Tag: Castile La Mancha

Almost completely surrounded by the River Tajo (the Tagus River), Toledo is a small but beautiful city which was Spain’s capital under Charles V for more than 40 years until, in 1561, Philip II made Madrid his capital. Toledo is often described as the ‘city of three cultures’ and, certainly, it’s history and architecture is rich with the influences of it’s erstwhile Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities. Indeed, Toledo’s extensive monumental and cultural heritage prompted UNESCO to declare the city a World Heritage Site in 1986 and it has since become one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations.

Over the two days we had allowed ourselves to visit Toledo, I was never going to have enough time to see all the historical monuments I had read about and I therefore prioritised them. Top of my list was the Iglesia de San Ildefonso (more often known as the Iglesia de los Jesuits). The Iglesia de Santa Tome, the Sinagoga Santa Maria La Blanca, the Monastery of San Juan de las Reyes and the Alcazar de Toledo had to be in my top five and; of course, I was keen to see the Puenta de Saint Martin and the Puenta de Alcantara (i.e. the two bridges of San Martin and Alcantar together with their attendant city gates). Oh, and not to forget the (former) Mosque of Cristo de la Luz. If it’s religious buildings in particular that you are interested in, the list in Toledo is almost endless.

It may surprise some that Toledo’s Cathedral (the Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, to give it it’s full name) was not included in my top five but; I was so fixed for time and; when you’ve seen London’s St Paul’s, Moscow’s Saint Basil, Milan’s Duomo, Paris’s Notre Dame and the cathedrals of Canterbury, Chartres, Cologne and Vienna to say nothing of the Spanish cathedrals of Barcelona (La Sagrada Familia) and Santiago de Compostella (to name but a few), Toledo’s…. well, like I said, I was so fixed for time and, anyway, there’s an entrance charge. I’ll probably regret this decision – next time!

We were booked into Camping El Greco on the banks of the Tagus and within easy walking distance of Toledo’s old town or, to be more precise, it’s walled city. It was a short walk to the 14th century Puenta de San Martin, one of the two original bridges into the city (the other being the Roman Bridge, Puenta del Alcantar) and without a doubt my favourite of the two. I did my best to ignore the teenagers zip-lining over the river, took a few photos and then made my way up past the Monastery of San Juan de las Reyes (and after an all too short visit) and then on through the Jewish Quarter until I reached the Iglesia de San Ildefonso.

The Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes is the first impressive building that you’ll see in the city after crossing the Sant Martin Bridge. Ferdinand and Isabella commissioned it in 1476 to commemorate the Queen Isabella’s victory at the Battle of Toro (which secured her claim to the throne). It’s run by an Order of Franciscan Monks and was once the largest monastery in the city but much of it was destroyed by Napoleon’s troops during the Peninsula War. It has a beautiful enclosed cloister and garden area with a cluster of orange tree. It makes for a real oasis in this busy city.

My next stop was the Iglesia de San Ildefonso. I suspected the Jesuit church would be a beautiful church in it’s own right (the Jesuits rarely did things by halves) but I knew too that it is possible to access it’s bell tower and I figured that from this vantage point there would be some exceptional views over the city. I wasn’t disappointed on either count. Of everything I saw in Toledo over the two days we were there, this building is my favourite.

It was during my visit to the Iglesia de Ildefonso that my list of priorities changed a little. In the church I learned it is possible to buy a tourist bracelet for just 14 Euros which allows entry into seven of Toledo’s most impressive monuments (at least twice and for as long as you like provided it is open and you are wearing the bracelet). The bracelet is convenient and great value for money since entry into each of the seven monuments is at least 4 Euros but, be warned, it does not cover entry into either the Cathedral or the Alcazar of Toledo. That fact saw the Alcazar disappear from my list of “must-sees”. On this occasion I would make do with a walk around the outside of both the Cathedral and the Alcazar. I think entry into the Alcazar is free on Sunday’s anyway.

