8th May, “Don Quixote” at Salamanca.
We arrived at the camp site and settled for the night, we enjoyed the company of Dutch neighbours. We new their birth place in Holland well, as we had wintered “Charlie Dee” there, a lovely town called Roermond on the river Maas.
We moved to a different spot the next day as our Dutch campers left. The new place offered much more room.
The general layout of the site offers shade but space is limited, anyway we are English, as the saying goes, Mad Dogs…………….. Our new position offered no shade, great!
We had dinner at the camp site on Saturday night, fresh caught fish which was excellent, sweet, wine/orange, drinks included for 30 Euros, very good value.
For every ten Dutch campers there would be a German or a Frenchman. Most of the Dutch were on the way to or from Portugal, so It was quite a change to meet an English couple, since I was cooking a curry that night (Sunday) we invited them to join us, why? Because they were from Yorkshire, the posh end at that, Knaresborough!
We had a pleasant evening discussing the merits of owning a MH among other things. It was a warm evening, just the job for a very very very hot curry, they both took their punishment well.
The next day we went to Salamanca, It’s a beautiful University City. We wondered around trying to get our bearings as we intend to come back again. The main square is magnificent spoilt for the moment as there is an exhibition of books, I've never seen so many, one guy was selling classics which are printed on books no bigger than a thumb nail. I think I have seen these before but can’t remember where?
The stalls were assemble in a complete square within the Piazzas which detracted from it’s splendour.
We were due to go back to Salamanca the following day but we met a Belgium expert on Oyster, he pitched up along side us and asked if he could borrow my steps to climb onto his caravan in order to adjust his Oyster dish arm which had become loose.
One good turn deserves another? It resulted in him spending several hours educating me in the theory and practical use of the complex menus of satellite transmissions. I’m not saying I absorbed all the information but I now feel that I can manage my system confidently to acquire all English speaking broadcasts. Mary can now watch TV instead of listening to me rabbit on! It took all of 5 minutes to hold the steps while John fixed his dish.
Of course I felt self conscious about the amount of time he gave me, but I felt better after inviting John and his wife Garget to join us for an evening meal which turned out to be very pleasant. He requested my Email address so we hope to hear from him in the future.
A new day, Thursday the 14th May, we made it back to Salamanca City. The first photographs show the inside of the Cathedral, they give no idea scale, the space is truly massive.
We parked the car feeling confident that the Garmin would return us, did it buggery? I set the menu to “walk” not “car” to no avail.
We did find the car, though much later. It was fortunate that we had a substantial lunch, so being late didn’t upset Mary’s apple cart. It was lovely to sit in the Piazzas surrounded by fantastic architecture, and the sun of course.
We strolled after lunch and got tired so we took a “Tour Road Train”. Good god! we couldn’t get off quick enough. It shook Mary to a frazzle, several pills and a ice cream later she recovered sufficient to complain, not to the driver, but to the only English person around? The streets are cobbled, the wheels were solid, the driver was young and in a hurry, a perfect combination? All for 8.6 Euros. However we did have a good day.
Those of you who can read Spanish could let me know what’s going on in this building. I've heard of blushing pink with embarrassment, but not purple? If you have a particular interest you can blow up pictures by clicking “View full album”?
I think the overriding memory of Salamanca will be the cleanliness of the city and the shear number of towers, domes and spires, the Romans must have had a field day here.
As our time here came to an end we were bombarded with seeds that blue in on the breeze from the surrounding trees. It was so thick at times you couldn’t help inhaling them and chocking as a result, very unpleasant.
Not easy to see, but the picture of the grass gives you an idea.
