Draft of FEDFA meeting in Spain 19-21th october 2012 This is the draft on the 2 nd of May 2012. Some details will be cleared in coming days. IMPORTANT: It is strongly advised to confirm attendance by 1 st of August. Free accommodation at La Romera (1 st night only), will only be given in strict order of confirmation (in conditions indicated below: priority of 1 delegate + 1 accompanying person to more accompanying persons per delegate). Confirmation by e-mail to Tomas.Landete@uclm.es Thursday 18th October: Arrival of the delegates. They should take the train from Madrid (AVE) to Puertollano train station. They will be fetched from the train station to take them to La Romera game estate. The timetables for the 18 th of October from Madrid to Puertollano can be found in Table 1 in following pages. Accommodation: 1 free night, breakfast paid (still not known the price) for 14 double rooms (reserved for 1 delegate + 1 accompanying persons, or 2 delegates, if more rooms remain free, can be used for more accompanying persons). All other delegates may choose between: 1 st. Accommodation in a hotel/guest house in Puertollano (3 hotels in booking.com ranging from 50 to 85 /night). 2 nd. Free camping in front of the main house in La Romera. Price of breakfast and meals in La Romera to be determined (typical food for hunting parties in open air in Spain). Evening of 18 th of October, visits to the game estate for delegates arriving early. Friday 19th of October. Morning. Visit to the game estate. La Romera is a typical estate to keep deer and other big game. It is over 2500 Ha. Meal at La Romera (if the number of delegates exceeded the possibility of providing meals, we might consider taking delegates to a local cheap restaurant). Evening. FEDFA meeting. Accommodation in La Romera: paid at about 50. Saturday 20th of October. Departure to Toledo (no price yet known). Likely stop in Alcazar de San Juan to visit the wind mills of Don Quixote and the tower of the Master of the Templars. Arrival to Toledo: visit to the medieval hospital of the Saint Cross (free), the Toledo Cathedral (prime cathedral of Spain, 7 ), and the Monastery of Saint John of the Kings (2.5 ). Meal for 10-15 people in the typical restaurant La Campana (menu 12 ), remaining delegates in various restaurants at will. Accommodation: to be booked by each delegate. We suggest to try in booking.com. Please note that old city can be travelled easily by walk, but in other areas of the city delegates may need a taxi. 1
Sunday 21st of October. Departure to Madrid. There are many buses and trains because it is near Madrid. Timetable of trains to Madrid (about 12 ) can be found in http://www.renfe.com/en/viajeros/horarios.html For those interested: departure to Albacete (250 km). Arrangements will depend upon number of delegates (accommodation can be free at Tomás house for 2-3 people), the rest should be in a hotel/guest house. Albacete offers the visit to the University experimental deer farm, and depending on time and funding possibilities of delegates, visit a local game estate (far less good than La Romera ) and the beautiful village Alcalá del Júcar with a visit to the castle, the 150 m cave of the devil with a bar at the end with a balcony over a cliff, and a walk in the village. Suggestions: Toledo is beautiful enough to spend a whole week. If you are not coming to Albacete, we suggest you spend one or two days in the city. Have a special meal in the cigarrales or hotels in the other side of the valley surrounding Toledo with sights to Toledo city (see picture 3). Alternatively, you can visit Madrid. El Prado is one of the best painting and sculpture museums in the world. Include in your visit the Spanish Gioconda. The Royal Palace can be visited and is as impressing as Kremlin royal armoury, Topkapi in Istambul, or Versailles palace in France (about 8 ). Webs of interest: Toledo for tourists: http://www.toledo-turismo.com/turismo/contenido/conociendo-la-ciudad.aspx Madrid for tourists: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/portal.do http://www.turismomadrid.es/en/ Alcalá del Júcar, the most beautiful village in Albacete, can be seen in: http://www.alcaladeljucar.net/menu.htm (or typing the name in google images). Webs for reserving hotels in Spain: http://www.booking.com/ http://www.trivago.co.uk/ 2
Table 1. Timetable of trains from Madrid to Puertollano. The prices and booking can be made via internet. There is a discount of 50%, 60% and 70% (depending on class) if the ticket is bought with, at least 15 days of advance. There is no possibility of change, and there is a cost of 50% if ticket is cancelled. Tickets can be purchased in https://venta.renfe.com/vol/iniciocompra.do (click on welcome for an English version) or travel agencies. There are two trains at 20:06 and 22:36 not included here. TYPE OF DEPARTURE DURATION PRICE TRAIN ARRIVAL 02260 AVE 6.25 7.38 1 h. 13 min. 09366 ALTARIA 8.35 9.52 1 h. 17 min. Tourist class: 40,10 Tourist class kids: 24,05 First class: 62,10 First class kid: 37,25 02090 AVE 9 10.06 1 h. 06 min. Prc in station Tourist class: 40,40 Tourist class kids: 24,20 First class: 62,50 First class kid: 37,50 09218 ALTARIA 9.05 10.22 1 h. 17 min. 3
Tourist class: 40,10 Tourist class kids: 24,05 First class: 62,10 First class kid: 37,25 02092 AVE 9.35 10.43 1 h. 08 min. 02122 AVE 12.35 13.41 1 h. 06 min. 02130 AVE 13 14.06 1 h. 06 min. Prc in station Tourist class: 40,40 Tourist class kids: 24,20 First class: 62,50 First class kid: 37,50 4
02170 AVE 17 18.06 1 h. 06 min. 02172 AVE 17.35 18.41 1 h. 06 min. 5
Picts 1-2. Deer in Spain are mostly kept in large (> 1000 Ha) game estates with wild boar and other ungulates. Compared to more than 3000 of these and a population of +600,000 deer, there are over 150 farms. FEDFA meeting in October will take place in one of these game estates (La Romera, Ciudad Real, +2500 Ha). Picts 3-5. Part of the visit to Spain is to appreciate the cultural heritage and character of a country. The meeting offers (if accepted by delegates in march) the possibility to visit Toledo, capital of Spain when it was an empire over 20 million km 2 distanced up to 12,000 km. Upper picture, Toledo is a city surrounded by river Tagus, very easy to defed, but impressive to see. Bottom left, the façade of the hospital of the Saint Cross (free entry). Bottom right, the custody of the cathedral of Toledo (prime cathedral of Spain). Built with the first gold from the America s, it is made of 25 kg of gold and 183 of silver. It consists of 5600 pieces and 260 small statues. The price paid is equivalent to 7,500 cows. It is only one of the marvels that can be see in the cathedral. 6
Picts. 6-7. After the meeting, it is possible to go to Albacete (250 km) to visit the Univ. CLM experimental deer farm. University accommodation will be sought if possible. Left, one of the parks of the deer farm. Right, the passage of Gabriel Lodares in Albacete. We will do a small walk in the city. Picts 8-9. Albacete, although not as beautiful as Toledo, offers some interesting visits. Left: dome of the church of Chinchilla, a medieval town 13 km from Albacete. The castle of Chinchilla is worth visiting. Right: Castle of Alcalá del Júcar, a small village over the river Júcar. Approximately in the top middle of the village in the photograph there is a set of two caves cutting the mountain with a small bar and a balcony over a cliff for relax with a beer and the sight of the valley (the caves are called the Devil s caves). Pict. 10. There are other visits possible, guided by Tomás or to do alone. A good one is to visit the city of Cuenca, 150 km from Albacete. 7