Remember the Alamo and Kevin

 And so we head towards civilisation and by that I mean somewhere Google reviews have reached - which is much the same thing if you squint.

First to the Venta El Alamo.  Can we call this a roadhouse? It must be the Spanish equivalent. It is one of those places with a tiled floor, solid wooden furniture and big windows to show how sunny it is out of the shade.   The menu [from February] includes Bacalao frito con pisto comes in three sizes and ranges in price from 5 to 10 euros. Menu del dia will be included in the photo.

The reviews [276] are moding to five and meaning to 3.7. Mostly fours and fives but the ones drag it down.  I think it is time to go for four and two among the recent reviews.

The last two reviews, 2 weeks and 4 weeks ago are four stars. Jose said ‘Good Breakfast’ and Loli said ‘Everything is great and the treatment is good.’  

Seven months ago Jose - a different one - gave a single star.  Judge for yourself. ‘It's a disgrace. The service and the food. They don't remember what you order. And on top of that, if you get angry, they don't get angry at all. (Incompetent) ‘

We are heading for Lora del Rio.  18,000 people are so keen on the place they have decided to live there.  Good news. It is on the Camino de la Frontera [Border Way] to Santiago de Compostela.  Before St James’ decided to do some post-mortem travel however Lora was a centre of olive oil production in the Roman Empire.  Wiki describes the climate as sub-humid continental Mediterranean, with 525mm of rain annually. 

It became easier to go to, and leave, Lora after 1859 when the railways arrived.  Migrants from other regions arrived, partly on the back of improved vineyards, the growing of holm oaks, orange trees and the like as well as olive oil, brandy, soap, bread, tiles, bricks and paper. 

 

The patroness of Lora is Our Lady Mary Most Holy of Setefilla.  Nearby Setefilla got a priory, thanks to the Order of St John. They commissioned a 71cm wooden image of the Virgin. The oldest recorded pilgrimage, on 25th March,, from Lora, to the image, goes back to 1551.

We are crossing the river near the Puente de Hierro. It is a 4.8 stars sort of a bridge, or so says 35 people.  MQ gives us the details we crave.  ‘The Iron Bridge was built in 1929 by the Duro-Felguera Metallurgical Company of Asturias, which explains its similarity in function and construction to other bridges in northern Spain built during the Asturian mining boom.  For practically the entire 20th century, it was the only way to cross the river; before then, only boats were available. Today, it is closed to vehicular traffic, and only pedestrians and cyclists can cross. Its state of preservation is good. Text by Gran Vega ‘

Into town we go. We need a refreshing dip and the Piscina Publica is open from 1pm to 9pm, 12 at weekends.   Jose really felt the need to communicate last August.

Large pool (Olympic size) with half a depth of 1.5 meters and the other half 1.75 meters (it's covered unless you're over 2 meters tall). The trees are fine, although the grass is not so much. There are a few free sun loungers. Very affordable prices, which can be paid by card or cash. There's no parking, although it wasn't difficult to park nearby (I went during the week). The lifeguards were very active, both moving around and warning users. There are no smoking signs, but some "didn't even read them."

There's an ice cream kiosk and a bar that also serves outside. Good service and very good value. There are 6 tables inside the pool and a few more on the terrace. In short, a good pool overall, although it could be improved in some aspects. ‘

So we head out of town and end the day but before we do, let us not forget Kevin Lopez. He is a son of the pueblo, was born in 1990 and is a middle distance runner. He won gold in the 800m during the 2009 junior European Championship and a silver in the indoor 2013 European games for the same distance.