Beauty without borders
"How austere, how solemn, how exciting is the Spanish Tajo.” So was our great river described in the 19th century by the English traveler Richard Ford as he threw aside the travelers’ conventions of the era and penetrated deep into the Spanish heartland.
I wanted use this phrase to begin sharing my experience about this amazing border-jumping project: The Tajo International Natural Park, a stretch of 25,000 hectares that, for the first time in European history, covers two different countries: Spain and Portugal.
After discovering this natural park, I also discovered the amazing people living in this nearly-forgotten territory, a people who’ve taken great lengths to preserve their stunning natural heritage. In the southeast of the province of Cáceres near the other Spanish “finisterre,” there’s an impressive park featuring a unique, endemic ecosystem where the Tajo River serves as the source for rocky mounts, green meadows, and endless hills harboring species like the black stork, golden eagle, and vulture nesting amid gorgeous fields of lavender and wild daisies. Here, nature reigns supreme.
