France & Spain Feb 2020: The Start

We planned to leave home on Monday 10^th February but the weekend storms and high winds hung on. The weather forecast predicted a calmer few days mid-week before another storm, storm Dennis, hit. So come Wednesday we go for it, but buffeting winds along the Calais to Boulogne motorway forced us to shelter for the night at a local campsite.

Since then it’s been good travelling, and we are now in the province of Cantabria, northern Spain. This is our pitch at Camping Santillana, a large but totally deserted site. It’s like our own private field, complete with long grass,  trees and soft earth, all of which made pitching difficult. But what a lovely view, and the beautiful small town of Santillana del Mar lies within walking distance!

Next morning we follow the cobbled road connecting the campsite to Santillana. The town is reputedly a medieval time capsule, although the two hotels in the photo, while attractive, don’t look that ancient.

We path arrives in one of the town squares. Santillana grew around its 12^th century church, which we will see shortly, and became a settlement for noblemen made wealthy mainly from trade and plunder from the New World after its discovery by Columbus in 1492.

The whole place presents a consistently ancient appearance, supported by planning laws in operation since 1575 to preserve the integrity of the town.

It’s worth looking at the detail at some of the coats of arms on the building facades. The craftsmanship is skilled and intricate.

 The jewel in the crown is the 12^th century church of Santa Juliana that gave the town its name. Differing accounts say it was preceded by a hermitage or a monastery. The blue van probably dates from a little later.

To prove the town was occupied by real inhabitants, there is a picturesque clothes washing area. Not so romantic for the ladies who did the laundry in all seasons.

In the square behind the church is the impressive 16^th century Palace Velarde. It looks like a two-dimensional film set in the photo, but is actually very atmospheric. Any film directors looking for a good Dracula movie location?

Santillana delivered just what the guide books claimed: an authentic medieval experience. Disappointingly, and unusually, neither the travel guides nor the internet could provide much detailed history of the town or specific buildings. There has to be an opportunity here for some fascinating reading.

Now a stroll back up the cobbled way to the campsite for lunch.

The Basque Country

The northern coast is also called green Spain. Here’s a view that confirms it from just outside the campsite. Notice the vines in the foreground.

The vines here are on steep slopes, and very neat. First assumption is that they are tended by hand, but not so- we saw this specialised tractor going up and down the terraces cutting the grass. The grapes are enveloped in diesel fumes so the wine perhaps develops a unique premium quality. Just don’t light up while you’re sipping.

The campsite is also very green, with many trees. We’re the second unit in on the right. The problem is green = rain, and we had torrents of it towards the end of our stay.

There were some lovely walks from the site, which is on the top of a headland. This is the view down to Zarautz town from one of the paths.

A sign on another path proclaims it was part of the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, 400 miles away. Being only 15 miles from the French border, this could have been a main thoroughfare for this popular pilgrimage in the middle ages. In the last few years these old routes have been successfully revived as long distance walking paths.

The ancient small town of Getaria is connected to Zarautz by a 3 mile coastal walkway. We couldn’t park in Zarautz to start the walk so took the car to Getaria instead. Narrow streets with old buildings made it an interesting place to stroll around. Couple of photos next as examples.

It had a nice beach and scenic views of the coast with our campsite headland just visible on the other side of the bay.

The statue next is Juan Sebastian Elacano, born in Getaria, who became the first man to circumnavigate the Globe. Never heard of him? The expedition leader was the famous Magellan for whom Elcano was a navigator. They set out from Spain in 1519 but in 1521 Magellan was killed  by natives in the Philippines; Elcano completed the voyage, having been promoted to captain, arriving back in Spain in 1522. Some lesser crew members also completed the full trip, although most expedition members died from disease, malnutrition or violence like Magellan himself. 

We had passed through, but never stayed, in the Basque region several times previously and were pleasantly surprised by how many interesting places there were, and by the picturesque countryside and craggy coastline. But you do need the weather!

Segovia

Also the name of world the world famous classical guitarist who died in 1987, this atmospheric city is very much alive- with tourists visiting its three ‘A’ list attractions.

Top star is the Roman aqueduct, acknowledged as the most impressive Roman structure in Spain. It was built around end of the 1^st century A.D. to carry water from the Sierra Guadarrama mountains into Segovia. It’s the first thing we saw on arrival.

Close-up it’s even more intimidating. Nearly 100 feet tall, 170 arches, 25,000 stone blocks with no mortar.

Climbing up the pedestrian stairway into the old town you get to see these dry stone blocks close up and its half mile length.

Below is the walled town we’re about to explore. We ascended the steps but you could equally drive up on this road. The town was walled by order of King Alphonso, he of Avila fame, after he’d driven off the Moors.

At the top of the steps is a lovely view of part of the city with the partially snow-capped Guadarrama Mountains as background.

Into the old city now and to mustvisit no.2, the cathedral. You’re perhaps all cathedralled out- there’s been one in every recent blog- but this is a fine example and we won’t spend too long on it. From the outside it’s a landmark sight, the last gothic cathedral built in Spain. 

The altar screen is usually the most visually arresting point in cathedrals and here too it doesn’t disappoint in its massed ornate gilded pillars and icons.

The altar background carries on upwards to a ceiling of exquisite craftsmanship.

However it poses the question whether a less glitzy treatment doesn’t result in a more powerful impression of grace and beauty, as in this other altar setting. The proportions of the arches, rib vaulting and the fine, neutral coloured carvings across the back window are, I think, much more effective.

