Ciudad Rodrigo was originally a Celtic village under the name of Mirobriga. The town was later taken by the Romans during the conquest of Lusitania and named Augustobriga. In the 12th century, the site was repopulated by King Ferdinand II of León. He built the city wall and started the construction of the cathedral. In the […]
In the Las Batuecas – Sierra de Francia Nature Park, we had spent the night next to the river, where we wanted to hike the next day. (45.454102, -6.13465) From that parking, a route leads you up the Batuecas to the secluded Monastery Desierto de San José of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns and further upstream
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What is called Meandro el Melero are the horseshoe bends in the river Alagón, which makes its way through the mountains in the Las Batuecas – Sierra de Francia Natural Park. We saw photos of this landscape and decided to hike there. On Wikiloc we found a route we liked and off we went. (Trail
We had been to Western film sites in the area of Almeria, but when we found out, that here, near Burgos, one of the famous Western of Sergio Leone was filmed, we had to visit the site. The landscape was spectacular! The drive from Santo Domingo de Silos on a washed out gravel road was
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When visiting Santo Domingo de Silos, we went on a short hike into the Yecla gorge, which is easily accessible on a gangway. We approached Santo Domingo de Silos from the south, where the road leads along the canyon through tunnels to the other side of the mountain – very impressive! We had parked at
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The landscape again was fascinating, with red soil alternating with intensive green fields. Soon we reached Santo Domingo de Silos not far from Lerma and Burgos. Plaza Mayor of the little town with 282 inhabitants Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos We waited in a queue to get in … … but then we were
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On our way north from Madrid we stopped at Peñaranda de Duero for the night and discovered a lovely castle and below it, a little old town with the Plaza Mayor, timbered houses, a pillory and a palace. Castle of Peñaranda Parking for the Night Below, the little town of Peñaranda The castle of Peñaranda
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From the highway to Salamanca, we had already a first impression of the city walls of Ávila, which made it clear: we will have to stop here on the way back. After leaving Salamanca, we arrived in Ávila in the evening and the weather was bad, but we hoped for better conditions the next morning.
Salamanca, the famous university town at the Rio Tormes, 220 km northwest of Madrid, was our next destination in Castile-Leon. It is also called the “Golden City”, because the facades of the historical buildings are made of a gold-coloured stone, which give a special characteristic to this town. We crossed the Tomar
From Segovia, we drove just a short way south, closer to Sierra de Guadarrama at San Ildefonso. In Austria, we have nougat sweets called Ildefonso, so this name sounds mouth watering. But San Ildefonso is known for La Granja – the summer residence of the Spanish Kings. As you can see, we were
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