Starting the New Year off on the right foot

Happy New Year!

I hope this is a wonderful new year for you, healthy and challenging only in ways that are fun. 😊

The typical New Year celebrations in Spain, as I described in my blog post several years back, include eating 12 grapes at the sound of each of first 12 chimes that ring in the new year, and watching the big ball fall in the Plaza del Sol in Madrid.

Since Covid numbers are really high, we did not spend the evening with friends, but rather had a quiet night, spoke with family members on the phone, then ate our grapes and got to bed. But, the next morning we headed out early, to bird some of the outskirts of Madrid, where there are some really pretty nature preserves.

First we headed to the southeastern part, to the Parque Natural del Sureste and walked the Ruta Circular de la Laguna El Campillo.

We birded around the lake area, and then climbed the hill and took in the scenery. It was a gorgeous day, in the 50s, with plenty of sun. And there were tons of people there too, of all ages, walking and riding bikes. I was surprised at how busy the place was!

My favorite of all the birds we saw that day were the white storks, which used to migrate back to Africa every winter, but now have been hanging around in Spain since climate change has made the winters more accessible. Some of these birds will go back to more northern areas of Europe for the summer, and some still do fly to Africa for the winter, but there is quite a large population that toughs it out here, two per nest. These birds stand 5 feet tall, so you can imagine how large that nest really is!

Then on Sunday, we drove north about 25 miles to the mountains called Sierra de Guadalix and spent the day walking on dirt roads, enjoying the birds. There were a few cars that drove on these dirt roads, but we didn’t think our little rental car could handle the mud holes further down.

It was another lovely day and we had packed a lunch, so we just stayed and admired the views.

As we walked, we found the ruins of a small castle or nobleman’s home, probably from the 1400s, now completely in ruins, standing on the top of a hill with a great view.

Even the sunset was spectacular. And on the left of the picture below, you can see 4 towers that are in Madrid.

So that’s how we started the year. How about you? Were you able to be with family and friends?

Hugs to all. And as always, please check out (and tell someone about) my novels here.