In Plasencia

April 23, 2024

It’s been quite awhile since The Team has shifted gears on you - not since we left Almería over two weeks ago - so we feel pretty comfortable shaking things up again. In all likelihood you didn’t know what the plan was at this point anyway. To refresh your memory, after parting ways with Suzanne and Janos in Plasencia so they could start biking back toward Estremoz to pick up their car (all of which went by the wayside of course), our plan was to spend the next two weeks slow-traveling along the north side of the Serra dos Gredos range to Segovia, taking our time to enjoy rides and hikes in the mountain foothills. Our planned route: Hervas, Béjar, 2 nights in El Barco de Avila, two nights in Navarredonda de Gredos, Navaluenga, two nights in Avila, San Rafael, and finally three nights in Segovia. It looked like a fine route, but a challenging one that would carry us high into the mountains with Navareddonda standing above 5,000’.

It looked like a fine plan months ago anyway, but not now because the weather is changing on us again. After two weeks of sublime weather we’re looking at another wet and windy spell - at the lower elevations anyway. Toward the top it will be wet, windy and cold: there are three straight days coming up with nights below freezing and highs at around fifty. That’s well outside of Team Anderson’s comfort zone, and we’d have to be pretty desperate to willingly bike in wet, windy, near freezing conditions.

We’re not desperate, and we’re not doing that. Instead, we went back to the map, found a lower elevation route, and realigned our layover days to allow us to sit tight during the coldest and wettest stretch.

All of which is background for noting that the realignment starts today, with a lazy layover day here in Plasencia. Rachael’s new brake pads will have to wait another day to show their stuff.

And it really is a rest day. Rachael took the opportunity to read a good book, while I took a short walk through the park along the Jerte River this morning and then checked out some of the sights in the old city later in the day.

La Isla

Plasencia is quite an appealing small city. We stayed here for two nights the last time through here (and in the same hotel, in fact) and really liked it then. It wasn’t the plan, but I’m happy to be having this second day to explore it again. One of its attractive features is the ribbon of parks along the Jerte River which flows right beneath the city. At the heart of this greenbelt is a small island, La Isla, which is in its entirety a protected, mostly pedestrianized park. I spent a relaxed, enjoyable couple of hours this morning walking through the park, as usual checking out the birds.

Crossing the river on the Pepe Neria footbridge.

A side view, since Steve seems to prefer these for some reason.

The view from across the Jerte to the cathedrals.

A closer look. There are two conjoined cathedrals here. The one facing us is the old cathedral, a Romanesque/gothic transitional structure begun in the 13th century and completed in the fifteenth. Behind it is the larger and taller new cathedral, begun in the fifteenth.

#222: Black redstart. Where’s the black, I’m sure you’re wondering. Good question. I’m not the one that names birds though.

You have to like a place that invests in its bikers and foot traffic.

I don’t remember being to a spot before with so many bold magpies. They’re everywhere here, don’t fly off as soon s they sense someone’s watching them, and seem practically domesticated.

Like the magpies, the wood pigeons are also very comfortable with human presence. There must be a reason for that.

Another bridge connecting the city and island.

The Cathedrals

A substantial section of the original walls has been well preserved and restored.

The Episcopal Palace (Palacio de Obispado) stands next to the old cathedral and offers what must have been a wonderful view across the walls to the river and island before the coming of the automobiles.

Entering the old city through the Trujillo Gate.

Above the portal to the old cathedral. You can’t enter through this door though. Entrance is through the new cathedral, and past the ticket kiosk.

Just outside the entrance to the Chapter House is the unfinished junction between the old and new cathedrals.

A look at the western face of the cathedral. From this point the only visible part of the the old one is

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