On display was a selection of tools and pulleys used in the cathedral’s construction. It is incredible to us today that these wonderful buildings were constructed with such primitive tools, and how well they’ve endured.

Cathedral visit over, we enter the busy streets to head for the Alcazar, our last major attraction.

The Alcazar is a medieval fortress, first documented in 1122 but probably there long before that. It was a favourite residence for many Spanish monarchs.  Substantially rebuilt in the original style following a disastrous fire in 1862, it now houses military archives and the Royal Artillery School museum. This is a view of the entrance which shows its unusual design.

The structure is partly hidden by the front towers and is larger than it appears from the photo. It’s a typical castle introduction to start: knights in armour, although only jousting armour we are told, not battle quality. Still somewhat heavier than the average guy would want to wear to the office, methinks.

When they rebuilt the castle they extended it but still left the original outer wall that then became an inner wall. This now looks slightly odd now but does show the Moorish influence on the old fortress’ design.

The Alcazar is full of amazing ceilings, and the following photo is an example. The cathedrals we’ve visited are just the same- magnificent, ornate ceilings, even in rooms with plain walls. Why would you put so much time and money into decorating the part of the room that’s least visible? Did they spend that much time lying flat on their backs- maybe the drink was stronger then?

 The armoury displays medieval weapons like these next cannon. They have to be more of a threat to the user than to the enemy.

On the forward battlements the audio guide pointed out a feature in the mountains noted from ancient times- the Sleeping Lady. Using your imagination, her face is side-view on the left of the photo, her tummy in the middle. Reminded us of an acclaimed indisputable likeness of Padre Pio on the side of a building in Italy. All we could see was broken plaster. 

The Alcazar was built on a steep cliff, a strong defensive position. It was also surrounded by a moat fed by encircling rivers. This gives an idea of its Impregnability and it fact was never captured.

The artillery museum was full of exhibits but needed too long to decipher to make a suitable blog, so we walked through and had a general look just before leaving the Alcazar. Back outside in the plaza, we look up and see several storks’ nests, some with young. These are big birds and the nests huge and untidy. You certainly wouldn’t want one on your chimney.

Back through Segovia old town to the car park we pass many splendid buildings but no time (or inclination at this stage) to pause to discover their history. An example below.

An antiquity of an entirely different type is visible in a private garage. It’s a vintage Rolls Royce, with a UK number plate. The owner also looked more Brit than Spanish. The internet tells me it’s a 1930 Phantom ll, sold about 2 years ago by a UK dealer presumably to this chap. In the depths of the garage we noticed more Rolls Royces. We didn’t have the nerve to approach the guy at the time for more info, and of course later wished we had.

Car Park and back to El Escorial campsite, 40 minutes. Segovia offered a varied day out that we thoroughly enjoyed. Even the parking was easy although expensive.  

Avila

Avila, at 3,700 feet, is the highest provincial capital in Spain. It was a frontier battle zone between the Moors and the Christians until finally secured by King Alfonso for the Christians. After his victory he ordered the city ringed by defensive walls and this was completed by 1091. So the walls are old, but still complete and look in remarkably good fettle.

A stroll around the exterior of the walls reveals the city in a pleasant setting.

It’s a city of fine churches both within the walls and outside. Up next is the Romanesque church of San Pedro in the square where we had coffee, followed by the church of San Vicente who was reputedly martyred on that spot with his two sisters.

Entering through the gateway reveals a proper town with shops and restaurants as well as historic buildings. The cathedral rear wall forms part of the battlements but doesn’t look overly impressive from the outside.

We decide to enter and take the audio guided tour. First impressions are unremarkable- having seen many cathedrals, it’s easy to forget that these are all amazing structures.

Approaching the rood screen (the beige screen at the bottom of the above photo) you see that the carvings are exceptionally fine, depicting what might be a typical Saturday night in Huntingdon High Street.

The quality of the stone carvings throughout are top grade, including some with humour. This nobleman’s sarcophagus features a rotund soldier of Moorish appearance sat on his feet. We don’t know the significance.

 Even odder is another carved figure with a plaque beneath showing two monkeys pulling each other’s hair. The carver’s way of saying that Lord X was a bit of a monkey?

The workmanship gets more breathtaking the more we see. At the altar end is a magnificent gold panel. It’s not so much about the huge expense and quality of what we’re seeing but the way the architecture and décor blends so harmoniously.

A side chapel has this exceptional roof.

 Following the numbered stations, the audio guide delivers its piece at each stop. We are halted at the Monstrance, a wedding cake affair about 2 metres tall that was carried around in processions on certain holy days. The Monstrance is certainly monstrous.

Next an illuminated medieval manuscript, a musical score. You can imagine the monks tapping their feet to the tune they were carefully scripting.

There was much more architecture and work of art of the highest quality. The cathedral certainly surpassed our initial expectations. We felt it was one of the most interesting we had seen, part of which was down to the excellent presentation and audio guide.

We leave again at maximum cultural capacity, but pass a pretty street on the way back to the car park. It’s possibly the Spanish equivalent of the Hovis advert street.

We were tempted by these scrummy looking cakes, but with a name like that you can’t take the chance in the confined space of a caravan.

Avila had more to explore than we could fit in. A city not on the ‘A’ list tourist itinerary but all the better for being less crowded and selfie driven.