Author:mena
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig III September 24, 2009. La Juanera and Barranco del Mátalo. After several days of persistent rain, the sun illuminates the clean autumnal atmosphere; At the top of the mountains, through shaded areas and valleys, oaks, poplars and ash trees begin to turn yellow, where these groupings of trees now stand out in the Mediterranean landscape. The flock moves through the high peaks of the Sierra del Caroig. Not far away, in the depths of […]
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig II September 10, 2009. Caroig Jose Vicente is the last shepherd of Caroig, he represents the last hope of a thousand-year-old profession on the verge of disappearance. At 42 years old (2009), he cares for one of the last herds of Celtiberian white goats in the Valencian Community. Together with uncle José1 we went up to the Caroig peak in search of JV’s herd of goats. This shepherd is one of the few who […]
Ortiz: the last shepherd of Caroig I The movements of the herds of Jose Vicente following the rhythm of the seasons is as follows: AUTUMN-WINTER: barn in the Rambla de la Molinera. El Burriquet, Santich, Hongares, Benefetal (all in the Bicorp terminus). SPRING-SUMMER: Corral La Casa del Cura. Pico Caroig, Tona-Fuente de la Carrasca (Teresa de Cofrentes). Finales de verano de 2009
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres VI January 2010 One cold afternoon in January, Ramón’s herd grazes peacefully on top of a mountain range, in the herd there is a dying sheep, Ramón tells me that about 3 days ago he was stung by a sheepdog. In the afternoon he decides to leave her in the corral, because he saw her in very bad condition. Vipers are one of the dangers that a shepherd can encounter. This snake usually bites in […]
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres V June 2009Dawn in the mountains, the rooster sings. The herd prepares for the suffocating heat of summer. Ramón arrives at the corral and before taking out the impatient sheep, hangs the bag and the crook on the stake of the entrance door. He prepares to carry out his daily liturgy, which consists of separating the lambs born days before from their mothers, since they are too small even to go out into the bush, […]
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres IV May 2009Sierra de Navarrés, reservoir road of Escalona and Tous. Sunny morning, the herd quietly grazes in an abandoned orchard. Suddenly, a sheep goes into labor. Days ago the shepherd had already warned him: “Tomorrow there is a change of the moon and it is easy for the sheep to start giving birth.” So it happens, one of them does and gives birth to two lambs. In the shade of a large cherry tree, […]
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres III May 2009At the end of May we accompany Ramón, our shepherd from Navarrés, through the abandoned fields that border the clearings in the forest. It is already spring and the swallows are celebrating wildly from one side of the sky to the other, knowing that the passage of the cattle will provide them with food: the insects that hide among the stones and are now exposed. Nearby, in a small grove on the mountain, […]
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarres II One cold and icy afternoon in January, we returned to one of the two pens that the shepherd has in the mountains. This time we go to the one near the path that leads to the Fuente del Pino. The corral is located at the Pie-de-Monte of the sierra, in a dry land area full of terraces of olive and carob trees. At its side: abundant water, air, the sound of sheep shearing, a […]
Ramón García, shepherd of Navarrés I DECEMBER 2008 He accompanied Ramón and his flock along the paths of the Sierra de Navarrés, known in Valencian by the beautiful name of El laberint de la lluna plena. We leave the road that goes from Playamonte to Fuente del Pino, a mountainous area that is currently populated with chalets. Nature continues to struggle to make its way, but each time feels more drowned by the hand of man. That is why there […]
The Avendaño brothers October 7, 2009 TRAIL TO THE WINTER PASTURES I met Jose and Amando one autumn day, when the yellow leaves of the poplars begin to fall. An icy wind was blowing. These two brothers from Ayora, who were 42 and 48 years old in 2010, respectively, had a herd of two thousand white mountain goats. They spent the summer in pastures in the Requena area, in the Herrada del Gallego area. When autumn arrived, they migrated to […]
