Cherry Trees in Bloom, Valle del Jerte, Spain

Yesterday's picnic in #valledeljerte enjoying the #cerezosenflor #cherryblossom #cácereswithkids #picnic #visitspain #total_extremadura #extremadura #turismospain #turismorural #extremadurafotos #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanetspain #nonotfar #lppostcardsnature #naturaleza_extremadura

Una publicación compartida por Troy Nahumko (@troynahumko) el Abr 10, 2016 at 10:47 PDT

Beyond the Golden Horn in Istanbul

A walk beyond the mosques in Istanbul. http://nonotfar.blogspot.de/2010/07/walk-in-istanbul.html?m=1 #fatih #istanbul #turkey #travelstories #ig_istanbul #ig_turkey #thestraitstimes #nonotfar

Una publicación compartida por Troy Nahumko (@troynahumko) el Dic 24, 2017 at 11:32 PST

A Bit of a Warning?

Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here's my version, then theirs.

The Queen paid a visit to Caceres the other day. Sorry, I should probably be more precise, I don’t mean the ex-journalist who is the darling of all the fashion magazines, but the one who, like me, can’t get rid of that stubborn accent from elsewhere. In these days of having two kings, two truths, two popes etc, things can indeed get a bit confusing. But as the refrain about the legendary Spanish generosity goes, donde comen tres, comen cuatro (where three can eat, so can four). Even in these difficult times when hospital beds are being cut back and people are expected to retire after they die, why not have two queens? And if the trains out to this part of her realm aren’t to her liking, well let's send a helicopter to pick her up. Anyways, don’t feel bad if you didn’t know about her visit, I only found that she was here when I saw the police towing my neighbors’ cars away for security measures, and I live in the old town. I had suspected something was up as I walked home and noticed more police that pedestrians but my suspicions were confirmed when I overheard an officer talking to a neighbor. The poor guy had just found out that his car had been towed away and the policeman was telling him that he shouldn’t be upset because he hadn’t been fined, though I’m not sure his taxi fare to pick it up will be included with the helicopter in the budget. It seems that la doña Sofia was here to attend a concert that in part was sponsored by the town hall and el Grupo Ciudades Patrimonio de la Humanidad de España. I found myself wishing that Iberdrola, the electricty company or even the water comany had also been part of this and the in the process they could have shown the town hall the way that they actually inform residents about something that is going to affect them a day or two in advance. The fact that TVE (Spanish National TV) was here with the queen will surely help promote our fair city but I’m sure that this wasn’t a state secret and a few signs the night before would have appeased even the most virulent republican.  

The Throat of Hell...and not what you think.

Cascading waterfalls, lush carpets of green, cherry groves, mischievous otters and picture perfect swimming holes aren't usually the first things that come to mind when you mention Extremadura, but that's exactly what you'll find up the Jerte Valley. From peaks as high as 2300 metres (7545 feet), centuries of gushing, spiralling water has carved out perfect bowls in the granite for taking a dip to cool off among the darting trout. Just two hours from Madrid, the Garganta de los Infiernos natural reserve just might be the best kept secret in Spain (but not for long). Maybe that's why they called it the Throat of Hell, to throw everyone off the scent?

#hiking #wildlife #river #outdoors #mountains #nature #swimming #park #valley #reserve #getaway #nationalpark #swimminghole #waterfall #cherrytrees #offthebeatenpath #otters #granite #gorge #erosion #hell #extremadura #route #valledeljerte #jerte #cerezos

The Token Guiri

Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here's my version, then theirs.

As the token guiri (nordic foreigner), I’m often asked what I think about certain Spanish traditions. From Semana Santa to bullfighting to the seemingly foreign meaning of the word resign, people are curious about how a foreigner might perceive things that fit inside Fraga’s famous tourist slogan, Spain is different. The thing is, I have lived my entire adult life outside the country of my birth and I can no longer say for certain if my recollections of Canada are still valid enough to be able to accurately contrast them against what I see around me. All the same, my surname is a long way from Gonzalez and I can compare and contrast what surrounds me against the many other countries that I have lived and spent time in. So the other day while I was talking with a friend and the topic of cleanliness came up, I happened to be in complete agreement with my interlocutor that Spanish homes are by far some the cleanest places on Earth. The eye-watering smell of beach that you often encounter as you walk the streets is proof positive of that. My curiosity, however, lies in the fact that this fastidiousness seems to end the second that they step out of their homes. Hours can be spent scrubbing tiles at home, but the street seems to be for someone else to clean. Out of the barely ten families in my neighborhood, at least four have the twice daily ritual of opening their doors to allow their favorite pet to do their business outside the family home, on other people’s doorsteps of course. No matter how often the street cleaners comes by. and here in Spain they come by often, they simply can’t keep up with the dogs and cats of my neighbors. I’ve actually never been inside their homes but I’m sure they live up to Spanish standards of cleanliness. What confuses me is the contrast between the bleach in their homes and their blithe disregard for the mess they leave in the streets. Could it be they simply want to create jobs? I guess this make-work project could be admirable but I am convinced that our money could spent on something a bit more productive than cleaning up after Fido.