Aires and Graces El Burgo de Osma and Sierra de Cebollera

Another view of a Cathedral

So we stopped the night in an Aire at El Burgo de Osma.  Another old town.  Daddy saw Mama reading a sign about the town.  She was reading it for about ten minutes.  When she came back he asked her what it said.  She looked blank.  Just a load of dates and names she said.

Cold

It was very cold here too.  And empty.  And in the middle of nowhere.  But pretty amazing.  

Amazing

 Daddy said that if it were the only place we had visited in Spain, we would have been blown away.  Mama said yeah yeah yeah.  Take me to a bar.

The pub

We went in a bar which was just like an English pub.  All dark furniture, fruit machines and adverts for Coca Cola.  (Mama is horrified that even though I have never drunk it and I don't watch television I can point out Coca Cola from a mile away). The place even smelt of wee and air freshener.   Mama said take me to the sea.  So we set off for St Jean de Luz.

On the way we stopped for lunch

Sierra de Cebollera was just beautiful.  A mountain village with snow and rushing gushing steams and sheep with bells.

But it had a playground

Mama wanted to stay here but Daddy said you wanted to see the sea so get back in the van.

Bye bye Mountain Village

Bye Bye Spain.  We will miss you.  Adios.

Super shivering Segovia

The beginning of the aqueduct

They said that Segovia had an aqueduct.  So I got in it.  It was just a drain at the beginning of the town.

Then it grew

And it grew

 Until I couldn't see anything but aqueduct.

Aqueducts are us

It was an amazing thing.  Segovia was an amazing place.  Mama said it looked like it belonged somewhere else and not Spain.

Oh a bit of sun

But it was cold.  And I moaned and moaned and moaned.  It took Mama and Daddy 3 attempts to get me to walk upto the castle.

Another cathedral

A No nose Sphinx

They eventually got me there by telling me that Walt Disney based their castle on this one.  And I know Walt Disney because I'm a big fan of Jungle Book.  But when we got there it was covered in scaffolding.

Looking for my fairy tale castle

So back to the aqueduct it was.

The aqueduct

But forget about the aqueduct.  We had the best cake in Spain.

Best Cake in Spain

Jerte. Things that stop Mama's Heart

When we left Plasencia we had stopped at a supermarket to do some shopping and it was so late in the day we decided to have some lunch there too and then after lunch Mama and I sneaked into the bed at the back for a little snooze. We basically spent a full afternoon in Aldi carpark.  So by the time we drove up the Jerte in the Squirty valley to do some walking it was quite late. Daddy parked at the Reserve Natural Garganta de los Infernos or something like that.  It was full of woods and rivers and water falls and surrounded by mountains full of snow.

I can see our house from here

I galloped up the mountain to the top.  I was the trail blazer and the tour guide and ran a full 6 kms. 

Me galloping

And then we sat by this very beautiful waterfall.

The waterfall

 I wanted to go swimming but Mama said look where the water is coming from and I looked and saw a mountain all covered with snow.  Brr.

View from our van

The next day we woke up and our quiet little car park was packed full of people.  They were arriving in by the coach load to watch Mama having a scratch.  I think they had come to see the cherry blossom.  The Jerte valley produces most of the cherries for Spain. Mama and I were sad that it was only the blossom because we prefer the cherries.  Mama and I once ate a whole crate of cherries when I was a baby and then she worried we were going to be ill because we ate so many.  But we weren't.

Cherries and snow

We walked along the river in the bottom of the valley to the town of Jerte where Mama had the worst meal of her life.

More walking

I didn't do any more trail blazing and complained most of the way about my legs hurting.  Mama pretended she couldn't hear me but I could tell by the way her mouth was moving that she could.

Big Jumper

 We found a big insect on the road.  Mama said oh good.  Why don't we invite him back.

Cherries

 And then they dragged me up a mountain again.

Having a rest

Trujillo, Montfrague, Plasencia. Some of the best of Spain

Trujillo

What a treat Trujillo.  In the middle of nowhere particular. A little town. Wandering winding rundown streets opening out onto a most marvellous plaza.

Being made to pose

Another fountain

 And then a castle at the top of the town with cellars which Mama hid down.

I can see you

 And views.  Views upon views to take your breath away.

Looking at a view

 Daddy said I could only go up on the walls if I held his hand the whole way and if I let go we had to go down.  Mama went down.

A long way down

And there were great big storks nesting.  And when they flew overhead, the light went out.  Like a dinosaur.

Storkies

The next day we drove up to the National park which is famous for its big birds.  It was very very pretty and we stopped by a stream for lunch and looked at the footprints of wild boar.

Lunchtime.

Mama went on about all the wild flowers.  Flag lavender and Rock Roses and white broom and orchids.  Daddy picked something he said was sage and it smelt like poison.

Flowers

We found a sign to Castillo de Montfrague so parked Nona and started climbing a montain.

The castle

 It was so beautiful when we reached the top but it was a very long way.  And it was hot.  And Mama had only one Chupa Chup to lead me onwards.

The view

 And there were loads of birds.  A vulture came in to land behind me and the shush of the wings ruffled my hair.

Birds

There were rivers below.

River

 And birds above and we drove along the valley to a beautiful campsite near Plasencia and at night I hear the frogs chatting.

Plasencia

Today we cycled along the river into town and looked at an art gallery.

Art

 And I looked at a dingdar.

Dingdar

 Mama liked this a lot but Daddy got hot.

Things

And then we went for lunch.

My glass of wine (with water).

Caceres Extremadura

Playa Major

So here we are in Extremadura.  It is cold.  Mama keeps talking about the pigs.  The pigs which make the jamon.  I'm quite keen on jamon and Mama says the pigs in Extremadura are happy pigs because they wander about under the cork oaks eating the acorns and they are happy as a pig in acorns.

So we are stopping in a great campsite just North of Caceres and every pitch has its own bathroom.  We like that.   Yesterday we caught the bus into town.

A church

We were the only people on the bus and the bus driver rubbed my hands because he said they were frio.   We had a lovely lunch of Migas which are bread crumbs fried in garlic and parsley and jamon and served with a fried egg on top.  A bit like a mixed up English breakfast.  We also had chorizo and lentil stew and then lamb with sheep cheese sauce and poor man's potatoes which was lovely and suckling pig in paprika.

Lentil stew

 Mama said they like the paprika a bit too much.

My photo of Lamb in sheeps cheese

Pudding

 Oh.  I ate the pudding before Mama could take a picture.  It was cheese cake.  We ate out in Plaza Major and just as they brought the main course it started pouring with rain and everyone ran for cover except for us.  We were sheltered under a giant umbrella and it was very cosy.  A bit like camping.

Climbing the walls

 Caceres is a city that had Muslims and Jews and Christians and has been untouched since the 1800s Daddy says.

Taking it in

It was a strange thing to see.  I've never really been anywhere like it.

Pounding the pavements

 There were no shops or aerials or wires.  There were a couple of restaurants but they were hidden away like secrets.

A secret restaurant

It is raining today again.  Hard.  It is a bit too much like camping.             

Yeah scored a goal.