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| Passing a Roman triumphal arch with only eagles for company | Passing a Roman triumphal arch with only eagles for company |
| (30 days later) | |
| Casar de Cáceres, only a couple of hours north of Cáceres, had a Museo del Queso to go with Monesterio's Museo del Jamón that I visited a week or so ago. It celebrates Casar's DOC "Torta del Casar" goats' cheese. If I can find a bread museum I'll have a full bocadillo. There almost certainly is one somewhere – perhaps in Cea, in Galicia, where the town's motto is | Casar de Cáceres, only a couple of hours north of Cáceres, had a Museo del Queso to go with Monesterio's Museo del Jamón that I visited a week or so ago. It celebrates Casar's DOC "Torta del Casar" goats' cheese. If I can find a bread museum I'll have a full bocadillo. There almost certainly is one somewhere – perhaps in Cea, in Galicia, where the town's motto is |
| onde o pan e arte | onde o pan e arte |
| – "where bread is art". | – "where bread is art". |
| Leaving Casar at 7am with Venus and the full moon to light me through the hills, it wasn't long before the wild landscape was cut through by a livid scar where the government is spending billions of Euros trying to bring a high speed "AVE" train line from Madrid to Lisbon. Miles and miles of tunnels and bridges are being built, and one result is that the camino often has to take quite significant detours in order to avoid going over building sites. The new line will pass by a huge reservoir, the embalse de Alcántara, formed by damming the river Tajo. In the middle of the reservoir, usually almost covered by water, but clearly visible after a dry summer, is the Torre de Floripes, a former fortress of the Knights Templer built on Roman remains. | Leaving Casar at 7am with Venus and the full moon to light me through the hills, it wasn't long before the wild landscape was cut through by a livid scar where the government is spending billions of Euros trying to bring a high speed "AVE" train line from Madrid to Lisbon. Miles and miles of tunnels and bridges are being built, and one result is that the camino often has to take quite significant detours in order to avoid going over building sites. The new line will pass by a huge reservoir, the embalse de Alcántara, formed by damming the river Tajo. In the middle of the reservoir, usually almost covered by water, but clearly visible after a dry summer, is the Torre de Floripes, a former fortress of the Knights Templer built on Roman remains. |
| Several fairly hard hours later, I found myself in the cosy albergue of Grimaldo, a little village just over one of the passes to the north. The barman who gave me a tasty dinner that evening was sadly dismissive of the new AVE line. He claimed that, while it had originally been meant to link Madrid with Lisbon, the Portuguese government is refusing to pay for their part of it. It will therefore now come to a shuddering halt at the frontier, 100 miles or so shy of Lisbon, meaning that the good people of Badajoz (population 150,000) will have a brand spanking new high speed railway line all to themselves. | Several fairly hard hours later, I found myself in the cosy albergue of Grimaldo, a little village just over one of the passes to the north. The barman who gave me a tasty dinner that evening was sadly dismissive of the new AVE line. He claimed that, while it had originally been meant to link Madrid with Lisbon, the Portuguese government is refusing to pay for their part of it. It will therefore now come to a shuddering halt at the frontier, 100 miles or so shy of Lisbon, meaning that the good people of Badajoz (population 150,000) will have a brand spanking new high speed railway line all to themselves. |
| The next day, a few hours north, Galisteo is, in its much smaller way, almost as astonishing as Cáceres. A virtually intact mediaeval wall surrounds an ordinary working village. Virtually no tourists visit what, if it was in France or England, would almost certainly be a World Heritage Site. The walls were originally built by the Moors to keep the Christians out, and changed hands a few times before the definitive reconquista. The bell tower, which can be seen for miles from the south on the old Roman road, was originally a minaret to call the faithful to the mosque, and the apse of the church is mudejar. | The next day, a few hours north, Galisteo is, in its much smaller way, almost as astonishing as Cáceres. A virtually intact mediaeval wall surrounds an ordinary working village. Virtually no tourists visit what, if it was in France or England, would almost certainly be a World Heritage Site. The walls were originally built by the Moors to keep the Christians out, and changed hands a few times before the definitive reconquista. The bell tower, which can be seen for miles from the south on the old Roman road, was originally a minaret to call the faithful to the mosque, and the apse of the church is mudejar. |
| Not far from Galisteo there were eagles overhead, and I heard a few more of my pleasant voices, my lapwings, as well. The mostly pleasantly shady path also went past more pigs, as well as cows wearing cow bells, whose "drowsy tinklings" are one of the world's most relaxing sounds, as good as lake water lapping, with low sound on the shore. For centuries this Roman road has been used as a Via Pecuaria, or drove road for moving animals to market or for the seasonal transhumance. | Not far from Galisteo there were eagles overhead, and I heard a few more of my pleasant voices, my lapwings, as well. The mostly pleasantly shady path also went past more pigs, as well as cows wearing cow bells, whose "drowsy tinklings" are one of the world's most relaxing sounds, as good as lake water lapping, with low sound on the shore. For centuries this Roman road has been used as a Via Pecuaria, or drove road for moving animals to market or for the seasonal transhumance. |
| Looking even further to the north, a slight dusting of snow could be seen on the high sierras south of Salamanca, which I'll have to cross in the next couple of days. Before then the Roman road passes under one of the highlights of the way – the triumphal arch of Cáparra. This stands four square in the middle of absolutely nowhere, the town it was once the centre of having fallen away from being a thriving Roman regional centre to nothing at all except the arch. Why "nothing beside remains, around the decay of that colossal wreck" is a mystery. In the 16th century, the Spanish had a saying about the total abandonment of the town: | Looking even further to the north, a slight dusting of snow could be seen on the high sierras south of Salamanca, which I'll have to cross in the next couple of days. Before then the Roman road passes under one of the highlights of the way – the triumphal arch of Cáparra. This stands four square in the middle of absolutely nowhere, the town it was once the centre of having fallen away from being a thriving Roman regional centre to nothing at all except the arch. Why "nothing beside remains, around the decay of that colossal wreck" is a mystery. In the 16th century, the Spanish had a saying about the total abandonment of the town: |
| y ansi se despobló Cáparra | y ansi se despobló Cáparra |
| , which is a rough version of "sic transit Gloria mundi". Like many magnificent sights along the way, I had it entirely to myself, and it made a very pleasant spot for a picnic. | , which is a rough version of "sic transit Gloria mundi". Like many magnificent sights along the way, I had it entirely to myself, and it made a very pleasant spot for a picnic. |
| Alan Sykes is the Guardian Northerner's arts expert and much more besides. He is trekking 1000km to Santiago de Compostela to expiate unknown sins. You can read his first three reports from the camino here, here and here. More to come, much more, and you can send him a cheering Tweet: @geltsdale | Alan Sykes is the Guardian Northerner's arts expert and much more besides. He is trekking 1000km to Santiago de Compostela to expiate unknown sins. You can read his first three reports from the camino here, here and here. More to come, much more, and you can send him a cheering Tweet: @geltsdale |
| After requests for a map of Alan's route - the Via de la Plata - we've found this one, which is copyright 2010 www.santiago-compostela.net, an excellent website which has lots of information on all the pilgrim routes. | After requests for a map of Alan's route - the Via de la Plata - we've found this one, which is copyright 2010 www.santiago-compostela.net, an excellent website which has lots of information on all the pilgrim routes. |
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