Spain
Guadalajara

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    • Day 70

      Verzaubert in Ciudad Encantada!

      April 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Ein wunderbarer Tag voller Naturwunder geht langsam zu Ende! Der Besuch in der „verzauberten Stadt“, so heißt Ciudad Encantada auf spanisch war superschön!
      Was besonders schön war, man konnte die Eintrittskarten einfach am Eingang bei einem netten Herrn kaufen ohne dass man sich wochenlang Gedanken machen musste! 6 Euro und eine kleine Map zur Orientierung und schon ist man in die Steinzeit versetzt. Die Phantasie beim Anblick der steinernen Gebilde kannte keine Grenzen! Wir haben uns immer schon vorher ausgedacht, was das wohl sein könnte was da vor uns aufragte! Auf Schildern steht dann was für Parkleitung in dem „verzauberten“ Stein sieht! Wunderbar, interessant und spannend! Die 3 Kilometer ( wenn man dich an die Wegmarkierungen hält) vergehen wie im Flug. Natürlich kann man sich stundenlang in diesem weitläufigen Steinpark aufhalten! Wir sind auch immer noch verzaubert! 🤩
      Später laufen wir noch zum „Mirador de Una“. 1,5 Kilometer vom Parkplatz aus, hat man einen tollen Blick ins nächste Tal!
      Schon allein die gut ausgebaute Strecke heute Morgen von Cuenca aus, war spitzenmäßig. 25 Kilometer langsam hoch in die Serriana Cuenca auf 1500 m war eine tolle Einstimmung auf die verzauberte Stadt!
      Auch hätte man später auf dem Parkplatz übernachten können, allerdings dauert es etwas länger bis man ein ebenes Plätzchen findet! 😅
      Wir wollten noch ein paar Kilometer machen und fahren weiter Richtung Norden.
      Unterwegs halten wir auf einem Parkplatz von wo aus man die „Geburt“ des Flusses Cuervo erleben kann! Einmalig schön, wie der Fluss aus einer Quelle hoch oben im Felsen über viele Wasserkaskaden sozusagen den Hang hinunter spritzt.
      Soviel tolle Naturerlebnisse machen hungrig. Wir kehren auf die Terrasse des Restaurants am Parkplatz direkt am Fluss ein und erleben ein leckeres „ Menu del Dia“ ( 3 schmackhafte Gänge inclusive einer Flasche Wein, Wasser und Brot). Am Ende zahlen wir 15 Euro pro Person und erleben noch eine kleine Überraschung. Am Nebentisch sitzen zwei junge Spanier! Sie hatten schon auf dem Parkplatz unser Wohnmobil fotografiert. Sie haben Spaß, dass uns Deutsche der spanische Wein gut schmeckt, während sie nur an ihrem Glas nippen! Als unsere Flasche leer ist, tauschen sie ihre gegen unsere aus! Was haben wir zusammen gelacht! Zusammen sprechen geht ja eher schlecht. 🤣
      Die geschenkte Flasche trinken wir jetzt an unserem Übernachtungsplatz mitten im Nirgendwo in den spanischen Bergen. Das kleine Dorf Cueva del Hierro lässt uns in der Nähe einer stillgelegten Mine neben dem kleinen Museum übernachten. Mit uns zwei spanische VW Busse!

      Unsere Tipps:
      1. Ciudad Encantada; ( die verzauberte Stadt) ist eine Kalklandschaft in einem großen Kiefernwald, nahe Cuenca.
      12 Kilometer weiter im Dorf Una ein schöner Stellplatz auf Wiese mit grandiosem Bergpanorama! 10 Euro

      2. Besuch des „Monumento Natural del Nacimiento del Rio Cuervo“.
      3. Lecker essen im Restaurant „ La Tejera“. Achtung: bis 16.00 Uhr Küche!
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    • Day 17

      Cuenca to Villar de Domingo Garcia

      May 25, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌩️ 20 °C

      Today was a 33 Km day with a bit of elevation (470 m). I left at 5:30 out of an abundance of caution because we had reservations for the 11 am tour of the Roman ruins in Noheda.

      The first 16 or 17 were on asphalt but on very untraveled roads. I think 4 or 5 cars passed me. From the little town of Tondo, it was all off-road and very nice. But still lots of dead fields.

