Episode 27

Episode 27
Still wending our way around the mountains of this dry region looking at various dinosaur foot prints and a petrified tree trunk, a conifer tree it was too, we kept seeing more wind turbines. A small patch of snow was on one ridge top beside some of those turbines. In one place we also saw some large sets of solar panels:
Suddenly we came into an area where some of those small terraces are being cultivated; some were just ploughed and left in fellow whilst a few others had some trees growing on them. The trees were asleep and it wasn’t until we saw some close to the road that we could work out that they are almonds. Just a few late nuts still hung on, or had dropped to the ground. It looks as if these trees can tolerate a very dry climate. Down in the villages where there was a little water we saw small allotments with vegetables growing, huge cabbages, and some sad looking silver beet. One valley was full of olive groves interspersed with a couple of almond groves, it looked really pretty from our vantage point beside the petrified tree.
Out in the mountains the stillness was often broken by the tinkling of cow bells, but it wasn’t only cows that were wearing them, some horses too had them tied about the neck. An occasional gun shot would ring out too, there were a lot of men out hunting but we don’t know if they were hunting deer or wild pigs, both inhabit the area. We did see a couple of pigs by the road side but there didn’t appear to be anything wild about them. The only donkey we saw was being used as a pack animal. In the area around Arnedo we came back into the wine growing area and saw a couple of Bodegas but neither was open, mostly they only deal with the trades people; they aren’t interested in the passing tourist trade. Not that there is many tourists at present, we are a bit thin on the ground.
On Sunday very little is open. We did see just one small service station, and the restaurants and bars were open but no shops at all. In France we had found that the only places to get petrol on a Sunday were those that had credit card facilities at the pumps; you couldn’t buy fuel using cash anywhere except perhaps on the toll ways, and those we didn’t use.
The nights are freezing and every morning there is heavy frost on the ground, in many places it doesn’t melt at all during the day. In just a couple of high places around the 1400 metres we have seen just a little snow. Even in the sun the temperature only rises just a few degrees above freezing.
As we drove up along one small river valley we passed 3 hydro electric stations, the one most upstream had a dam above it and the water level was very low, about 30metres down and this had left a ‘drowned’ village exposed again. From reading the sign, (it was in English too) I understand that it is not uncommon to be able to see this village. Its only a ruin now, it has been underwater for nearly 50 years. The dam was first started in 1935 but not completed until 1959, its slow construction due largely to the intervention of the Spanish Civil War and WW2. In this general area too, we saw one small frozen waterfall, and the river further upstream was frozen on the sides.
One evening there was just a little light snow down at our level but in the morning we could see that there had been quite a dusting on the higher tops. The frost was thick despite the dense low cloud.
Then we left the mountains behind and came out onto some flat plains, a wide river valley. A light wind melted the frost but the temperature in the large town of Aranda de Duero was a mere 2˚C and that was being generous. We saw a lot of vineyards and many fields that lay in fellow, probably wheat or barely I should think as there was big stacks of straw bales here and there. The heater in the car was on overtime as we passed along here. Oh! And we saw another very large wind farm out on these plains, pity they couldn’t generate electricity from the cold too, today it would do well:
In the small city of Palencia we stopped to see the cathedral. On the outside it is nothing special, rather austere in fact, as are most of the churches in Spain that we have seen so far. One portal is quite nice but several of the statues are missing. Inside the place is much bigger than you expect. It is rather unusual in that it has two transepts and two main chapels. One bishop was having a small cathedral constructed but then another bishop took over and didn’t really like the 1st ones ideas so he had more added. The alter pieces are both outstanding, one has carvings that depict the life of Christ and reach right to the beautiful vaulted ceiling, whilst the other has more paintings than carvings but is just as impressive in size and workmanship. One of the side chapels directly behind the main chapel has a magnificent silver alter that I think is beautiful. Another thing I really like is the intricate and delicate bas relief at the entrance to the crypt.
The fellow at the entrance had taken time to tell us about the cathedral when we entered seeing as we didn’t read the Spanish in the leaflet we were given. The crypt has one section right at the end that dates from the 7th century, while the rest of it dates from the 11th century. The rest of the cathedral dates from the 13th century onward, but there has been some sort of church here from the time Christianity came to Spain in the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Some restoration work is underway on the interior.
Next we visited the old city of Leon. There has been a settlement on the river bank here since the 1st century AD when the Roman army had a camp here. It was on the ancient route to the Roman gold mines about 150k’s to the west. An Asturian King made his capital here in the 10th century, and some time later it was sacked. In the 13th century it was a capital again until the union with Castile in 1230.
