575 million years ago was when Spain was born. Well, the land mass that would eventually become Spain was born. Now, I’m not gonna bore you with the evolution of the Precambrian Era but let’s just say that over the past several million years there’s been a lot of molten rock which eventually cooled and became great masses of granite. Those great masses of granite were eaten away by wind, rain, and snow while others were progressively degraded over millions of years to create globular monolithic forms known as bolos, true sculptures molded by the hand of nature. One area of Spain managed to retain just a vestige of that original granite. You guessed right – Los Barruecos.
Los Barruecos is 575 million years old, formed at the time Spain’s bedrock solidified from the magma. It was declared Natural Monument (a designation that guarantees the protection of this space with the aim of preserving it for future generations) due to the nature richness it holds and because it is surrounded by spectacular landscapes. Water has played an essential part in creating this unique natural habitat. The many lakes provide a habitat for numerous animal species, such as white storks and the grey heron, which find this an ideal place for their colonies.
During our recent trip to Spain’s Extremadura region, Los Barruecos was a short 20 minute drive west from the historic Old Town of Cáceres (check out the photographs HERE) and we figured we’d stop there for a while before our almost three hour drive back to Madrid. We weren’t expecting much but this bizarre and beautiful place became one of our favorite stops on our trip. I’ll let the photographs speak for themselves on this one but needless to say that no trip to Spain’s medieval Extremadura region should be complete without a stop at Los Barruecos.