It is easy to pinpoint both Toledo Cathedral and the Alcazar of Toledo. Being 90 metres tall, the 13th century cathedral’s spire is visible from almost anywhere in the city while the Alcazar of Toledo (originally a Moorish Palace before being converted into a Castillean Palace) is the most prominent building in the city and occupies the highest point of the city. It’s a massive structure, built more like a fortress, and was in fact used as a defensive stronghold by Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. It was badly damaged at that time but has since been restored. I passed the Cathedral on my way up to the Alcazar and, to be honest, while they are two of the most significant buildings on the Toledo skyline, I didn’t feel bad about passing them by.

From the Alcazar I retraced my steps to the 13th century Sinagoga Santa Maria La Blanca in the old Jewish Quarter of the city. There are two well preserved synagogues from the Middle Ages in Toledo, the Santa Maria La Blanca and the Transito Synagogue (which also contains a small museum). I don’t recall ever having been into a synagogue before but the Sinagoga Santa Maria La Blanca quickly became my second favourite building in Toledo. It is remarkable in it’s simplicity. There are no fixtures nor fittings on show; no furnishings; just white walls, columns and stone arches and a gallery (where the Jewish women stand?). Of course, it may not have always been so but it’s simple elegance so impresses me. It is beautiful and, ironically, not unlike a couple of mosques that I have also been inside. The synagogue was converted into a church during one of the city’s pogroms, hence it’s Christian name.

Another building which had it’s name changed by the Christians was the Mezquita del Crist de la Luz (the Mosque of Christ of the Light). This small but imposing onetime mosque was built in 999 and is recognised as the oldest standing building in Toledo and one of the oldest in Spain. I don’t know for sure but it wouldn’t surprise me if this change of name also occured during or following a pogrom (this time against Islam).

My next planned visit was to the Iglesia de Santa Tome (Saint Thomas’s). My interest in this relatively small and unassuming church was one of El Greco’s more famous paintings – The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. It’s impressive but it doesn’t rate among my favourites.

I did get to see a fair few other places while wandering Toledo and all but one impressed me. It was the Plaza de Zocodover which disappointed me. I’d read so many positive things about the square (e.g. it has long been the social hub of the city and the liveliest of places) and was really looking forward to sitting on a terrace, people watching, over a glass or two of wine. It just didn’t work for me and I think it us because this part of the city has more than it’s fair share of souvenir shops and far too many tourists. It is inevitable that a city with all the attractions Toledo has and being so close to Madrid (it’s little more than half an hour by train) will attract numerous tourists and, hey, I’m one but; what gets my goat are those many small groups of people, with absolutely no spacial awareness, following men and women waving umbrellas or flags in the air who suddenly stop and block the city’s narrow winding streets without consideration for anyone else.

 The walled city is very touristy and it contains an abundance of shops selling nothing but marzipan (which I did rather like the look of but how do they survive?) and; a great many souvenir shops selling tin suits of armour and toy knives (which, I suppose are intended to pay homage to Toledo’s famous steel). More interesting is the city’s preoccupation with Manchego Cheese. The city even has a Manchego Museum (the Museo del Queso Manchego Toledo), so concerned are they to promote and preserve the many different varieties of this local cheese, and the museum offers cheese tastings complete with local wines. It’s a rhetorical question but, how often have we attended wine tasting with cheese being used to enhance the taste of the wine as against our attending a cheese tasting session where the wine is simply used as a palate cleanser? There’s a turnaround.

Overall, I really like Toledo. There are so many interesting monuments to see and the city has a lovely feel about it (notwithstanding all the tourists). We’d have liked to stay longer but the walled city is on a hill and there are a great many staircases and steep slopes which Nala (in her wheels) would find difficult to negotiate. There are some strategically placed escalators and at least one elevator but, even so, the narrow crowded lanes would cause her a problem.

A pleasant and abiding memory of our all too short visit to Toledo will be of Vanya and I sitting on the porch of the bar back at the El Greco campsite on our last night, with wine in hand, gazing at the city’s skyline and watching the many different monuments light up as darkness descended.

Once again on the road to Toledo, we paused briefly at the small town of Alcazar de San Juan in the Province of Ciudad Real. I wanted to climb the small hill at the edge of the town to properly view it’s four giant windmills while Vanya wanted to replenish the Van’s supplies. A win-win situation? Vanya will think not but she was happy to indulge me and off I set up the San Anton Hill just outside of Alcazar. I say ‘walk’ but a real hoolie was blowing and at the top of the hill it was more a crawl. The last time I experienced wind like that was in the 1990’s on one of Scotland’s finest mountains, An Teallach.

