Natural History Along the Camino Frances

[hfenton]

Can anyone provide resources concerning the natural history (birds, flowers, trees, geology, etc.) one encounters along the Camino Frances?

 

[Anemone del Camino]

My old Pilipili guide of the Frances had such information at the begining of each chapter corresponding to a new section (Basque country, Rioja, etc.). But the guide is in Spanish and I don't know what they have published more recently.

 

[kaixo]

You can access Pili Pala Press at http://www.pilipalapress.com/
They no longer have a print version but the online info is quite good.

Do a "maps" search on this site and you will find a lot of information and suggestions for resources.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

You can access Pili Pala Press at http://www.pilipalapress.com/
They no longer have a print version but the online info is quite good.

Do a "maps" search on this site and you will find a lot of information and suggestions for resources.

So glad they are still out there. One of my favourite features of their book was the lengends they told of the different villages.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

geology

Every rock you step on is 4.5 billion years old, and may be substantially unchanged that entire time. Appreciate it!

Buen camino.

 

[C clearly]

Here is a thread on geology.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Every rock you step on is 4.5 billion years old, and may be substantially unchanged that entire time. Appreciate it!

Buen camino.

There are a few humans who just may have stepped on rocks of that age; Apollo astronauts!

 

[hfenton]

You can access Pili Pala Press at http://www.pilipalapress.com/
They no longer have a print version but the online info is quite good.

Do a "maps" search on this site and you will find a lot of information and suggestions for resources.

Thank you for your helpful response.

 

[trecile]

The Archaeological site at Atapuerca. There is an interpretive center close to town, and you can take a bus from their to the actual archaeological site for a tour.

 

[Kanga]

I downloaded a field guide app to the wildflowers of Great Britain, which was the best I could find to help me identify flowers and plants along the Camino - but I wish there was something (in English) that was more specific, and that also included a field guide to birds likely to be encountered.

 

[hfenton]

Here is a thread on geology.

Thank you for pointing out this thread.

 

[hfenton]

The Archaeological site at Atapuerca. There is an interpretive center close to town, and you can take a bus from their to the actual archaeological site for a tour.

View attachment 31105

Thank you for this information.

 

[trecile]

Thank you for this information.

I forgot to mention that the tour at the site is in Spanish. Fortunately one of the other pilgrims I was with was fluent in Spanish, and translated the salient bits for us. There were large signs with information in English and French. Maybe another language too, but I don't remember.

 

[Priscilla NC]

I forgot to mention that the tour at the site is in Spanish. Fortunately one of the other pilgrims I was with was fluent in Spanish, and translated the salient bits for us. There were large signs with information in English and French. Maybe another language too, but I don't remember.

You can also get a lot of information on Atapuerca at the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos -- their first floor is dedicated to this and the signage is also in English. It's fascinating.

 

[movinmaggie]

May I suggest The Pilgrimage Road To Santiago, by David M.Gitlitz and Kay Davidson - a treasure-trove on the art, architecture, geology, history, folklore, saints' lives, flroa and fauna.

 

[Kanga]

I second The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago. It is a big book but can be downloaded into a Kindle app on a smartphone, which makes it easy to carry. A book to consult as you stand in front of a retablo and wonder what you are seeing.

 

[Dunny Ramsay]

I concur with the kudos of The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago. Lovely, dense, filled with detailed "raphic" descriptions (geog and hagiog). Also, for this former farm boy, lovely bits about the crops and vedge along the way. Wish that I could carry it with me, but then I'd need a truss as well as walking poles! And, not that you asked, but Fr Kevin Codd's "To The Field of Stars" is an absolute delight as well, though less about flora and fauna and more about the gentle complexity of one human spirit.