September 26, 1997
To Salamanca
This was a lovely but long day, spent almost entirely on car-free roads through unspoiled countryside and villages. The first 50 km or so west of Avila follow a fairly high route above the plain, through a weird rocky landscape. Pastures were marked by primitive rock walls, restraining the occasional bull. Villages were completely devoid of cars, with street life limited to a few strollers, persons sitting in doorways, and a man leading his pigs from what looked like the front door of his house. Houses were constructed principally of rough stone, giving the villages a very primitive feeling. River valleys intermittently opened up to the north, revealing sweeping views of the Castillian plain.
We broke for lunch at the village of Cabezas. After a few passes through its few streets we finally discovered its only store, unmarked other than by a beer sign. After making a few purchases we proceeded to a bench on its plaza to dine and watch the town's dogs, and to watch a few of the town's denizens watch us. On the way out I photographed three of them - two men, one donkey, before proceeding on. In a brief conversation with them they indicated that we were more or less loco and needed a motor.
Most of the remaining distance to Alba de Tormes, a small town 25 km from Salamanca, continued to be easy riding, passing down fom the ridge to somewhat marshy lowlands as we approached the river. We had planned to stop in Alba, but as it was only about 3 and we saw no compelling reason to stay, we continued on to Salamanca after a brief cafe break, planning to stay in the city for two nights. At first I was actually a bit disappointed by Alba, having expected it to be more attractive than it appeared at first when approaching from the southeast. Actually though it is quite lovely, as we discovered on the way out - it has several attractive monuments, a dramatic skyline, and a graceful bridge across the Tormes. It was too bad that we had not waited a few minutes longer before taking our break and spent it in the best part of town.
We arrived in Salamanca a bit over an hour later after climbing a small ridge across a large meander in the Tormes. Since we were a day earlier than planned we had no reservation waiting for us. We tried first at the hotel at which I had reserved a room for Friday, but it was filled - as were the next three spots we checked out. With anxiety levels rizing, we decided to move upscale and stopped into a 3 star establishment, obtaining a room just as the first flashes of lightning, quickly followed by a downpour, attacked the city.
We spent two nights here, enjoying the lush facilities of our hotel in a great location a block from the Plaza Major. At 10,500 pesetas it was about twice the rate of most places we stayed - but easily worth it for the avoided stress and soaking. We had a fine visit in the city, touring its many churches, cloisters and monuments, and enjoying a pair of great dinners. We took advantage of its greater selection to eat pizza one night and cheese fondue the next.
Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 983 miles (1,582 km)
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