At one time, Alcázar had 19 windmills (14 of them on the San Anton Hill) and 9 watermills and these were the area’s principal source of energy. They were used mostly for traditional milling. Drought during the 15th and 16th centuries caused them to become unusable and most were lost. Just four windmills were still working up until the 1940’s when they too were abandoned. These 4 four mills, each with it’s own name (Fierebras, Barcelona, Rocinante and Barataria) have since been restored and nowhere is that more fitting than in the land of Cervante’s ‘Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha’ (not forgetting his squire Sancho Panza). Ordinarily the Rocinante would be open to visitors interested in learning how these monster windmills worked but it was closed to the public as I arrived, probably because of the strong winds. Certainly, I was the only one on the hill that day.  

And in the town, next to the Ayuntamiento (the town hall), statues commemorating ‘The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha’.

On to Toledo…

So, it was time to chill in yet another of Vanya’s boutique hotels. The one she found this time was the Hotel Restaurant Bodega La Venta which is situated in a remote part of Cuenca Province about 41 miles north west of Albacete. It appeared to meet most of her qualifying criteria (e.g. it has to be different, special if you like; it has to be good value for money; it must be pet friendly and not charge ludicrously high pet premiums; it must have nearby & secure parking for the Van; it should, ideally, be en route to our target destination which on this occasion was Toledo; it should have nearby places of interest to visit; etc). To find a hotel which meets all her criteria in such a remote part of Spain was never going to be easy but, the Hotel Restaurant Bodega La Venta looked promising… except that, just prior to our arrival, a disaster struck the whole of the Iberian Peninsula which would impact on us throughout our stay.

As we arrived early during the afternoon of 28 April 2025 a power outage, described as one of the worst ever in Europe, struck the Iberian Peninsula. The blackout disrupted key infrastructure across almost all of Spain and Portugal affecting public transportation, traffic signals, cellular networks, digital payment systems, nuclear power facilities, hospitals, businesses and all other critical infrastructure. It lasted almost 2 days in some parts of Spain and affected tens of millions of people across almost the whole of the Peninsula (except Gibraltar which is not on the European Grid). It would have been longer had France and Morocco not activated emergency links to provide some electricity.

Vanya and I were very lucky. Being in a hotel with it’s own emergency generators, we were protected from the worst effects of the outage. It was bad enough that the Internet wasn’t working, the banking systems were down and our ‘phones had no signal but; we were together in a safe place and had light, heating, hot water and hot food when we required it. Equally important, we had occasional access to TV and radio news programmes (the hotel generators were on part time to preserve fuel) and so had some idea as to what was happening across the country. Imagine how awful it must have been for all those people who were isolated (perhaps trapped in lifts or on the metro or stranded on trains in the middle of nowhere or simply in gridlocked traffic because the nation’s traffic lights had all failed) and with no idea as to what was happening and no means of contacting anyone.

Some of the news we did pick up on was disturbing. It was clear the government had no idea as to what caused the outage and speculation was rife with the more lurid TV channels suggesting the outage was a cyber attack by Russia; others that it was because of Grid Stability issues caused by Spain’s and Portugal’s over-reliance on renewable energy sources. Spain and Portugal are leaders in solar and wind power generation with more than half their energy coming from renewable sources and I am therefore more inclined towards the latter view but; even now, 10 days after the event (as I write this blog), no one has yet determined the cause. Even more disturbing news coming through at the time was that panic buying of drinking water was occuring on a scale not seen since the Covid epidemic (of course, it had to be paid for by cash as the banking system had failed) and; even worse, looting was taking place in some areas. Like I said, we were fortunate; being in a well stocked hotel with sympathetic and trusting management.

Fortunately, power was restored within a couple of days but the situation prompted us, for the most part, to sit tight in the hotel instead of making our planned day trips out to the stately renaissance town of Saint Clement and/or the medieval town of Alarcon and/or Belmonte Castle. We made just one trip out, to Albacete in the neighbouring province, for supplies we would need once normality returned.

