The Road from Santiago

  It is a day to rise up 134m [and fall nine of those very same metric units.]  Even though we as in La Mancha it is not the sort of terrain for Don Quixote reflections so let us head up the valley and gaze at Fuencaliente. Ok, confession.  We are not actually going into the town as the road now by-passes the place. It has a little over 1000 people living here in the middle of somewhere and the edge of somewhere else. The thermal springs, hence the name, have attracted people since when there were people but it was those of the Copper Age who left cave paintings.  It is thought the modern town goes back to the 13th century. During the period of Castilian expansion the Priory of Fuencaliente was founded [1369] and became a pilgrimage site. Recent History has been variable for the populace. In 1842 2444 people lived here, it sank too 1704 [in 1860], they slowly increased to 3600 in the 1940s and 50s, plummeted to 2100 in 170 and has continued to decline ever since....

  We are going for an urban wander before we go north.  The A-3200 clearly becomes the market place and we are heading for the bar at the heart of the thriving centre of commerce. Bar Hermanos Ruiz impressed Rosa ten months ago, with four stars and this…’We visited Azuel last weekend and had lunch and breakfast at this establishment. It's a village bar, and I mean that as a compliment, because of how welcoming our stay was and how delicious the food was. Suckling pig, croquettes, flamenquín (breaded and fried pork roll), and cured pork loin. I especially want to highlight Daniela's friendliness and service. If you're in the area, I highly recommend it. ‘  A week ago Carmen went the full five ‘We arrived for lunch late, and although they close at 3 pm on weekdays, the service was excellent. There wasn't much variety in the beds, but the food was quite good. Good coffee. ‘ Out of town and along the N-420 we cross the border. Goodbye Andalucía and hell Castilla- La Mancha!...

  Well, a quick 180o turn as we missed the track across the rolling hillsides of Andalucia. We have nice trees to look at but most of the fun is backloaded into the end of the day. Towards the end of the day we are near Castillo del Guijarro.  Acisclo gives us the account.  ‘Guijarro Castle is located on the El Castillo estate, southwest of the town of Azuel, part of the municipality of Cardeña, province of Córdoba.  This castle is of Moorish origin.  There are remains of a double tower. Among the remains of the fortification is the current chapel of the Virgin of Romero. The Treasure of Azuel was found at this site. Under the protection of the Generic Declaration of the Decree of April 22, 1949, and Law 16/1985 on Spanish Historical Heritage. ‘ Next is the white painted pueblo of Azuel.  So isolated are we that it only has a wiki page in Spanish and then, barely.  We might as well have it all: ‘ It is located in the region known as Valle de los Pedroc...

  It is a bit of a five things sort of a day.  We will do a lot of rising and falling and will go from 257m above sea level to 799m. The countryside is beautiful and we are going off piste so strap in and prepare for knowledge that, in some odd moments, you may find useful. |Spain has won 55 gold, 77 silver and 63 bronze medals at the Olympics. They first appeared in 1900. They next appeared in 1920 and took part in all games except the 1936 ones, when they held their own, untainted by the Nazis. Spain’s most successful sport is Sailing in terms of gold [14]. In terms of total medals is canoeing [23]. The Anjanas is a mythological creature akin to the nymphs of Ancient Greece. They are described as extremely beautiful beings with long flowing hair that they comb daily for long hours. Anjanas clothe themselves with dresses made up of stars or stardust and wear fabulous pearls. They are known to wear floral crowns and walk with floral staffs. Depending on which region of Spain t...