Spain Day Seven. Tarifa: Cork Trees, Mushrooms, Flowers And A Few Birds At The Charco Redondo Reservoir

It was cloudy, windy with a light rain falling when I awoke  at my hotel near the docks in Tarifa, Spain  Tuesday morning.  I was told it was an unusually rainy and windy March in southern Spain this year. I wasn’t going to sit in my hotel so I was deciding whether I was going to walk in the rain in Morocco or look for cork trees in  the rain in Spain.

I decided I better take the ferry to Morocco since I had only two more days to do so while in Tarifa.  The only question now was whether the ferry would make the 9 mile voyage over the Straights of Gibraltar in the high winds. After having a couple of cups of coffee I walked over to the ferry ticket office and was told the ferry wasn’t sailing became of the winds.  I was a little disappointed but was hopeful I could take a ferry on one of the two day remaining on ny trip.

I was excited because now I was going to try and find some cork trees. I had wanted to see a cork tree since reading about them in  my elementary school geography class. The forest in Alcornocales Natural Park in southern Spain have some of the largest remaining cork forest in the world. I looked at my AllTrail app and decided that a good place to find some cork trees,  nice scenery and hopefully some  migrating or local Spanish birds would be the Charco Redondo Reservoir.located near the town of Los Barrios about an hour drive from my hotel.

After another great breakfast I was on the road again  driving on the steep and winding highway N-340 as it took me through the mountains north of Tarifa. It wasn’t a relaxing drive on winding, steep roads with  the sharp curves  in the heavy rain, It got worse driving through  the  city of Algeciras. I hit rush morning rush hour traffic  in  a torrential rain.   After leaving the city it was a nicer drive  on highway A-381 which took me into the  Alcornocales Natural Park. I left the highway and took a very narrow rutted road to the trail head on my All Trail map and parked there.

Only a light rain was falling when I left my car. I found the trail on the map but it had a gate on it. It was a loop trail so I decided to walk the other way and on the road toward the reservoir.

I saw no  other people on  my walk  and only one car parked along the road.   I came to the trail marked on the map. It was muddy and looked more like a stream because of the heavy rains.

I followed the trail and soon accomplished one of my goals on this trip, I saw my first cork tree. It looked a lot different than then picture my 10 or 11 year old mind imprinted in my memory. It looked like, and actually was, an oak tree.

I would see many more cork trees on my hike. Like  the many species of oak trees that grow  in the woods near  my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania, every tree  was different and had its unique character. I  loved the cork trees.  I touched the bark and it felt like…… cork.

The bark is carefully peeled from the tree.  The bark will grow back in 9 to 12 years and can be harvested again.

I continued on the trail toward the reservoir.

The skies started to clear,  and for one of the first times on this trip,   I heard , and saw, a  lot of  bird activity. I first saw this short-toed tree creeper scurrying up a tree top. It acted  much like the brown creepers I see in the woodlands near my home.

Nearby I saw the  brilliant patch of feathers on this small bird’s forehead., it was a common firecrest,

it reminded  me of the ruby  and golden crowned kinglets  native to Pennsylvania. I  would see many  more of these fidgety  birds on my five mile hike.

I also saw a lot of these birds singing loudly in the trees along the trail, Iberian chifchaffs ,

and common chiffchaffs.

A great tit was also singing in the trees along the trail. I had already seen almost as many birds as I had  on the first  four days on my trip.

The skies continued to clear as I walked on the trail and got closer to the reservoir. Like the many reservoirs I hike in Pennsylvania, it was built in the 1980’s for flood control and for the production of hydroelectricity.

I saw many more cork trees on my hike and loved their many different sizes,

and shapes.

I also saw many wildflowers blooming along the trail  I am not sure if these idetifications are accurate, I relied on mu iPhone app and  Google lens which identified this yellow flower as common broom, and is native to Spain,

this as herb robert,

this stinking chamomile and,

this French lavender,

and  this onion weed were seen all along my five mile hike.

It was a nice hike so far, but I didn’t escape the rain.  Occasionally the  winds would pick up and storm clouds would appear, sometimes passing by and others producing a passing rain shower or downpour.