Okay, enough about the outage. I’ll write a little about the Hotel Restaurant Bodega La Venta. The hotel was built on the site of an 18th century inn which was later converted into an oil mill and then, at the turn of the 19th century, into a wine cellar. I don’t think the current owners have held the place for very long but they have already earned an enviable reputation as a restaurant and more recently developed the hotel side of the business. It currently has 28 well appointed standard rooms and 2 suites; all at reasonable prices. We took one of the suites because it would be easier for Nala to move around in.

As we arrived at the hotel, my first thought was one of disappointment. It appeared more like a motel than a boutique hotel. The bar at the front of the building looked closed. The reception area was only part lit and there was a marked absence of staff as we entered. When the duty manager finally showed his face, I thought him offhand and rude. Of course, I was unaware the national power outage had just struck and he and the rest of the hotel’s staff were busy responding to that situation. Once the hotel’s emergency generators were up and running and we were checked in, I changed my mind. The hotel looked fine and the staff proved very welcoming, especially the chamber maid (who, of her own initiative, promptly rearranged the room’s furniture to better suit Nala and her wheels) and one of the restaurant waitresses (who organised some drinks and hot tapas for us in the lobby – this is Spain and dogs aren’t generally allowed in the restaurants). I changed my mind completely when we ate the restaurant’s tapas. The food (and the wine) was fantastic.

On Facebook entry that day, I described the hotel as looking like something out of a High Chaparral episode. That was unfair. Yes, it has many features to be found in a 19th century western style hacienda but these features lend it real character and are to be expected of a genuine 18th century Spanish Inn / 19th century Bodega in what was (and probably still is) one of the more remote and wilder parts of Spain.

I’ll leave it for now with some photos (some taken from the hotel web site because it wasn’t always light enough for my photos to work)…

Located some 3,000 feet above sea level, Cuenca City is the capital of Cuenca Province in Castile La Mancha. The city was founded in the 8th century when the Moors constructed a castle (Qunka or Kunka) in a strategic position at the top of a narrow gorge above the two rivers of Jucar and Huecar and a settlement grew around around it. The castle was completely destroyed by French soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars but the settlement continued to develop into a small city of some 60,000 people with as well preserved a medieval old town as can be found anywhere in Spain. This extremely picturesque city contains a wealth of historical religious and secular buildings; so much so, it is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With an option to stay longer, we were checked into the NH Ciudad de Cuenca for a couple of nights such that we could properly enjoy the city. We’ve stayed with the NH hotel chain many times before and there’s nothing wrong with them. This particular NH Hotel is well placed on Cuenca’s principal thoroughfare, Calle de Los Hermanos Becerril. There’s plenty of good street parking in the area (even for a 7 metre motorhome); a fair sized park next door on which to exercise the dogs; a small square just beyond the nearby church holding a few reasonably priced restaurant-bars and; best of all, the hotel is within easy walking distance of Cuenca’s spectacular old town.

Shortly after checking in to the hotel and seeing Vanya settled (it was her hair day), I set off down the Calle de Los Hermanos Becerril and was soon making my way up through the old town past the Torre de Mangana Clock Tower to the city’s main square (the Plaza Mayor) and it’s 12th century Cathedral (the Catedrale de Santa Maria la Mayor y San Julien de Cuenca). The cobbled streets leading up to the Plaza Mayor are steep and narrow and lined with brightly coloured four and five story apartment blocks. I love them, not least because of the shade these attractive buildings provide during a hot afternoon.

The Plaza Mayor is accessed via Calle de Alfonso VIII which passes under one of three arches of the Casa Consistorial (which building houses the City Hall) and on to the square. This was the heart of medieval Cuenca being the site of weekly markets, auctions, processions, bull fights and punishments. It remains the centre of modern day Cuenca.

On the right hand side of the square, as you pass under the arches, another line of brightly coloured buildings draws the eyes along a row of restaurant bars to the unusual but imposing front of the Cathedral. Built on the site of an old mosque at the behest of Queen Eleanor of Plantagenet (the wife of Alfonso VIII and daughter to England’s King Henry II), the cathedral facade has suffered considerable damage over the centuries; the worst of which were lightning strikes in 1837 and again in 1902 (when the Giraldo Tower collapsed, killing a number of the congregation) but, it is still a magnificent entrance.