Of course there is another Cathedral here to see. I suppose the most impressive thing about this one is the kaleidoscope of colour all those stained glass windows present. The glass is from the 13th to the 16th century and there is a massive amount of it. Some of the panel we noticed were the same design but in different colours. Three huge rose windows, one over the main portal, and one at each end of the transept, all extremely impressive. The carving at the entrance to the choir stalls was intricate and there is a lovely silver urn under the altar that contains the remains of Santa Froilan, the patron saint of Leon. We visited the Basilica San Isidoro a big dark and gloomy place on the inside with a very impressive altar piece of many religious paintings. There are many tiny narrow streets lined with shops selling just about everything, bars and restaurants that we walked around and we came to a lovely fruit and veggie market in one plaza.
One thing I must say about these towns in Spain that we have seen so far, they are quite clean. The streets are free of rubbish and doggy do, and even in the countryside there seems to be very little litter. The villages are untidy in the fact that buildings are often tumbling down or have never been completed, rubble and junk is left hither and non but no matter how tatty and in need of maintenance places are they seem to have been swept clean. The toilets I have used here are generally easier to find than in France and usually cleaner too, though in neither country have I found that hot water is available and sometimes the cold water is liquid ice.
Heading north out of the city towards a National Park we soon came into some mountains that had a dusting of snow. We climber up over a pass at 1536m on a road that was very slushy and slippery with icy grit and virtually no other traffic: With heavy overcast skies we kept on for fear that it might snow heavily at any time or clear and freeze over. At no point was the snow deep but it did look as if it was quite recent, and we did pass the snow plough going the other way, but not working. The mountains were very pretty in a bleak gray sort of way. Rock climbers would love them for their vertical rock faces and many rocky outcrops and pinnacles; we didn’t see any ski runs or resorts:
As we drove down the valley of the River Sil we passed a couple of coal mining towns. There were some coal stacks, not large ones by Aussie standards, and the smell of coal gas was strong in the air; also a haze partly caused by coal dust I should think. Following the river Sil we came to the city of Ponferrada with its ancient Castle perched on a hill overlooking the river and the modern city.
This castle dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and was built by the Knights Templar. Its open to the public and so we paid the small entrance fee and looked about some. Only a small section dates from that early period; the tower of the Catholic Monarchs and some of the ramparts. The foundations of many other structures can be seen in the middle and there has been a lot of construction done recently, but not yet open. This construction is very modern in style and materials so its not a reconstruction of the old castle but as I couldn’t read the Spanish language signs I don’t know the purpose of it.
A rather nice clock tower sits atop an arched gateway that was probably one of the city gates in some long ago time. This old town has some nice traditional streets that are pleasant to look around and seem largely deserted while the modern city is a bustle of activity just across the river.
On our way to the Roman gold mining area of Las Medulas we passed an interesting carved tree trunk. We later found out that it has only recently been placed on display. It has a Knight Templar in it, a crescent moon with a face in profile (a man in the moon), and a Star of David.
Las Medulas is the site of the old Roman gold mine. It was worked from around 70AD to late 3rd century AD about 200 years. The exact amount of gold taken from here is unknown and estimates vary greatly from 1500kgs upward. Likewise with the number of people employed in the mining, it varies from a few thousand to tens of thousands. Some believe that slaves were used other say that there were no slaves here, and so it goes on. Apparently all agree on the technique used for the mining and this is the first time I have ever heard of this method. Let me explain as best I can:
Water from the high mountains was harnessed in dams and reservoirs: Channels and aquaducts were built to carry it downhill and increase its force. Small tunnels were dug into the mountain to be mined, then the water released and sent down the channels and into those small tunnels; the effect of the water and the compressed air in front of it caused an explosion and whole sections of the mountains were blown out. This was then sent on down over sluices that used branches of heather bushes as filters and the gold was trapped in these filters and the mud and debris washed on. At this stage the biggest of the rocks were removed and thrown off to one side so that now you have small hills of these rocks. I had better explain that the gold here is in the form of dust and small nuggets and it’s trapped in the soft red conglomerate of which the mountain consisted, probably once a river bed or something. This method of mining is known as ‘Ruina Montium’, and it was coined by a traveller who saw these workings.
This mining has left a unique landscape: There are lots of pinnacles of red conglomerate that resemble some of those weird pinnacles you can see in the national parks in Utah in the US. What we had was a mountain what we have is red pinnacles: The mud and debris also altered things. It blocked up the stream that flowed through the hills and formed several small lakes that have developed their own eco systems over the past nearly 2000 years. As we wandered though this hollowed out mountain we saw a couple of caves that have been formed by the explosions I’ve mentioned. Around the walls there can still be seen some of those tunnels that were used and in one place one of these tunnels is open to the sky so that when heavy rain falls it continues to erode the rock in a similar fashion but to a much lesser extent, than when the Romans forced the water through.