      The tour of the ruins was so interesting. A farmer found some tiles while plowing in 1985, and in 2005, they started excavating. What they found was not the residence but the party place. The villa itself has yet to be found. This was just a huge venue for raucous large day-long events that began with a bath (they have found the baths, which for a private compound are huge, and bigger in fact than the baths for the whole town of Segobriga). Then came the over-abundant meal, then the entertainment (either music or drama). The mosaics are pretty amazing —one series of panels tells the story of a princess whose father beheaded her suitors because the oracles had told him he would be killed by his son-in-law. Another series of mosaics was more familiar, involving Paris, satyrs, Artemis and somewhere hidden there was a scallop shell. This lead our guide to joke about the Camino passing through here in Roman times. There are many acres more to explore, and some funding has been given to forge ahead. They are hoping to find the villa, the slaves’ quarters (they estimate there were about 70), and other parts of the estate.

      From the ruins we had a few kms along a national highway but it wasn’t bad. And then the last kms were quite beautiful. All off road, and even with the dead or dying crops, it was majestic.

      We got to Villar and into our Casa Rural. The guy in Bar Goyo is really nice but was totally frazzled because his two helpers didn’t show up. We got sandwiches and came back to our place. All in all, a great day.
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    • Day 38

      Madrid - Walking Tour & Flamenco

      October 10 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

      What a beautiful day today! The sun was out, the sky was blue, the temperature was perfect.

      We started our day today with a walking tour in the city. No one else signed up, so we got a private tour. We realized as we were walking around how beautiful the city of Madrid is. Old buildings (actually newer, but rebuilt in the old style), artistic statues abound, narrow streets with quaint shops, beautiful green spaces - what’s not to love? Crowds, perhaps, but the Spanish national celebration akin to our Independence Day is in two days, and many people have time off of work, so there were a lot of people around today. We could see them setting up grandstands for the parade, sound equipment for the concerts, a communication center for the police. Preparations are being made for a big crowd.

      We went to a flamenco show in the evening. That was a real wow! I’ve never seen a guitarist play like this guy did. And the dancers feet move lightning fast. It was a real treat. I’ve included some video for a taste.
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    • Day 39

      Madrid - Day 3

      October 11 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

      Today we took another walking tour, and who should show up as our tour guide but Andrea, from yesterday. There were more people today, so no private tour today. We saw the monument to Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, Spain’s Shakespeare. Then we walked by the Royal Palace. We saw several more fountains today. The Spanish seem to love their fountains.
      After the tour, we went to the Reina Sophia Museum of Modern Art and saw works by Picasso, Dali, and other Spanish artists.
      Later we took the bus tour of parts of Madrid we hadn’t seen.
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    • Day 41

      Madrid - Day 5

      October 13 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

      Today we ventured into the city to find El Rostro, the biggest flea market in Europe. I have never seen so many people in one place in my life! Greg saw the crowd and bowed out, while Wendy and I jumped in. There was a lot of clothes, jewelry, shoes, and such. It didn’t take long until I was peopled out. We had a snack in a bakery, and then headed to the Naval Museum. It seemed like every person in Madrid was out walking on the street. The museum was a little quieter, thank goodness.
      The museum had lots of models of the kinds of ships used over the years, and told the story of the Spanish navy. They were masters of the sea for years, so there was a lot of history there. It was a very nicely done museum. The floors were made of wood, like decking, and creaked when you walked. A nice touch.

      After the museum, we walked to a bullfighting bar, where they had bull heads on the wall. Wendy enjoyed a few minutes inside talking to people. We said goodbye to Madrid and headed for the subway go back and start packing. We return to Lisbon tomorrow.
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    • Day 18

      Villar de Domingo Garcia to Villaconejos

      May 26, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      It was raining when we got up. Since weather.com said it would stop by 8, and since Clare wanted a real coffee in the bar, we set out at a leisurely 8 am. That may be my latest Camino departure ever! But we did have a short day, 24km, with virtually no elevation.

      Right after leaving town, the camino goes off onto a dirt track. It soon became clear that the 10 or so hours of rain the day before had turned the surface into thick red mud that grabbed onto your shoes. After about 2 kms of heavy mud, we decided to hop over to the highway for about 6 Km. There was a decent shoulder, but even so it was not fun walking. Trucks were relatively frequent.