At the far end of the Plaza Mayor, opposite the City Hall, the Calle de San Pedro leads out of the Plaza and up to the city’s high point of Cuenca Castle but, tarry a while. There’s little left of the castle to enjoy while, instead, the 12th/13th century Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace, is even more spectacular inside than out. Indeed, I spent more than two hours inside the cathedral marvelling at it’s contents.

Just inside the entrance to the Cathedral I came upon a life size diorama of the Last Supper. I failed to get a decent photo of the diorama but my efforts in this regard took me up onto the Cathedral triforium where I hoped to get a photo from above. It wasn’t to be because a ledge obscured a large part of the carving. However, the views from the triforium, both along the nave towards the sacristy and outside over the Plaza Mayor, more than compensated.

I spent some time in the adjoining Bishop’s Palace (where various paintings and other ecclesiastical treasures are displayed) but the real beauty for me was in wandering the Cathedral. It is monumental. The richly decorated architecture is breathtaking in it’s scale and detail and the whole comprises so many fabulous chapels, sepulchres and little niches that it blew me away.

There are 20+ chapels to be admired. The Capilla Munoz, the Capilla de Covarrubias, the Capilla de Nuestra Senora del Sagrario and the Chapel of San Julian (the city’s patron saint whose relics are interred in the chapel) were amongst those that stood out.

I took so many photos. Few of those photos will have done the Cathedral justice but take look at some of them… the place is incredible.

After tearing myself away from the Cathedral I left the Plaza Mayor by way of Calle San Pedro and continued towards the top of the town with a view to visiting one of Cuenca’s oldest churches, the Iglesia de San Pedro.

This unusual church (it is octagonal on the outside but circular inside) was built during the 13th century in the Romanesque style although there’s little that is Romanesque about the church now. The church has suffered much damage over the centuries since it was built (particularly during the Spanish Civil War) and; while it has been beautifully restored it has been repaired in a predominantly 18th century style. That particular style doesn’t impress me but the views from the bell tower are special.

I thought the views over the Huecar Gorge from near the Cathedral were impressive but they just kept getting better as I moved further up the Old Town. The bell tower of the Iglesia San Pedro provides some wonderful panoramic views in all directions, especially those over the rooftops towards the Cathedral and the San Pablo Bridge but then; I arrived at the Mirador de Camilo Jose Cela near the 17th century Convento de las Camelitas Descalzas and the word panorama took on a whole new meaning. The view from this particular Mirador over the Huecar Gorge is something else…

Our second day in Cuenca saw Vanya and I walk the dogs through the city to the San Pablo Bridge which crosses the Rio Huecar Gorge and connects the Convento de San Pablo with the city. Vanya wanted to see the city’s emblematic 15th and 16th century Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) and this bridge offers some of the best views of both the houses and the city’s skyline.

There was a time when almost all of the town side of the Gorge was filled with hanging houses but only three remain and these had to be restored and reinforced early in the 20th century. Two of the houses now form the Museo de Arte Abstracto Espanol while the third has been converted into a restaurant (Casas Colgados Restaurante) by the Michelin recognised chef, Jesus Segura. This restaurant may not figure amongst the cheapest of Spain’s Michelin recommended restaurants but I doubt there are many restaurants that command better views.

The original 16th century stone bridge over the Rio Huecar Gorge is long gone. The current 100 metre long iron and wood ‘beam bridge’ replaced it in 1903 and; it makes a great platform from which to take photos of the Hanging Houses on the city side of the Gorge and the former Dominican Convent (Convento de San Pablo) on the far side of the Gorge although; with it’s 60 metre drop to the river, you were never going to get Vanya onto it.

The 16th century Convent closed in 1973 and was falling into ruin until it opened as the 4 star Parador Cuenca Hotel in 1993.

There’s a great deal else I could write about Cuenca (it’s that interesting a place) but, I’m aware I’ve already written far more than would ordinarily be the case. So, I’ll write about just one other aspect of the city namely, the Cerro del Socorro.

