Valles des Jerte and de la Vera

Today  we explored the Valles de la Vera and del Herte, known for their terraced cherry orchards and half-timbered villages.

We started at the Yuste monastery (closed) 

and drove up a windy country road into deciduous oak forest.  After numerous switchbacks, we came over the top and descended into the valley of Garganta la Olla.  It's a very old half-timbered town, and its citizens are very proud of it as two of them stopped us to tell us how special it was.

Checking out the old houses

Resting on a XVI century bench

Next we headed up a higher mountain pass and left spring and cherry blossoms behind

and hiked through the heather

up to an Embalse (dammed reservoir) which had a great view of the town of Piornal down below,

and also, the plant of the day:

Wild daffodils.  Unfortunately, we did not place a coin next to it for a sense of scale, the blossom is about a centimeter across.