Madrid has developed so quickly over the past few years that some of its large buildings and stone streets no longer make space for nature! Madrid is a very environmentally friendly city with many sustainability projects, but it doesn’t have many green spaces where plants and animals can live freely. One of my favorite places in Madrid is Retiro Park. There you’ll find peacocks in the Cecilio Rodriguez gardens. Butterflies and bees enjoy hundreds of roses in la rosaleda (the rose garden). Squirrels, rabbits and ducks enjoy the park as well.
I just learned of a festival where nature takes back the city and breaks free from being limited by parks or pastures. This is the Transhumance Festival! Livestock need to migrate from northern Spain to its southern regions in search of fresh food in lush pastures. The most exciting thing about this migration is that it happens right in the middle of the city! Imagine cars on the street being replaced by thousands of sheep and goats trotting down the pavement in the capital of Spain!
When I watched the festival, the sheep wool was pretty short, so it may have just started growing back for the winter. The puffiness from their fur only covered their trunk and part of their heads. It looked like they were wearing fleece sweater-vests!
