The first visual impression of Machado’s poem is the view of Guadarrama from Madrid as we are accustomed to seeing it as urban dwellers.  Additionally, Machado began walking in his early youth from the Fuenfria Valley near Cercedilla, accessing Guadarrama from Madrid.  This route goes over the central range that divides the Castile regions (Castilla-Leon/Castilla-La Mancha).  Nonetheless, I travelled by bus first around the mountains to access the Valsain route and to see Guadarrama from another perspective.  It was the older Machado reminiscing from Segovia about his earlier days as a young man walking along those ridges and getting lost in the ravines.  The colours were spectacular from the Segovia side; dynamic and full of vitality.  Yet, the overcast sky of the first walk provided a foggy silence with few hikers.  The sound of cow bells was overwhelming and yet I could not see them on the river path near the forest.  The second tactile walk was a clear, sunny day with a more robust palette full of contrasts of blue sky and white snow caps.  I delved into the river with enthusiasm and was shocked by the frozen feeling of melted snow surrounding my fingers.