The Cerro del Socorro (the Hill of Help) is the highest point to the east of the old town. There’s a good path a little way behind the Parador de Cuenca which winds it’s way to the top of this hill. It’s an easy 2 kilometre walk along what is known as a via crucis because the way up is marked by 14 stations of the cross. It leads to a huge statue of Jesus Christ (the Sacred Heart of Jesus) overlooking the Rio Huecar Gorge which was built on or near the site of an old hermitage. Nothing remains of the hermitage but there’s a viewing platform (the Mirador del Cerro del Socorro) at the foot of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which offers unrivalled views over the city and surrounding countryside.

There’s a road which leads to the top of the hill but to drive up is to miss out on a really delightful walk.

I will cease writing now but if ever a city deserved to be revisited, it is this one. There is so much more I would like to see. Every time I visited the old town I stumbled upon something new and exciting (and I still haven’t been inside the Casa Cogadas Restaurante or been to the Mirador de la Celosa or the Tunnels of Alfonso VIII) but; my biggest oversight was to miss out on visiting some of the more natural wonders in this part of the world -the Devil’s Window, the Molino de Herminio Waterfall and, especially the Ciudad Encantada. The Ciudad Encantada or Enchanted City is a geological site which has been described as a forest of limestone rock formations (which include the Hammer, La Tortuga, the Convent, the Bridge, the Sea of Stone and many more besides) and it is a must-see for me.

FOOTNOTE: Prior to our arrival in Cuenca, Vanya tried to get us into a different hotel, the Posada San Jose, but their only groundfloor room (which we needed for Nala) was already booked. It is an unusual boutique hotel in the heart of Cuenca old town on Calle Julian Romero and you know how Vanya is about boutique hotels? This one started as a 17th century palatial home and then became a College for Cuenca Cathedral’s choirboys before being abandoned in the early 20th century and then converted into a hotel in 1953. The current owners, Jennifer Morter and Antonio Cortinas took on the hotel in 1983 and have transformed it into something quite special.

It’s a truly unique building, built as a family home by the grandfather of a certain Juan Batista Martinez del Mazo. Mazo was a disciple of Diego Velazquez, one of Spain’s greatest ever painters and chamber painter to the Spanish royal family. In 1633 Mazo married Velazquez’ daughter, Francisca, and took her to live in the family home. In turn, Velazquez appointed Mazo his understudy and Mazo eventually, after Velazquez died, succeeded him as chamber painter to the royal family. Whilst the paintings of Velazquez are well known, those of Mazo are not; perhaps because he chose not to sign his own paintings and, instead pass them off as being works by Velazquez?

It was a different Mazo, a canon and archpriest of Cuenca Cathedral, Diego Mazo de la Vega who was behind the family home being transformed into a college for the Cuenca Cathedral Choir (the Colegio de Infantes de Coro San José). It opened as a college in 1668 and stayed open until the end of the 19th century when it was forced to close for financial reasons.

A certain Fidel Garcia Belanga converted it into a hotel in 1953 but it was Jennifer Morter and Antonio Cotinas who in 1983 transformed it into something resembling the Pasado San Jose of today.

During our stay in Cuenca, I popped into the Posada for a look and was lucky enough to meet one of the hotel’s two owners, Jennifer Morter. Sod’s law, the downstairs room would be available the day after we were to leave Cuenca and she was willing to offer it to us for just 70 Euros per night. Next time??

I’ll end this blog with an image of Velasquez’ Los borrachos (The Triumph of Bacchus)…

A local in Canamares suggested we visit two nearby villages, Priego and Beteta. We started with Priego (the subject of an earlier blog) some 5 miles west of Canamares along the CM2023 and then Beteta which is 16 miles north east along the CM210.

Beteta is a ‘Pueblo Magico’ to be found on the ‘Rutas Magicas’. Prior to arriving in Beteta we had heard of neither the Pueblos Magicas de Espana nor the Rutas Magicos but it seems they are two very much related initiatives (not unlike the Asociacion de los Pueblos mas bonitos de Espana) designed to promote tourist and developmental interest in member towns and/or regions. These are both relatively new initiatives and Beteta was one of the first villages in Castile La Mancha to be included in the network.

