Baza - Sierra de Baza

On Saturday, Caelli and I hired a car and drove to the Sierra de Baza, the national park to the south of Baza (which rhymes with Martha). My first time driving on the wrong side of the road (terrifying), and my first time in a manual for over 10 years (not so bad, except the gearstick is on the right and the clutch didn't engage until it was almost out).

It took about half an hour to get to the Visitor Centre in Nirvaez. After a quick look around, we sat down for some morning tea.

Then off for a walk. I was looking for birds. Caelli had a book. This set the tone for most of the day.

The vegetation is mainly pines, many overrun with yellow-flowered mistletoe.

There were also other deciduous trees, including fruit trees. The first bird I got my binocs on was a Common Crossbill - a tick for me.

There were a couple of different butterflies flitting around. I got a decent photo of the swallowtail.

We went back to the Visitor Centre for a picnic lunch.

After lunch, we drove further into the park and found a lookout with good views of the ranges to the south, and to the north, the Altiplano - the plateau on which Baza is located.

We drove a little further on. The road was deteriorating and the habitat wasn't looking any more interesting. We stopped for half an hour when we came to a place where I could turn around.

Back to the Visitor Centre, which was the nicest area we'd discovered. We spent the rest of the afternoon there. This was where I found the Hoopoe, and we both saw a squirrel and this handsome fellow.