Another thing special to this area is the ancient chestnut trees; they are between 400 and 600 years old and still bearing. The old gnarled stumps are large and you can see where thick limbs have been sawn off but the new wood on them now is probably only a few seasons old, and although the crop has been harvested there are still a few nuts lying on the ground under the trees.
The little lakes, they are little more than puddles, are home to several species of Salamander, some frogs, toads and eels. There also seems to be plenty of birds about and David saw a robin. In all our wanderings around here we only saw 2 other tourists all day.
We found one of the roman hill top forts, but all there is to see is a small section of reconstructed stone wall and the foundations of some other stone buildings that I doubt are 2000 years old. These forts were also used as towns where the people lived who grew the food, made the tools for the mining operation, and all the other things that were necessary to keep the place functioning even in Roman times. This area was on the western fringe of the Roman Empire.
After the gold mining area we headed west towards the city of Orense, but not actually wanting to go there but trying to find the gorge on the Sil River. By accident we got onto the wrong road and didn’t realize it until we were almost on the Portuguese border. We ended up by doing nearly a full circle that took us over several mountain passes, the highest was only 1052m and it quite a pretty route. The country changed quite a lot, in the south west we came into an agricultural belt with many young crops that I think are oats. A large number of poultry farms in that area too. Then as we came up the western slope of another pass the trees are still wearing their autumn colours so it was quite pretty.
Eventually we found the gorge. It seems to start quite suddenly as most do, just on the outskirts of a village. We came up the hill then it was there right beside us, dropping away from the road side. Sadly the view is somewhat blured by the thick smog that is hanging around and you can only get an idea of what it’s really like. The walls are very nearly vertical, and are of a gray rock, the Sil River at the bottom is fairly wide, I don’t know if its a dam or just the river but either way it’s well below its usual level, you can see this by the mark of the rock face. Even here it’s somewhat warmer than in the higher mountains and the prickly gorse is still heavily in bright yellow flower. We didn’t get to see any more of that gorge as next morning it was filled with fog and even though we hung around for quite some time it didn’t lift or disperse, in fact it stayed with us the rest of the day, just clearing in a few places.
In Lugo we walked around the old Roman Wall. This is now a world Heritage Site and the best preserved Roman Wall in existence: The city was founded in 15BC and named Lucus Augusti, the Wall was built in the 3rd Century AD. It is 2.2k’s long and had 85 semi circular towers spread around its length. Only the rounded bases in the wall is all that is left of these towers, though they stood up to 3 times the height of the wall. Of the gates only one is original, or rather how it used to be. The others have been widened and some new ones made from the late 19th century in to the early 20th century. There was a moat all the way around 5m deep and up to 12m wide, it has been filled in and built on so that no trace is left of it what-so-ever. The afternoon joggers were making the most of the wide sandy walkway on top of the wall pounding their way around it.
Some of the buildings in the city are from medieval times and the Cathedral dates from the early part of the 12th century though it took many centuries to complete and is a bit of a mixture in styles. Apart from the main chapel and its distinctive altar piece it is a very dark and gloomy place. It has a rounded ceiling rather than the more common vaulted type.
The narrow alleys, and the medieval buildings described in the brochure sounded much better than they actually appeared. One ally looked especially grimy and stank of stale urine, and the trees without their summer foliage don’t cover up near so many faults.
It was the afternoon of the Sunday before Christmas that we visited and a few of the shops were open and most of the bars and restaurants though I fear that they were doing very little business. Not one single soul was sitting at the outdoors settings, though I do think I saw a couple of people in one of the bars. Just a few other hardly souls wandering about; probably by 5pm though the locals would again be out and about in droves: The Spanish love to do everything late in the day, in the mornings some people are about but not early, after 2pm they all disappear till around 5pm ready to go all evening. We have found however, that some shopping centres, ones that stay open, have been quite busy through that otherwise quiet time of the day.
Just a word about shopping at this point: Legs of ham must be incredibly popular; in all the supermarkets and butcher shops there are hundreds of them hanging up. They have all been cured, but by a variety of methods as they came in a range of colours. Some are as you would see at home, others are much darker to almost black, or a greyish colour, a few look almost green. All the salamis and that type of thing came in a similar range of colours. Then there is the thing that really puts me off, the dead birds still feathered and all lined up in the chilled display case next to the rabbits still furred. Not quite my thing I fear. The range of cheeses is brilliant though David isn’t impressed as he can’t find a mature cheddar. In France we had bought an 800g Brie for around $6 AU, God it was good! Fruit and veg seemed to be cheaper and of a better quality in France, but its still quite good here. The range of booze is mind boggling and very reasonably priced, I saw a hazelnut liquor today, might get one of those for Christmas. The diesel that we buy for the car is cheaper here than in France or England but it does seem to have gone up 2c per litre today.
© Lynette Regan 23rd December 2007