Dark, moldy, and wet.

October 03, 2026

We are heading out into the countryside - and we will be here for many many weeks - so strap yourself in for a fair bit of diversions.

Crossing the E90 we follow the road and make a stop at Cereales Ferrer , a generally well regarded animal feed shop that has been doing its thing since 1940. http://www.cerealesferrer.es/ Generally it is five stars and no words. Sometimes a few happy notes and some deeply upset ones. |Jose felt 75 euros for straw is robbery, and Beatriz noted ‘The packages were dark, moldy, and wet’ - which I’ve put in for the blog title.

We are wandering onto Iriepal. It is a standard little place of 950 souls. The village is crossed by the Arroyo de la Cerrada and has done sensible things in its history, like having a hospital for the poor, a mill and an oven [in 1527.] Yes, the GSH Dictionary went there in the mid 19th century.

IRIEPALon a plain, surrounded by hills, it is mainly exposed to the north, northeast, and west winds. Its climate is cold and prone to pneumonia, pleurisy, and colic. It has 106 houses ; the town hall, jail, primary school, attended by 35 students under the charge of a teacher, endowed with 1,100 reales; a parish church (La Purísima Concepción), served by a priest, whose position is of the first promotion and filled by competitive examination.. The land is of medium quality; it includes a pasture with scrub oak and oak trees, and a wooded area whose use, both for firewood and grazing, is shared between the town and city of Guadalajara. Mail : received and dispatched at the post office in Guadalajara. Products : wheat, barley, rye, oats, oil, wine, honey, beans, potatoes, an abundance of figs, plums, madder, and esparto grass. Sheep are raised, as well as the necessary livestock for agriculture; hunting of partridges, hares, and rabbits. Industry : agriculture, an oil mill, and the manufacture of plaster and lime. Trade : Export of surplus produce and import of missing consumer goods. Population : 110 households, 315 inhabitants

Unlike other areas nearby the car has not radically changed the place. The population has been around 500-600 until the early 2000s when the population rose to 858 by 2010.

The village does Holy Week big style. https://iriepalpasion.com/ Six scenes are performed around the village to great effect and general enjoyment. If that wasn’t enough bits of the 1960 version of Spartacus was filmed there

Let us go to the Cafe Bar El Encuentro. Five reviews gave 4.2 stars. Nine months ago Andres said ‘A good place for afternoons with friends ‘ And why not.

We will be walking passed the cementerio but it has no reviews so we will move on quickly.

We will have to pass a lot of countryside before we get to the Ermita de San Diego. Neither review says why they love the place.

Villaflores is referred to nearby as a ghost town. It gets 39 reviews. Jorge summed it all up. ‘This 19th-century farming village is one of the few examples to be found in reasonably acceptable condition, considering it has been abandoned for over a century. It's a shame the ruins aren't being stabilized to prevent further deterioration. Most of the structures are accessible, but it's not recommended due to the extremely high risk of collapse.’