Full of Life
This wooded paradise, lined by streams that relive with the spring rains, inhabited by various animal species, was a shelter for human beings thousands of years ago. Caves and holes were used as shelter in the Paleolithic Era; afterwards, when they learned to plant and tame animals, they settled in the lowest hills that line Sierra de Espuña. From there they observed the fertile valleys where they grew their food and grazed their cattle. With the Muslim invasion, the region became border land. Over these settlements the Arabs founded cities and built fortresses. Time passed by and in the Reconquista, the men intensified the agriculture and livestock and they took advantage of the rich forests of the Sierra, using wood for cooking and other things. Thus, a huge and savage exploitation of the forest commenced. It ended in the second half of the 19th century, when they had almost killed all of the great pine and oak trees of the Sierra de Espuña. The region had become a sterile desert.