I didn’t mind, I had my rain gear, and my dry second pair of hiking shoes., my other pair was still  wet  from my hike the previous morning. However, the rains caused condensation to form my camera lens.

I continued on the trail and encountered two dogs, thankfully they were friendly. I then met their owner an elderly gentleman with a basket, and mushrooms in his hand.

This was a remarkable encounter for me, and I think , both of us. I have been searching for wild edible mushrooms since I was two years old  with my dad . I was four years or five years old when I could identify the red top bolete species we picked for our family and for our traditional Polish mushroom soup on Christmas Eve Holy Supper. I spoke no Spanish and he spoke no English but I stopped and pointed to his mushrooms and my iPhone.

I showed him photos of my many mushrooms hunts and watched as the surprised looks on his face. He pointed to many of the mushrooms I showed him and spoke their name in Spanish, He showed me the mushrooms in his basket and offered me some. I had no place to prepare them and turned down his generous offer. We smiled and parted company. It was a wonderful encounter I will always remember.I continued my hike, keeping my eyes peeled, like my dad taught me, for more mushrooms. However the elderly mushroom picker was good and the only one I found was this one growing on a cork tree and not edible.

I continued on the trail along the lake and came to a clearing,

where I found some more bird activity, mostly birds I had seen on my previous hikes, European robins,

Eurasian  blue  tits,

and Eurasian wrens.

I did see a new species, a long tailed tit in the tree tops.

AS I continued my hike, areas of the trail were  covered in mud and puddles from  water flowing  off  of the hillside above the reservoir.

There were still some rain showers but the skies were only partly cloudy and with a lot of blue sky and  sunshine.

I hiked  out about 2 1/2 miles and was just thinking of heading back when the I came to the end of the trail.

I started back, enjoying the scenery, listening to and seeing many of the birds I had seen earlier, and observing the many different shaped cork trees along the trail.

On the way I heard some rustling in the  shrubs along the trail, then some grunts. Two young wild boars or jabali ran across the trail and started digging at some roots. They seemed to not know I was watching but when one saw me they both into the safety of the shrubs. I was told I was lucky the mother didn’t attack me in defense of her offspring.

I walked back under partly cloudy skies, enjoying the  beautiful scenery of the reservoir,

and the many cork trees growing along the trail . 

As I neared the end my hike I noticed these three cornered  leeks I had seen growing  along the trail,

were pulled from the ground. They weren’t there earlier and I am assuming the mushroom forager was also foraging for these wild leek  Here is a link to a gallery on my web site with some more photos of the flowers  and plants  I saw on my five mile hike along the reservoir. Spain Day Seven. Tarifa Charco Redondo Reservoir. flowers   March 18 2025.

I finished my hike on the trail and began my hike on the road back to my car.

I finished my five mile hike and was lucky to beat the rush hour traffic in Alegciras on my drive back to Tarifa. . It was late afternoon when I made it back to my hotel in Tarifa..   Here is a link to a gallery on my web site with some more photos from  my five mile hike along the reservoir. Spain Day Seven. Tarifa Charco Redondo Reservoir.  March 18 2025.  

As I was walking on the roadway  I saw this Eurasian kestrel fly overhead and land on a tree in the distance. Here is a link to a gallery on my web site with some more photos of the birds I saw on my five mile hike along the reservoir. Spain Day Seven. Tarifa Charco Redondo Reservoir. birds.  March 18 2025.

I had hiked  over six miles, I was tired and hungry but I knew I had to wait until the restaurants in Tarifa  opened at 7 p.m. I decided to stay and eat at the hotel. I worked on photos until dinner. I ordered the daily fish special, recommended for two. I was hungry and had no problem finishing the  sea bream and grilled vegetables.  It was delicious. I  didn’t have room for dessert.  It was after 8 p.m when I finished eating, which is late for me. I edited some more photos and retired early, hoping to visit my 45th country , Morocco, in the morning. 

 

“I’ll walk where my own nature would be leading:
It vexes me to choose another guide:
Where the grey flocks in ferny glens are feeding;
Where the wild wind blows on the mountain side.”

-Emily Bronte