      In the first town of Torralba, I had a Fanta de Limón. At that point, we decided to switch back to the Camino, and it was an excellent decision. A very nice, not muddy, off-road walk. From here all the way into our destinations, it was a dirt trail, sometimes along the river, sometimes beneath caves, and sometimes just through small agricultural plots. All in all, it was a really nice walk.

      We were checking into the Albergue before two, and the very gregarious and convivial hospitalero insisted that he would be back to take us out for a vino at 9 pm when he finished work. 9 pm? That’s our bedtime!

      We got a sandwich in town at the local bar, and we have showered. No way our clothes will dry, so I have washed socks and underwear and we’ll just hope for warmer weather tomorrow.

      It turns out that the nuclear power plant in the region is in need of some major work. Every small Pension and Casa Rural within 100 kilometers are booked out for the entire week and beyond. Though I had hoped to stay in a few of these places, we are lucky that there are Albergues. Today’s albergue has real beds and hot showers, but I think that some of the ones in our future will not be so luxurious. It’s just all part of the adventure!
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    • Day 29

      Alcalá de Henares

      March 8, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

      Heute musste ich mal raus aus der Stadt! Nicht wirklich, weil ich es satt habe, sondern einfach weil ich mal was anderes sehen wollte und gleichzeitig das Gefühl hatte, zumindest einen der zahlreichen Tipps außerhalb der Stadt meiner Spanischlehrerin wahrnehmen zu müssen. Morgen steht schließlich wieder Unterricht an 😉

      Zusätzlich hab ich Tigbert seit 4 Wochen nicht gesehen und vermisse ihn (und musste die Garage sowieso zahlen). Genug Gründe, gesagt, getan...

      Also sind wir nach Alcalá de Henares gefahren, circa 35 Minuten außerhalb der Stadt. Ein kleines, verträumtes Dorf mit vielen Störchen auf Kirchtürmen, einer gemütlichen Eibkaufsstraße und schönen alten Häusern. Definitiv ein Besuch Wert, wenn man mal einen ruhigen Sonntag außerhalb der grandiosen 6-Millionen-Stadt verbringen möchte.
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    • Day 19

      Villaconejos to Salmeron

      May 27, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      On a normal camino day, I’m in bed by 9. Last night Pepe, our hospitalero, insisted he would come by at 9 to take us to tomar un vino. Anyone who’s stayed here has probably been to his family’s bodega, one of more than 100 caves in this village where wine has been made and stored for centuries. The caves may have been inhabited by visigodos (6 th C?). Both Pepe and co- host Paulino used to stamp grapes in the caves. Paulino remembers being held by the feet and lowered into the clay vat to clean the vat while he was upside down. When one exploded about 20 years ago, leading to the loss of more than 1,000 liters, they bought an aluminum vat and stopped stomping the grapes.

      Pepe’s daughter Virginia was also there and we had a good homemade garlic soup, along with homemade Serrano ham and sausages. Then at the end, a little ceremony, in which both Clare and I were given a peregrino necklace and cross of Santiago. Their words about the meaning of the camino were heartfelt and brought us back to the simple essence of people being generous to people.

      We got up early because a challenging 30 km day awaited. We knew there was a river crossing ahead, but Pepe assured us that the level of the river is controlled by a dam and would not be affected by the recent rains. Since Clare’s engineering expertise is dam safety, I think she was a little sad the dam itself is several kms upriver.

      We were off by 7:15 with no rain in the forecast. 14 glorious kms through wide open fields on rolling hills. If the crops had been alive this would have been majestic emerald green against the occasional reddish rocky outcrops.

      At 13 kms came the river crossing. For all the hype, it was not a problem. The water was moving fast over a sunken part of a concrete bridge, but it went no higher than mid shin.

      Then came about 10 kms on the side of a provincial road. Generally good shoulders and little traffic.

      We could see the Romanesque tower of the Valdeolivas church from many kms away. I knew the odds were slim that we would be able to go inside. As we got closer, we heard a lot of conversation. Rounding the corner, I saw the crowd coming out of church — a baptism. I hightailed it to the door just as the señora in charge was closing it. As we were clearly peregrinas, she happily offered to take us around while her grouchy husband complained. Original 13th century paintings on the bóveda above the alter were discovered (they had been covered in plaster) in 1960 when emergency repairs were done.

