Fortunate with our experiences
We are lucky guys.
A long tiime ago at a conference I was told that we should look for work in something that we were passionate about. And I, who worked in marketing and sales departments of multinationals at that time. I said that ok. But that work was work. That work cloiuld be many times painful and boring.
Well, over the years I found an activity that pleased me a lot. I enjoy greatly with the visit of wineries and as much with the complementary activities that were proposing. Those activities we proposed seemed attractive to us and also for those who came with us.
Bird watching
One of those complementary activities to the visits of the wineries that we propose is the watching birds and activities with birds as falconry. There are beautiful places for doing such activities while you are visiting areas like Ribera del Duero, La Mancha, and Avila.
We are also fortunate to have a very special expert bird whatching guide. The first time we hired his services, he surprised us a lot when he told us that he, as an expert in birds we could ask him anything we wanted about the matter. That he would answer to us if he knew about it. But if he did not know he would invent the answer but that he would do it so well that we even did not notice. I laughed out loud when I heard him. This kind of approach Works for him but not for me. Much less when I see that when someone asks me something and then just they look at Google t oread Google version. I think I can not compete with Mr. Google’s knowledge.
I will tell you about two different experiences we have had in La Mancha in the past.
Experiences in La Mancha
In one of them came we brought some visitors of Hong Kong, to La Mancha, first to El Toboso, where Dulcinea del Toboso was born. In some of the streets of that town, you can read how a few words of the different chapters of El Quijote (it was an impressive experience). From there we went to see the windmills of Campo de Criptana and from there we went to a place where we could see a lot of birds. Our guide came very well prepared. He brought binoculars for each one of us as well as a powerful telescope. It was unforgettable. Have a look at the enclosed video. Don Quixote windmill
Another more recent experience has been visiting one of the most interesting castles in all of Castilla La Mancha (the Castle of Consuegra). In this castle and upon request there is a beloved character.
He is a bird of prey trainer. He does a show In the middle of a medieval castle. The experience can not be better. He explains that there is no better environment to have a falconry experience than to do it inside a medieval castle. He introduces us to each of the birds that he has been training for a long time. The experience is intense because after having introduced ourselves to each of the birds and having held it with his falconry glove, he asks us to do it too. He tells us that the bird perceives if we are scared or not. And if we keep our composure the bird will be calm. But if the bird senses our fear then it will be agitated and try to be the one who dominates the situation. So you have to be a brave man… or pretend you are a brave man.
Have a look at the video you can find enclosed.
The experience does not leave you indifferent. For sure it is something you will not forget it in a long time.
All this we are writing about happens in a wine tour. Because we always begin with the visit of a nice winery with beautiful wines. The wines is coming with us the whole day. We believe that everything is better with a glass of wine in hand. And we ussually end with another visit to a different winery.
There is a very interesting trend in an appreciable number of castles in the area.
The visit to a castle is always attractive but they pretend that there is a more active attitude of the castle with dramatized visits. Also with spectacular events like the Medieval World Championship Combat.
If you like to do wine tours. If you wish to participate in activities that go out of the ordinary, join us. We intend to do them whenever we can with a glass of wine in hand. Everything is more beautiful with a glass of wine in your hand.
Written by
Ignacio Segovia
Ceo of Winebus.es
Other posts to read:
Folding sails in the windmills of La Mancha
