Hot springs and dangerous vapours

 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.  The economy is based around small livestock farms, hunting, cork harvesting, and the growing of olives and pistachio.

Now, having declared this is not Quixote country what we actually find is that the Cereceda River is cited as the location where the Don encounters a fulling mill.  Other authorities make no such connection.

Just below us as we push past the town is the Hotel Sierra Madrona.  Jeronimo gave a fulsome report five days ago.  A fantastic experience at the Hotel Sierra Madrona restaurant in Fuencaliente.A group of five of us ate there on Tuesday, May 12th, as part of a trip to the Alcudia Valley and Sierra Madrona Natural Park. We especially enjoyed the partridge pâté, the Cordoban salmorejo, the cheese croquettes, the oxtail stew, and the venison with chanterelle mushrooms. All the ingredients were locally sourced and high-quality, and the dishes were beautifully prepared. The desserts deserve special mention: the liquid cheesecake, the Sierra Madrona sweet dessert, and the Lenten torrija were spectacular. I didn't ask for seconds, I was just too embarrassed. 😅 

We end the day by a petrol station. It is fascinating that 82 people felt it was time well spent to review it.   Seven months ago Piluca reported:

‘Well, we just stopped for the bathroom (very kind of them to let us in), and there was a group of people smoking right there at the station. We told them about it, and they yelled at us (there are cameras). I told the attendant, and she told me she couldn't tell them more times because they wouldn't stop... I think it's incredibly dangerous, and it's also prohibited. I don't understand why; it can't be their first day there. Accidents do happen after that! ‘

Cespa responded ‘Thank you for reporting this issue. We will take the necessary steps to ensure this doesn't happen again. We apologize for the inconvenience. ‘

Let us hope such a thing does not occur again.