ROUTES: 4TH STAGE REGIONAL MIGRATION (LAGO DE OMAÑA – ABELGAS DE LUNA)
Jul 30, 2010 Activities, Castilla y León, Culture, Spain, Mountain, Nature, Leisure, Landscapes, Routes, Hiking, Traditions, Tourism, Tourism, Cultured Tourism, Tourism León, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
A while ago I wrote about Regional Migration and more specifically, about a migration made by a farming family from León. We still have one stage left to reach the end of this migration: Lago de Omaña – Albelgas de Luna, the most physically demanding.
Below are links to previous articles on this route provided here as a reference.
Just a note before we begin this next adventure: there is a map and a file of the route which you can download at the end of the article. Please remember that this information is merely representative so if you decide to do this route, we strongly recommend you equip yourselves with a map and compass or GPS.
Tags: Abelgas de Luna, Animal, Animals, Culture, Lago, Lago de Omaña, Mastiff, Spanish Mastiff, Mountain, Mount, Nature, Landscape, Sheepdog, Dogs, Route, Routes, Hiking, Traditions, Seasonal Migration, Regional Seasonal Migration, Tourism, Active Tourism, Tourism León, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
ROUTES: 3rd STAGE REGIONAL MIGRATION (LAS OMAÑAS – LAGO)
Jun 23, 2010 Activities, Culture, Mountain, Nature, Landscapes, Routes, Hiking, Traditions, Tourism, Tourism, Tourism León, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
We continue with our “Regional Migration” adventure. In previous posts, I gave you the first two stages of this route:
As I mentioned, we were on a route that takes several days to do which is somewhat special in the company of a family of shepherds that are transporting over 1000 sheep on foot.
This stage is a half-day, and takes places along beautiful villages and mainly through the mountainside with its spectacular views to enjoy.
Of the three days that we have covered, this is the loveliest, although we still have the forth stage left to do, perhaps the hardest, but also the most spectacular.
Tags: Lago, Las Omañas, Mastiff, Spanish Mastiff, Mountain, Mount, Nature, Landscape, Sheepdog, Route, Routes, Hiking, Seasonal Migration, Regional Seasonal Migration, Tourism, Active Tourism, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
ROUTES: 2nd STAGE – REGIONAL MIGRATION (SAN PELAYO – LAS OMAÑAS)
May 14, 2010 Activities, Landscapes, Villages, Routes, Hiking, Traditions, Tourism, Tourism, Tourism León, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
Before I begin, I’d like to tell you that I shan’t name all the villages that we have passed through because they are quite a lot but they will be indicated in the map found at the end of this article.
If you were surprised in the 1st stage of the number of sheep that made up the flock, over 600, then imagine this stage with over 1000 sheep and walking along narrow village lanes…
The adventure continues!
Dawn is breaking and we are already on our way. There are many sheep, so the organisation has been thorough to ensure that everything goes well. Meanwhile, two Spanish mastiff pups play together, quite unaware of what will be, probably, their own future in a few years’ time.
The stage ahead, for me, is one of the hardest on a psychological level: monotonous landscape, very flat land…you always see a very similar horizon and you can’t perceive the end of the stage. It feels like an eternity, but this time it was different. Leer más »
Tags: Carrizo de la Ribera, Las Omañas, Mastiff, Spanish Mastiff, Nature, Landscape, Honourable Way, Sheepdog, Villages, Órbigo Bridge, Route, Routes, San Pelayo, Seasonal Migration, Regional Seasonal Migration, Tourism, Active Tourism, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
ROUTES: 1st STAGE ON REGIONAL SEASONAL MIGRATION. (SOTO DE LA VEGA – SAN PELAYO)
May 7, 2010 Activities, Sports, Nature, Leisure, Landscapes, Villages, Routes, Hiking, Traditions, Tourism, Tourism, Tourism León, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
The preparations begin with the shepherd putting the bells on the sheep. The flock, the Spanish mastiffs and the sheepdog know that they are about to set out on an adventure and you sense the group is restless.
It’s time to go and we’re off!
We hope we will have a good walk without any mishaps, given that there are many kilometres ahead and we have to adjust to the rhythm, but…the sheep are very keen to reach their destination. It’s impossible to do the entire route in one day, so it is spread out over four stages, this being the first leg of the journey: Soto de la Vega – San Pelayo (León).
This stage takes only half a day, just enough for us to adapt little by little to the group, to distinguish the Spanish mastiffs and the sheepdog, which are working non-stop from the very beginning.
As we advance along the route, we pass poplar groves which are exceptionally green thanks to the rainfall this year; we cross over River Órbigo, which is quite high at the moment, along the Paulón Bridge. Leer más »
Tags: Culture, Hinojo Shrine, Mastiff, Spanish Mastiff, Nature, Landscape, Sheepdog, Dogs, Villages, Paulon Bridge, River Orbigo, Route, Routes, San Pelayo, Hiking, Soto de la Vega, Seasonal Migration, Regional Seasonal Migration, Tourism, Active Tourism, Cultured Tourism, Tourism León, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism, Valdesandinas
TRADITIONS: REGIONAL SEASONAL MIGRATION IN SPAIN
May 4, 2010 Activities, Spain, Routes, Traditions, Tourism, Tourism, Cultured Tourism, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism
This article and the three to follow might just surprise you a little, because they won’t be on any tourist destination but instead they will be about a thousand-year-old tradition that is being lost in Spain: seasonal migration.
This article is an introduction to the three articles to follow, where I shall tell you about the experience I had between 30 April and 2 May 2010. It was a unique experience, having the honour of accompanying a lovely family of shepherds from León, (Spain), on a regional seasonal migration.
Last weekend I saw how hard living seasonal migration is and what good it does too. We have to ensure that seasonal migration does not disappear, not just because it is a tradition, but because the flocks clean the mountains and fertilise them as they pass along these routes. Leer más »
Tags: Culture, Route, Routes, Hiking, Seasonal Migration, Regional Seasonal Migration, Tourism, Active Tourism, Cultured Tourism, Natural Tourism, Rural Tourism