Of the two villages, Vanya and I preferred the much smaller Beteta; possibly because the cloudy weather had cleared by the time we arrived but more probably because it is nestled between two very spectacular settings, the Serrania de Cuenca Natural Park and the Alto Tajo Natural Park. Honestly, we found almost as much pleasure in the countryside surrounding Beteta as in the village itself. It’s truly wild with it’s huge plains, forests and gorges and it’s many rivers, waterfalls and lakes. It’s captivating just driving through it.

The vestiges of the 11th/12th Castillo de Rochafrida tower over tiny Beteta. This old stone watchtower, formerly an arab castle, can be seen from almost anywhere in the village.

The walls that used to surround Beteta have long gone. There were three gates in the old walls but only one, the Arco del Postigo, remains. The village itself comprises two cobbled main streets, the Calle de Fernando el Catolico (which leads on to Calle Real) and the Calle de Isabel La Catolica. They run almost parallel with each other and are joined by a number of connecting lanes.

The village church (the Iglesia Parroquial Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion) is on the Fernando el Catolico. This 15th century limestone church is quite plain on the outside but inside, it is very special. The congregation was gathering for a Sunday service as we arrived and I had time for just one photo of the inside of what has been described as “the noblest religious building in the whole of the Serrania de Cuenca”.

From the church we made our way down one of the connecting lanes to the Calle de Isabel La Catolica and the Plaza Mayor. There’s a very attractive bar on the square (the Bar Paraiso), complete with wonderful wooden balcony, and it was there we took time out for a spot of lunch.

We sat outside in the sunshine opposite the bar for the best part of an hour enjoying Manchego cheese and cups of fresh coffee (I had to drive and it was too early for Vanya to want alcohol). Surprisingly, there were almost as many of the townspeople enjoying a drink on the square as I had seen gathered in church for the service. I guess the Catholic church even in Spain doesn’t have the influence it used to have. I did smile when the number of people drinking on the Plaza Mayor almost doubled as the Sunday service finished.

We both enjoyed our brief lunch outside the Bar Paraiso but it was time to move on. The chap in Canamares had also suggested we visit a local beauty spot very close to Beteta, La Laguna de El Tobar.

The Tobar Lagoons just two kilometres from Beteta actually comprise a group of three very unusual lagoons (La Laguna Grande, La Laguna Pequena and Laguna Ciega). They are unusual in that the bottom of each of the lagoons is impermeable which means, effectively, they don’t drain. It’s waters are fresh on the surface but from 12 metres down they are salty (three times as much as the sea). This difference in density is such that the saltwater and freshwater cannot mix.

We parked at the tiny hamlet of Tobar and then walked a final kilometre to Laguna Ciega with Nala doing splendidly in her walking wheels and me moving much more slowly while musing over whether fish could survive in the lakes and, if so, whether they would be freshwater or saltwater fish. I still don’t know.

We’d spent a couple of really interesting days in and around Canamares but we were now more than three weeks into Tour 10 and keen to experience a little luxury. Our next stop would be in a hotel in Cuenca City for a couple of days.

A local I talked to in Canamares recommended we visit the two small towns of Priego and Beteta. They are in opposite directions from Canamares but not too far apart and we decided to visit both, starting with Priego.

We had already passed Priego on our way to Canamares. It lies about 5 miles west of Canamares on the CM2023 road and is considered the gateway to the Serrania de Cuenca National Park (home to, amongst others, the Iberian Wolf and the Brown Bear). Priego also forms part of the ‘ruta del mimbre’ (see the Canamares blog).

First things first, between Canamares and Priego the CM2023 follows the Rio Escabes where it has formed a deep rugged gorge of vertical limestone walls and exceptionally spectacular rock formations that are so typical of the Serrania de Cuenca landscape. At one of the deeper parts of the gorge there is a small layby which is the primary access point to the Ferrata de Priego (or the Via Ferrata Hoces de Priego complex to use it’s full name). This complex comprises three exciting ferratas graded between K1 (easy starter grade) and K4 (very difficult). I simply had to pull into a layby and investigate.

