Dwti Draig

As we drove away from Salamanca we could see the scenery start to change. The empty, rolling vast golden fields of the meseta, or high plateau soon gave way to the low hills of Extramadura. It’s a lot greener and wilder than where we have been so far. 

Our plan was to head to a little park up at a lake that Lyn had found. We took the little turning into the road that should take us there to find locked gates, so Lyn had to reverse back out onto the road. Then we drove down another dusty track, but low hanging trees prompted a U turn there. Eventually we found another better road, which was fine as long as we tried (not always successfully) to avoid the overgrown trees at the side. I’m sure we have a couple of new scratches to admire!

After taking a few tracks down to the lake to try to find the best spot we eventually settled and parked up. It was so unbelievably quiet and peaceful; just us, the lake, and some birds. Bliss. I quickly made an executive decision we were staying there for two nights! We saw the most beautiful sunset over the lake and went out star watching when it was dark. The sky was so clear you could see the Milky Way in all its glory. 

We headed out for another run in the morning. This is my third run of the holiday, and Lyn’s fifth. I haven’t written about my Run 2 as it was dire! Luckily today’s was much better, helped by the fact it was much cooler this morning. I stuck to my tried and tested Week 1 of Couch 2 5K, and will stick with that until (if!) I ever find it too easy. I managed to knock 20 seconds per mile off today, just call me Usain!

We sorted out some admin stuff when we got back, and I uploaded my blog. This left us free to chill all afternoon in absolute peace, and I managed to finish my book. We did have a little knock from the local police, who advised us that staying overnight was prohibited, so we promised to move on at 5pm. They were very nice about it, and no fines, unlike Estonia!

We packed up and left at 5pm like dutiful travellers, and drove about 40kms to a tiny village called Aljucen, where the council have kindly provided a big free aire at the entrance to the village, with waste disposal and water. We went for a little walk around the sleepy village this evening, and came across an amazing church. The sun was beginning to set, and the walls glowed, whilst the church bells pealed at 8pm. There was just something about the church that drew me in, so I crept inside. It is the Roman Catholic church of Saint Andrew (San Andres). Inside had none of the sometimes glitziness found in a Catholic church, it was quite simple and austere, but rather lovely. I took a seat behind the Priest who was playing a guitar, and another lady. The Priest wished me a Beunos Dias and got up to light the altar candles, so I took that as my cue to leave. 

The church is a landmark for pilgrims on the Via de la Plata, or the Silver Route, from Seville to Santiago. This follows the old Roman road that links the mining area of the north with Seville in the south, about 1000km long. The village of Aljucen has strong Camino links, with the customary yellow arrows and shells pointing the way through. It also has an alburgue (dormitory) at the start of the village, and a big camino mural.  I know a lot about the Camino Frances across the Pyrenees from France into Spain, as I did a few weeks of that in 2022 until the boiling sun and heat beat me, and the Portuguese Camino  where a hospital visit ended my trip from Porto to Santiago early. On this trip I have been amazed by how many other Camino sections we have stumbled on. In Covarrubias we saw signs and arrows for the Camino Olaf. We were on part of the Camino San Olaf in Covarrubias, which is a short pilgrimage of about 60km honouring Saint Olaf. We also passed over some of the  Camino El Cid. This is longer at over 1400kms, from Burgos to Valencia, celebrating the legendary journey of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (el Cid Campeador) the medieval Castlian hero. I’ve really enjoyed spotting arrows and shells again!

We wound our way further down south, where I was eager to visit Seville, which has always been on my list of cities to visit. I’ve limited the number of cities to visit on this trip, but Seville had to make the cut! It’s always tricky trying to find park ups near big cities that aren’t too  expensive, and also have good transport links into the centre, so Lyn found one just off a busy ring road, with a bus stop outside. The only problem was when we booked in we found we were too big to fit through the gate to stay outdoors and ended up in a big hangar, along with loads of vans/caravans that were in storage. It was dark, smelly and hot. Oh yes, and we paid 30E for the privilege per night! It was not fun….

Our park up may not have been the best but I adored Seville. Catching the bus in was super easy as they run every 9 minutes from just outside and went right into the centre. We went in to catch Seville in the evening. I had no idea what to expect as I had done none of my usual research. We got off at the centre and wandered through a park. We could then see people going up steps to enter a building, so we followed them. OMG! Thank go we did. I wish I could have seen the look on my face as we walked through and took in the view from the other side. 

We had stumbled across the Plaza de Espangna. It really is the most gorgeous building, built in 1929 for the Ibero American Exposition. It’s a fabulous semicircular sweep of brick and colourful tiles that wraps around a canal crossed by ornate bridges. Each alcove has colourful tiles representing a Spanish province. We even stumbled across a group practising their flamenco, and two female dancers busking. I think it’s one of my favourite buildings, especially in the gorgeous light of the setting sun.

We left there and got a drink, as it was still very hot, then wandered over to the cathedral. It’s not just any old cathedral, but is, in fact, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral that dominates the heart of Seville. I didn’t get to go inside as tickets had sold out, but it holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It was certainly very impressive from the outside, especially lit up.

I

t is only a short walk from the Real Alcazar, which is a royal palace still in use today. We had a lovely steak meal in a little family run restaurant, and caught the last bus home at 11.20pm. It’s very unusual for us to be out so late!

We caught a bus back in the next day, and headed through the maze of narrow alleyways that make up the Barrio Santa Cruz, or the former Jewish Quarter. It was gorgeous, with lots of bars and restaurants filled with people on little tables outside enjoying the sunshine. I was desperate for churros, so we found a tiny little local cafe where I was not disappointed! We then walked onto Las Setas, (The Mushrooms). This is a modern wooden structure that provides shade during the day, and we were glad to sit down for a while to chill, before heading off to find a little bar and sit down and people watch before me picking up a fan at lovely fan shop. It was time to get the bus back and get ready to leave Seville.   It had been a fabulous two days.