Lagunas de Ruidera & Campo de Criptana

 ¡Hola a todos! This past weekend we went on our second big excursion, traveling to two incredible sites in the countryside of Castilla-La Mancha: Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park and the molinos of Campo de Criptana. 

Lagunas de Ruidera is a protected natural area famous for its 15 beautiful lagoons, which appear to be separate lakes but are actually all connected by small streams, waterfalls, and subterranean waterways. The lakes are famous for the beautiful blue-green color of the water, and have been mentioned in famous works such as Don Quixote! We arrived at the park at around 9:30am, where we were greeted by our tour guide. He hopped in the bus with us and showed us around the park, telling us how the lagoons were formed, how they were used in the past, and what kinds of plants and wildlife live in the area today-- including some flora and fauna that exist no where else in the province! Then we took a break, ate some lunch, and hung out by the 'beach' for a few hours. It was a beautiful place and it was so fun to be in the great outdoors!

Next, we got back in the bus and took a trip over to the countryside of Criptana, where we saw the same centuries-old windmills that Cervantes wrote about in Don Quixote. The windmill we toured still has the same roof and internal machinery as it did in the 16th century. Then we took a quick break to get some snacks and buy some trinkets, before hopping back in the bus and driving back home. It was a long day, but we all had a great time! You can check out pictures from our trip below.

We have a few more fun activities this week, including a trip to the pool, a radio interview, and our visit to the mayor's office, and not to mention: our final trip to Madrid! I'll be posting more updates whenever I can!

-Ari

Lagunas de Ruidera:

















Campo de Criptana:




















 

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