A little further along the road to Priego, a mile or so from the town, is a turn off which leads to a very well preserved place of pilgrimage, the Convent of San Miguel de Las Victorias, which in 1573 became home to a congregation of Franciscan monks. The convent was so named because (a) it was built on the site of the Hermitage of San Miguel and (b) to commemorate a fairly recent Christian naval victory by the Holy League over the Ottoman Empire (the Battle of Lepanto) in 1571. Vanya wasn’t keen to visit the convent and we were running late so; I had to be satisfied with taking some photos of the outside of the building but I understand the inside is well worth a visit. Next time perhaps.

And so to the town of Priego; a small town of a little over 1,000 people and not to be confused with Priego de Cordoba in Andalucia which has something like 20,000 inhabitants.

Nowadays Priego relies on tourism and it’s wickerwork industry and it is not a particularly prosperous town but; it wasn’t always so. This is demonstrated by an abundance of old mansions in the town emblazoned with the coats of arms of former owners and; indeed, the ayuntamiento (the town hall) on the Plaza de los Condos was once a celebrated renaissance palace belonging to the Counts of Priego.

A number of the former Counts are buried in the crypts of the parish church (the 1540 Iglesia Parroquial de San Nicolas de Bari) which, except for the town hall, is perhaps Priego’s most impressive building although; there is the ruin of a defensive tower of Arab origin at the edge of Priego which was once part of the town’s old castle complex.

I’ve read that Priego is famous for the number of fountains across the town but I don’t think so and I suspect someone has confused this town’s fountains with those in Priego de Cordoba in Andalucia. This Priego is however famous for being the birthplace of Luis Ocana, the Spanish cyclist whose rivalry with the Belgian cyclist Eddie Merckx matched that of the motor racing rivalry between Nikki Lauda and James Hunt. Ocano led a hard and often troubled life (and wasn’t the luckiest competitor) but he won the Tour de France on one occasion although; Merckx didn’t compete that year.

Ours was a short visit to Priego. We’d spend more time in Beteta.

Castila La Mancha is one of the least visited parts of Spain but it is up there with the best of the country’s Regions in terms of natural beauty. We were on our way from Madrid to Cuenca City in La Mancha (where we had booked a couple of nights in the NH Hotel) but; we had built in some time to spend a couple of nights beforehand at a campsite in the tiny village of Canamares. This would allow us to see a little more of the beautifully wild countryside that is Castila La Mancha.

We drove to Canamares by way of Sacedon in the Guadalajara Province of Castile La Mancha and this road took us across the top of the Embalse de Entrepenas dam. There’s a rest area on the south side of the dam and from there I was able to walk back along the top of the dam for some fine photo opportunities across the reservoir. This has to be one of the more attractive reservoirs in Spain but better was to come…

Canamares is tiny; just 582 people at the last count. It sits by the Rio Escabes in the Parque Natural Serrania de Cuenca and it is at the heart of what is known as the Ruta de Mimbre (the Wicker Route).

The whole area is brimming with beautiful lakes, mountains, ravines and, surprise, surprise… the most gorgeous wicker! Yes, wicker, but this is not just any wicker. Wicker is made from various natural sources including cane and rattan (from palms), bamboo, reeds and of course willow. The wicker produced on the Ruta de Mimbre (which stretches 25 miles between the villages of Albalate de las Nogueres and Beteta) is obtained from a particular bush of the willow family and every winter (from late November onwards) it transforms the fields hereabouts into something quite unique and wholly spectacular.

The village is quiet and with few amenities. I noticed a small hotel, a general store, a bank, the village church and there must have been two or three bar-restaurants although only one bar was open when I visited. I didn’t bother with it. There is a bar-restaurant alongside the campsite which, although basic, seemed very popular with the locals (it was busy throughout the time we were there) and they offered simple rustic food which kept me happy, if not Vanya.

Despite it’s fairly large size, Camping La Dehesa was very quiet with just two or three other families staying over while we were there but, as stated previously, La Mancha doesn’t get too many tourists compared to the rest of Spain and we were well out of season. It didn’t bother us, it is a beautiful area and proved a fine place from which to explore a couple of other villages on the Ruta de Mimbre, notably Priego and Beteta.