# My own private Spain.



## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Ok, i´ve already poted a thread like this on the latinscrapers and as forumers there seems to be enjoying it i´d like to share my visions of Spain, my country, with you.

You may find here famous landmarks, unknow spots, modern buildings, classic places, gardens, natures, wild animals, curious celebrations, brand new infrastructure, ugly yet _charming _industrial areas...a bit of this and that, but at the end pics that yould tell you something about the country.

Hope you all like it at least half as i do choosing the pics!:cheers:



*ALL PICS on this THREAD ARE HOSTED ON FLICKR​*

Let´s Start with a few pics of *NAVARRA*.











Orbaizeta Fields, Navarra 









Intercity serie 448 Irún-Madrid, border between Navarra and Guipuzcoa.










Real Fábrica de Armas y Municiones de Orbaitzeta. Abandoned Royal weapons Factory









Foz de Arbayun, Navarra









Bardenas Reales I, Navarra









Bardenas Reales II, Navarra

The Bardenas Reales Natural Park, a unique semi-desert landscape sprawls across 42,500 hectares in south-eastern Navarre. Behind its barren and inhospitable appearance lie tremendous natural treasures; for example, it encompasses three Nature Reserves. 

Water, limestone and clay have sculpted spectacular shapes which take you into a world that is almost moon-like in appearance that is fashioned by gullies, smooth plateaux and solitary outcrops. 

The capricious shapes and the unsettling aridity of the area have inspired painters and writers, and it was once the hideout of bandits and other legendary characters. 

It has also been the scene of television commercials and films such as Airbag, Mutant Action, Pride and Passion and The World is Not Enough. Indeed, a unique destination for visiting on foot, horseback or by bicycle.











Selva de Irati
The Irati Forest is the second largest and best preserved beech and fir forest in Europe, an immense green mantle of some 17,000 hectares that is still in an almost unspoiled state. Standing among the western Pyrenees of Navarre, the Irati Forest is accessed from the picturesque villages of Ochagavía and Orbaitzeta and is a natural treasure in which you can find the protected areas of Mendilatz and Tristuibartea and the Lizardoia Integral Reserve. 

Sit down in the heart of the forest and enjoy communing with nature; let yourself be enveloped in a silence broken only by the wild rushing of water between beeches and firs. Admire the crystalline currents of the river Irati that turn turquoise in the Irabia reservoir and listen out for the elusive sounds of the fauna and stroll across the soft blanket of grass that covers the Irati Forest. The scent of the woods will impregnate itself in your skin.


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

*La Rioja*

*La Rioja​*
is a province and autonomous community of northern Spain. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nájera. It´s World famous for its wines.









La Rioja Fields,










vineyards at Fall










Darien Winerie










Ebro River, Logroño


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

*Aragón (Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel)*

Aragon (Spanish and Aragonese: Aragón, Catalan: Aragó) is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza (also called Saragossa in English).

Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees. Within Spain, the region is flanked by Catalonia on the east, Valencia and Castile-La Mancha to the south, and Castile and Leon, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west.

Covering an area of 47,719 km2 (18,424 sq mi), the region's terrain ranges diversely from permanent glaciers to verdant valleys, rich pasture lands and orchards, through to the arid steppe plains of the central lowlands. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro—Spain's largest river in volume, which runs west-east across the entire region through the province of Zaragoza. It is also home to the Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.

As of 2006, the population was 1,277,471—with half of the region's people living in Zaragoza, its capital city.

In addition to its three provinces, Aragon is subdivided into 33 comarcas or counties; all with a rich geopolitical and cultural history from its pre-Roman and Roman days; and from the four centuries of Islamic period as Marca Superior of Al-Andalus or kingdom (or taifa) of Saraqustah, and as lands that once belonged to the Frankish Spanish March or Marca Hispanica; and counties that later formed the Kingdom of Aragon and eventually the empire or Crown of Aragon.












pyrenees, Huesca









Alcañiz, Teruel 
Alcañiz is a town and municipality in Spain with a population of 15,130 (INE 2005), an area of 472 km² and a density of 32,05, located in Teruel province, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Its geographic coordinates are: latitude: 41° 2' N, longitude: 0° 7' W, altitude: 381 msl. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Its distance from Teruel, the provincial capital, is 149 kilometres and, from Zaragoza the regional capital, is 105 kilometres.

