These are the grounds of the former "Hacienda el Recreo" a very large property southwest of the town of Montalbán and whose land includes low valleys and hills. The landscape is very varied and one can find large pastures for cattle raising as well as dense cloud forests around the main roads.

^{The meadows and pastures in the hacienda offer wonderful views to take pictures on cloudy mornings.}

^{Cows and horses graze together in these spaces, taking advantage of the coolness of the morning, as a few hours later the heat and sunlight force them to return to the stables and corrals in search of shelter.}

Part of the farm was sold years ago. The land was then divided into two parts. One of these parts is now a private tourist development and passage to it is restricted. But the other part was bought by a friend of mine and you can walk on it freely after asking permission and as long as you respect all the things you find there. So these pictures are taken in that area belonging to my friend and also from the main road around this land.

^{Fog can transform almost anything into an interesting photo. Things as simple as a fence with grass growing on it, becomes an almost minimalist rural postcard.}

^{One of the old gates of the hacienda is almost always closed. Workers here usually enter through small makeshift gates in the fences or through the main gate located a couple of kilometres to the south.}

^{The main road runs along a large part of the property and even crosses it in some parts. Everything here is done according to the old custom and usage.}

It is a very nice place with a lot of things to photograph. Here nature and rural scenery combine exquisitely and it is especially solitary during the early hours of the day before some of the hacienda workers start to cross the roads moving through the paddocks and pastures as they go about their daily chores.

^{There is a bit of exquisite rural anarchy in seeing the woods enclosed by barbed wire fences, but the result in photographs is always interesting with this.}

^{The old lagoon is partially covered with aquatic plants. This place brings back somber memories for me, because when I was only 12 years old one of my schoolmates drowned in it. It was a sad event, his name was "Melquiades".}

^{The variations in the relief sometimes make it possible to observe the twists and turns of the road from above and (of course) to take a rather amusing photo.}

Contrary to what might be assumed, you don't have to make a lot of effort or walk a long way to find changes in the environment. The abrupt variations in relief mean that you can see lakes, forests, paths, mountains and plains in a journey of just a couple of kilometres. This is especially true if you know a few shortcuts off the main road.

^{As it has been for as long as I can remember, the local kids walk here at all hours of the day, whether it's for exercise or just to hang out.}

^{It is common to find small cattle corrals on the ranch. Here much of the cattle work is still done as it was in the middle of the 20th century.}

^{Sometimes the fog makes it difficult to take pictures, suddenly becoming very dense. In this photo there is a small hawk in that tree, but it has turned into a kind of "abtract photo" because of the fog.}

The fog is the ideal complement to spend a fun and photographically productive time in this rural corner of our municipality. So the best thing to do is to wake up very early and get out of the streets of the village to make the most of the morning by taking lots of photos. It is also highly recommended to go with a zoom lens with a wide focal range on your camera, this will allow you to make the most of your time there. I, for example, took these pictures using my old 55-300mm lens which allows me a wide manoeuvre range when taking pictures.

^{Fortunately he is quite a curious hawk, so he flew to a closer tree and in a less foggy space to observe me! ;)}

^{And while the falcon watches me, this turtle watches him with all due caution!... Nature and her things! :))}

^{The main path has stretches where you just want to sit down and do a little of "yoga", or just watch the fog roll in.}

ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL INFO: Photographs captured with my Nikon D7000 DSLR camera in RAW format, then processed in Adobe Camera RAW for adjustments regarding light, sharpening, contrast and depth... The pictures are then exported to JPG format on which minor modifications such as straightening and adding watermarks were carried out using PhotoScape 3.6.3.

^{There is even a small bamboo forest here. It is no more than a hectare in size, but that indicates how diverse the ecosystems here can be if they are allowed to evolve freely.}

^{And of course there is what the locals call "the old forest" with trees that exceed 30 meters. A charming place with a sublime natural presence.}

^{And it is time to return to the town and home, because the fog begins to leave and we will have here a embracing sun that reminds us how everything can change in the tropics from one moment to the next of the day.}

Thank you very much for your visit and appreciation!