of the world. It is much greener than most of the rest of Spain and is sometimes called the Scotland of Spain! It certainly has the celtic roots to go with this appellation. One of the reasons it is so green is that it often rains! weather fronts come in off the Atlantic and bring a succession of sunshine and showers. This produces a lot of rainbows, which I often see forming across the Ria Ortigueiraa from the window of my flat. Here are two I managed to capture before they faded away.
Rainbow above the Ria from the town of Santa Marta de Ortigueira in Galicia, Spain.
Ray's ramblings 