Alcañiz is the capital of the Bajo Aragón comarca and after Teruel, is the second city in the province.

On 23 May 1809 during the Peninsular War, the Battle of Alcañiz was fought between a Spanish force led by General Blake and French troops commanded by General Suchet.










pyrenees, Huesca










Valderrobles (Matarraña), Teruel










Los Mallos de Agüero, (Huesca - Aragón)


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

*Ramdom Spaces*

*Culture and more​*








Tenerife Opera House, Islas Canarias










Museo Würth, La Rioja










Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe, Valencia




























Museo provincial de Zamora










Library of the UNED (UNIVERSITY), Madrid









CaixaForum, Madrid


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

*Huelva and Jaen*









Carzorla Castle, Jaen










Abandoned Castle of the isle of Bujaraiza, Jaen










Huelva, Doñana National Park









Huelva, Flamingos









El Rocio, huelva


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## JAVICUENCA (Dec 27, 2004)

After seeing these pictures it´s impossible not to feel proud of being Spanish. I don´t want to sound arrogant, but what a wonderful country we have!

Thanks very much for your pictures.:cheers:


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Villa de Bocairent, Valencia









TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes by Herzog & de Meuron









Holding Hosues of Frias (Burgos)









The Almendra Dam in Salamanca, Spain, interrupts the course of the River Tormes five kilometres from the village from which it takes its name: Almendra (literally, almond). It was constructed between 1964 and 1970.

The dam forms part of the hydroelectric system known as the Duero Drops, along with the Castro, Ricobayo, Suacelle and Villalcampo dams of Spain, and the Bemposta, Miranda and Picote dams of nearby Portugal.

The reservoir that backs up behind the dam covers 86.5 square kilometres and contains 2.5 billion cubic metres of water as well as several drowned villages, among them Argusinos. The dam is more than half a kilometre wide and, at a height of 202 metres, one of Spain's tallest structures.











Veles e Vents

The Veles e Vents (Sales and Winds) building takes its name from the poem of the same name as a tribute to its author Ausias March, the greatest exponent of the Valencian Siglo de Oro or Golden Age.

This is an innovative architectural venture by renowned architects David Chipperfield and Fermin Vázquez, which has doubtlessly become an icon for the visit of the 32nd America’s Cup to the city of Valencia. The project, whose aim is to create and share a single space, puts forward a combined and interconnected solution involving three items. Valencia


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

*SALAMANCA*

*Salamanca​*








Plaza Mayor. Main Square









Convento de San Esteban










New Cathedral









Colours of the Stones


















House of the Shells


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Belchite,Zaragoza: Bombed and destroyed during the spanish civil war.










Broto, Huesca










Santillana del Mar, Cantabria









Granada









Valle del Pisueña – Cantabria


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Cabo de Gata, Almeria









Hoces del Río Duratón, Segovia









Nuévalos, Monasterio de Piedra, Zaragoza










Ceuta, royal walls








+
Lugo, Roman Walls


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Castillo de Loarre, Huesca









Tenerife, Islas Canarias









Barcelona, collserola Torre









Valencia









Bilbao









Claustro de Santo Domingo de Silos (Burgos, Castilla-León)


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## CasaMor (Mar 14, 2008)

Wonderful country! Unfortunately, I only know the south  I love Andalusia!


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Alcazar de Segovia










Tina Menor - Pesues - Cantabria









León









Vertical Take-off, Valencia 










Peratallada (Girona)









River SIl, Galicia


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Maspalomas, Gran Canarias









Gran Canaria









Albarracin, Teruel









Elantxobe-Vizcaya









Cabárceno - Cantabria









Fageda d'en Jordà - Girona


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Parque Natural Sierra de Baza - Granada









Arrozales en la Albufera - Valencia









Monasteria de Poblet - Tarragona 









Tarifa, cádiz









Division natural del rio entre Las Hurdes en Extremadura y Salamanca


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Islas Canarias, Maspalomas









Faro de Maspañomas, Gran Canaria










Los Gigantes, Tenerife










Frank Gehri - Marques de Riscal Hotel - Alava Spain.
The 3 colours from Marques de Riscal can be appreciated:
- Gold: from the cup
- Silver: from Marques de Riscal net
- Purple: from wine 









Barcelona


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## Cocolicchio (Mar 20, 2007)

Hermosas fotos, precioso país tanto en su faceta urbana como en su entorno natural.


