The Road from Santiago

  It feels a bit of a five things day but first we are passing Pegasus Aviacion and they have some fun planes on display so lets look at them before heading down the byways. Pegasus Aero https://www.pegasusaerogroup.com/en/pegasus-aero-group-2/ are, according to their website ‘PEGASUS AERO GROUP is a leading international aeronautical Group consolidated and solvent thanks to the quality and professionalism of its services. More than 50 years of history and more than 550 employees guarantee our trajectory. The four main business lines of Pegasus Aero Group are: all kind of aerial services, with more than 100 helicopters and aircrafts, training, maintenance and simulation. 95 reviews come up with 4.5 stars.   Guicardur was impressed.  ‘ One of the best schools for helicopter pilots and mechanics. Their staff is always professional and willing to help with anything related to the world of aviation. Special mention goes to David Lucena, one of their instructors and a helicop...

  We are heading along the A-431 and reach La Estacion, which is where the station for Palma del Rio is. It is right by the Shrine of the Nuestra de Belen.   https://visitapalmadelrio.com/ermita-belen/   Our Lady of Bethlehem has had a shrine here since 1806. When the railway came it was remodeled [1857] and then reworked again in 1954. The sanctuary comprises a chapel, pilgrims hostel, brotherhood’s quarters and gardens. It is currently open from 8am to 1pm and 6pm-10pm. So, south we go, across the Guadalquivir and into Palma del Rio.  Suddenly we are in a town of 21000 people, with narrowed balconied streets and wide, Twentieth century boulevards.  The place had its highs and lows  In 1507 Luis Fernandez Portocarrero Bocanegra, first count of Palma del Rio, built a palace.  The palace has been much restored. In 1755 the Lisbon earthquake did much damage and it was reduced to being a warehouse and farmer’s dwelling. It was also destroyed during the C...

  In the words of Arlo Guthrie, let's begin this ‘walk down the road trip.’  The A-431 offers us rises and falls and the occasional looking tower.  This tower turns out to be the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Villadiego.  It is a hermitage with a blog http://virgendevilladiego.blogspot.com/ although it doesn’t appear to have been updated since 2015.  Ciasico was moved by this Mudejar.  ‘ If you'd like to learn more, keep reading: The Hermitage of Our Lady of Villadiego is a Mudéjar-style building, although today, after its 1996 renovation, nothing remains of its original form. The hermitage originated from the medieval tower of Villadiego, dating from the late 13th or early 14th century. Built in the Mudéjar style, it has an octagonal floor plan and is crowned with battlements. Its interior has two floors covered with vaults; the lower one is semi-spherical, and the upper one is groin vaulted. Attached to the tower is the hermitage building, also Mudéjar in ...

  We are wandering along the road, between two railway lines, a bit distant from us, with rivers and drainage ditches.  There is not enough for a full day and too much for five things - so we will have three and some reviews. We are going to La Mancha and we will do Don Quixote in depth but let’s do Cervantes other book - Novelas ejemplares. Exemplary Novels was written between 1590 and 1612 and published in Madrid in 1613.  The author begins with a modest little foreword ‘ My genius and my inclination prompt me to this kind of writing; the more so as I consider (and with truth) that I am the first who has written novels in the Spanish language, though many have hitherto appeared among us, all of them translated from foreign authors. But these are my own, neither imitated nor stolen from anyone; my genius has engendered them, my pen has brought them forth, and they are growing up in the arms of the press ‘ I will quote wiki and move on ‘ The novellas are usually grouped ...