Segovia

After Avíla we decided to have a quiet day and we went to visit a local beauty spot. This involved driving down strange roads, the last one being an unmade road of about 2km in length, ending in a car park. The scenery was bleak level with very little vegetation except for the occasional field of sunflowers, so much muttering could be heard in the van about wether we were going the right way! However eventually we reached the car park and in the blazing sun we made our way down the path to the Ermita de San Frutos which is a ruin of an old monastery that served a defensive fort built on the bend over looking the early part of the Duratón River as it cuts through a steep river gorge. The view was well worth the effort and we looked down on swooping birds of prey and enjoyed seeing the monastery. The hard part was walking back up hill in the heat to the van (which was like an oven). On the way back the back to the campsite we had a lovely traditional Spanish lunch at a restaurant in Sepúlveda.

The next day we ventured forth again to the old city of Segovia one of the main cities in the Region. We saw the delights of the old Roman aqueduct and walked the 30 mins to the citadel which was a fairytale castle with a mixed history. Inside we saw the kings chambers and where they would have stored the money and a large room dedicated to the history of artillery as it was used as an artillery school. It really made me think of Sharpe films! Richard made the tour of the castle more interesting by pretending with Callum to be knights returning from big battle that they had won and asking permission to see the king. Apparently the king rewarded "Sir Callum of Westrow" some land, a castle, servants and lots of gold.

We also ventured up the 157 steps up the high tower to look over the beautiful landscape and also met a lovely couple from D.C. who took a rare family photo.



I think what impressed me the most was that Callum made it back to the van without whinging despite developing some nasty blisters and the extreme heat. Richard was barely coping with the heat either, but after we all had an ice lolly from one of the many shops in the old city, we all felt much better. Segovia really is a lovely city and worthy of a mini break in it's own right.

We returned back to camp that night ready to leave Spain and venture back into a country where we have better language skills, so early the next morning we packed up and headed for France.

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Location:Riaza, Spain