© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
What better introduction to El Maestrat than Penyagolosa, its emblem and focal point? It commands the eye where ever you are and at 1,813 meters above sea level, it is the second highest mountain peak in the Valencian community – … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
I have been going back and forth to this area of Spain for exactly five years now, trying to get a dream realised – a finca restored, and a simpler more fulfilling way of living started off-grid and with less … Continue reading
© 2012 stephanie de leng. All rights reserved.
El Maestrat is full of characters that have wandered in from somewhere else. There is not only your collection of English, Dutch and German ex-pats, but also a wider collection of Spanish ones. Spanish I hear you say? Yes, Spanish, … Continue reading
© 2012 stephanie de leng. All rights reserved.
Now that the cold spell seems truly over, I remember why I love this time of the year so much. The light is clear and crisp, with that “born again” quality that makes images sharp and colours fresh and vibrant … Continue reading
© 2012 stephanie de leng. All rights reserved.
There is a diversity of wildlife, insects, plants and yes, working animals in EL Maestrat. My first photo was of a horse and then a stick insect. Further apart you could not get. When the horse batted its lovely eyelashes … Continue reading
© 2011 stephanie de leng. All rights reserved.
“This contains images that you might find disturbing” I have been learning about all the processes a pig goes through before landing on our plates. After a number of hiccups, including being thrown out of the abattoir twice, a detailed … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
I have to put a date on some of these images for otherwise the cigarette police would be down at Bar La Tasca and co in a flash. I am so happy that I captured it and many other similar … Continue reading
© 2011 stephanie de leng. All rights reserved.
There are an awful lot of bulls around in August during which every village dedicates one week to a nightly bull-teasing. Having experienced this traditional annual event from afar over the last four years, I finally actually started to go … Continue reading
© 2011 stephanie de leng. All rights reserved.
I have been waiting a long time to get somewhere with the drama of my masia. On The finca diaries I am writing about it from the beginning and here I am writing about it from the present and end-ish, … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
Pork is big business here. Hardly a meal appears without its presence in one form or other. Every week I see the trucks packed to the gills with strangely quiet pigs, perhaps intuiting that they are on their way to … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
On Sunday it was exceptionally hot, even by Spanish standards. At around 6, my son Harvey and I drove into Atzeneta to sit in a bar and have a drink. As soon as we entered the village, it was clear … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
Some weeks ago Felix and I went to a restaurant in Benlloch, a village I would not normally linger in though I have driven through on numerous occasions. Felix, as I have written previously, helps me on the finca and … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
Miguel is the local iron man, but much more than that. Miguel is truly an artist and makes amazing sculptures, some so intricately woven that it is hard to believe that they were made of iron. He has strong shoulders … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
Ever since my father sent me a postcard from Paris of Claude Monet’s Poppies at Argenteuil I have been in love with poppies. Nothing in the world looks as romantic to me and I think that it is the red … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
Tortosa is a crumbling city on the River Ebro about twenty minutes inland whose renovation has been halted by the deep Spanish recession. Much of the architecture is heavy with moorish influences and sitting atop this decaying pile is an … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
I will not pretend that the old folk always eye me kindly. I in turn wonder about their pasts, about what they did in the Franco years. El Maestrat was heavy with his supporters, and I have been told it … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
Traditional animal herding is still a common sight in El Maestrat. I once showed these photos to a local of Atzeneta and she was horrified. Stephanie, she exclaimed, you cannot put this on your website, people will think we are … Continue reading
© 2011 Stephanie de Leng. All rights reserved
The use of pebbles in flooring, both inside and out, is very common around El Maestrat from the mountains right down to the coast. They are generally inlaid into the floor amongst large smooth stones, but sometimes you will come … Continue reading