      The last 7 kms were on a very nice dirt track through hilly fields and olive groves. We are the only two in the albergue, which is located in the town’s Inquisition prison, at least that’s the story.
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    • Day 20

      Salmeron to Viana de Mondejar

      May 28, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      I’m writing this in an albergue where we hadn’t planned to stay, having finished a dinner of two cans of tuna and two apricots. Population here is under 20 so there are no shops or restaurants. But a very nice albergue. With a heater in the bedroom!

      Today’s total was about 29 Km with 700 m elevation. All off road. Brilliant. As soon as we left Salmeron, we had about a 300 m ascent on dark red glommy clay mud. I have decided that it makes no sense to stop and take the mud off with my poles because it comes right back and just slows me down. My unscientific observation this morning was that my shoes have a maximum mud-carrying weight and when it gets to that point, big chunks will just fall off.

      From the top we had a long (10 Km?) walk along the top, including a detour to avoid going on the property of the man who bought up the whole abandoned town of Villaescusa de Los Palositos. This issue has been tied up in court for years. Pilgrims and the public should be able to cross his land. He has even barred access to the Romanesque church and the cemetery where the loved ones of many former villagers are buried. There is a protest march to the church every year, and the legal experts say there’s no doubt that his acts are illegal, but he has kept it going in court for years.

      Then the downhill started, with the last few kms into Viana on narrow rocky goat paths. We were not sure whether to carry on for 8 more kms to Trillo or to just stay here. When a local told me that the hike up to the Tetas de Viana would take about an hour each way, I thought the best thing to do would be to drop our packs and then hike up and back. That seemed better than starting out tomorrow with the ascent and then continuing on.

      The walk up to the top of Teta Redonda was about 2.5 kms. At the end there were chains to hold onto and even one steep metal staircase but nothing scary. The association in Cuenca had told us the path was shut because of a rockslide. There was one section where the handrails had been knocked down and a lot of rocky debris made it a bit tricky, but not dangerous. The views from the top were fabulosas, maybe with the exception of the nuclear power plant.

      So here we are in Viana. I have no “cobertura” (cell phone/data) and we’ve had a pretty skimpy dinner, but we’re clean and warm and have had a great day. I took two packs of Ghirardelli hot cocoa from the lounge in Chicago, and had been saving them for something like this!
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    • Day 21

      Viana de Mondejar to Cifuentes

      May 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      What a beautiful walk today. Since we had gone up to the Tetas yesterday, we got straight on the Camino and headed for Trillo. It was very nice, all off road. And Trillo, what a beautiful place to stop. There’s a bar right on the river, which is cascading down over rocks in a picture perfect scene. We also visited the church, where mass was ending. We had a nice chat with the priest, who is from Ruanda, and has been in Spain for about 14 years. He has been in Trillo for four years and is in charge of seven or eight other small towns, where he goes to say mass. Misas relámpagos m, they are called.

      The path from Trillo went through a few towns, through a lot of ag lands, off and on near a river.
      Aman stopped and gave Clare a big bag of unshelled walnuts. I would’ve said no thanks, but Clare dutifully took them and carry them for 3 km into town. She is now sitting outside the albergue on the steps, cracking them with a rock.

      When I got to town, I went straight to the Bar Salmeron, the place where I had been told to go for the keys. Guess what, the bar was closed. As I was trying to figure things out, a Guardia Civil car came by and I flagged it. After a few calls, they got in touch with the Mayor, who told me to go to the Townhall. Once there, after about a 15 minute wait, the woman in charge came with a map to explain how to go pick up the keys—at the Bar Salmeron! It took a few more phone calls to learn that there was supposedly a set of keys on the windowsill of the little building where we are supposed to sleep out at the football field. I am glad I asked for a phone number because when we got here there was no key to be found. The mayor himself came out and showed us where the key was. If anyone had explained it clearly, we could’ve easily found it, but oh well. I was really glad that this mayor had won reelection yesterday, because if he had lost, the new mayor today would not have had a clue!

      4 th night in a row in albergues. This town has a couple of reasonable pensiones but they are all full because of the huge work crews coming to work on the nuclear power plant. According to one hotel owner, every room is booked for 100 Km around. That may be a slight exaggeration, but in any event, there was no room for us in Cifuentes. Thank goodness for the albergue. It’s very basic but has hot water and blankets which are the top two things on my list!

      We have taken a walk through the historic center, which has some very pretty Churches and plazas. We even walked up to the castle and then onto the supermarket. Another really good day, I feel so fortunate.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Provincia de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Guadalachara, Guadalaxara, グアダラハラ

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