We were chasing the sun again. Vanya was keen to revisit Galicia by way of an old favourite, Candas, in Asturias and the weather forecasts for both Regions looked promising. Time would tell. So far this tour, the weather has been anything but predictable.
We passed the 2,000 mile mark as we made our way north but it wasn’t an enjoyable drive. It should have been an easy two hours on the motorway to Riaza (a small market town in Segovia at the foot of the Ayllon Mountains where we would overnight) but it took us almost 5 hours, the traffic on the A1 motorway in and around Madrid was so bad.
Riaza is a small picturesque town, some 70 miles north of Madrid and just 25 miles northeast of the small fortress village of Pedraza (a Pueblo Mas Bonitos de Espana which we visited a couple of years ago – Tour 7). It is situated in a beautiful mountain setting close to La Pinilla Ski Resort. Indeed, the Riaza Town Council own the ski resort. After a short walk around the town, as I sat drinking a glass of the local red wine outside one of the bars on the Plaza Mayor, I could almost believe I was sitting in the Riaza of 300 years ago. The large oval shaped Plaza (previously a bull ring?) could hardly have changed in that time.
Still used to hold festivals, the occasional bull run and the weekly farmer’s market (exactly as it was 300 years ago) the Plaza Mayor is covered in a mix of gravel and sand. The imposing town hall (the ayuntamiento) dominates the plaza which is otherwise almost completely surrounded by mostly 18th century two and three storey houses. These houses come complete with wooden galleries and/or balconies and; for the most part, are fronted by a mix of wooden and stone porticos which provide a degree of protection from the area’s cold winters and hot summers. The town hall also dates back to the 18th century although the wrought iron bell tower wasn’t added until 1895.
I was happy to sit outside a bar on the plaza, basking in the sunshine and sipping my wine, for more than half an hour before continuing my circuit of the town.
After I finally roused myself, my next stop was the 15th century Church of Our Lady of the Mantle which is just off the plaza and behind the town hall. It holds an impressive altar and a fair number of religious paintings but, that’s all I can tell you about the church.
And then I wandered the streets for a while longer but, except for some fine views of the nearby mountains, there wasn’t much else to see. One unusual feature of the town which I did find helpful is that almost all the roads and/or streets seem to lead back to the Plaza Mayor where, of course, all the town’s bars and restaurants are to be found.
It was an early night for me that night. Vanya wanted us to get away early to Haro in the Region of La Rioja. La Rioja is to the northeast of Riaza while Candas in Asturias is to the northwest (and this change therefore added a great many miles to our journey) but such detail counts for nothing because Haro is without a doubt Vanya’s favourite town in Spain.