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

thanks for your comments, A few more pics later


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Awesome and very nice :cheers:


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## qompass (May 26, 2009)

beautiful country, very colourful


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

*[B]CELEBRATIONS[/B]*









Battle of Flowers, La Batalla de Flores – 26th July – Feria de Julio Valencia









Rapa das Bestas - Pontevedra. 

RAPA DAS BESTAS is an ancient festival of ‘Shearing the Beasts’ and it is dated back to the Bronze Age. 

Sabucedo is a small town located in Estrada’s municipality, only a 30 minutes drive from Santiago de Compostela (Galizan Capital). Sabucedo residents and visitors go to the mountains to gather wild horses for the Rapa das Bestas once a year, the first weekend of July.

Once the Bestas (wild horses) are in the town of Sabucedo they are guided to the Curro (kind of big stone corral) where horses manes and tails are trimmed. It evolved from a tradition of caring for the animals and keeping them cool in the summer.
The purpose and history of this tradition is to keep track of the different group of horses that live in this area.

Legend dictates that all the wild horses are descended from two that were released as a gift of thanks to the Saint in the sixteenth century.
Since 2007 Rapa das Bestas is qualified as INTERNATIONAL TOURISTIC INTEREST.











Rompida de hora - Híjar - Teruel.











Tomatina - Buñol , Valencia










Moros y Cristianos - Ontinyent, Valencia.










Castellers , Tarragona











Horse racing on the beach (Since 1845) in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Cadiz.


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Baleares










Albufera, Valencia









cupper dock, Huelva









San Sebastián´s Castle La Caleta, Cádiz










Cervera de Pisuerga - Palencia











Zaragoza


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Wild Horses, Galicia









Castille´s Fields










Carmona, Sevilla









Murcia









Huesca


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Somewhere on the coast. Galicia









Islas Canarias









Valencia










Santa Pau, Girona









Malaga


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## Mr Equis (Aug 15, 2007)

:eek2::eek2::eek2:


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Thank for the comments. 


A brand new serie upcoming soon


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Algeciras Bay as seen from Gibraltar (UK)










CASTELL de BELLVER, Palma de Mallorca









This is a quarry in Tolox Spain with this little peace of nature left...










Casa mañana, Almuñecar. Granada









Torre del Agua, Zaragoza


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

Bilbao Cementery









Gijón, Asturias









Madrid, Prado Museum.
Monument to María Cristina de Borbón in the foreground.
On the left, the Army Museum (to be reopened in El Alcazar of Toledo).











Monasteri de Santes Creus

Santes Creus spirit born in 1150, when the Montcada family gave the first location of the monastery in Valldaura del Vallès. The first date, but in possession of the place of Santes Creus in the valley of Gaia we find the 1158. Given the jurisdictional disagreements between the bishop of the archdiocese of Barcelona and Tarragona, the monastery was the victim of a lawsuit that led to his secondment was free of any diocese. The main facade of the church, surmounted by battlements, XII century Romanesque doorway and features a large window with a Gothic. The plant is a Latin cross, is closed behind the altar and reredos, Josep Tremulles (seventeenth century), with a large rosette. Also has three sturdy ships and five chapels abacales, near the main altar are located the tombs of Pere II the Great (thirteenth century) on the one hand, and of James II and Blanche d'Anjou (XV century) on the other. The monastery converted into a royal pantheon by the first of these kings was fortified during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The monastery preserves two cloisters, the tourist entry replacement is Gothic and Romanesque previous one, which is the only temple of the washing










Air Museum, Madrid. American two-engined transport aircraft which had a great success and of which 12.692 were made, constituting one of the four decisie arms in WWII. It was incorporated to the Spanish Air Force in 1943 with a total number of 25 units. The unit on display was used as a transport aircraft by the Sapper-Paratroopers Squadron during the Sahara Operations in 1974-76, and was then donated to the Museum in 1977.
Source: Air force Museum


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