Salamanca

It’s heaps old !

We arrived at Salamanca mid-morning via the ancient Roman bridge. We could actually see the enormous steeple of the main cathedral from about 15km out. Posing for photos first we hung around on the other side of the river taking in the rising stone walls and building I. Front of us.

Crossing the river on its cobble stone surface tested every joint, nut and bolt on my bike and body. On the other side sitting oddly on a pedestal was a 4000-year-old Bronze Age stone carving dug up somewhere locally. The place is dripping age.

To enter the city is a steep climb up a cobbled path and we elect, mainly because we don’t get a run up, to push the bikes.

Each corner we turn reveals centuries old stone masonry. With hours until we get the keys to our apartment we take our time getting to Plaza Mayor.

At 3pm, after beer, wine and yummy empanadas we get the keys. Good so far until we see the lift to our 4^thfloor apartment. Hmmmmm try the bike this way and that way until the only way is take the front wheel off and stand it upright, stripped of all its weight, one at a time over 5 trips plus panniers.

After crawling out of bed ( it is a rest day and nothing in Spain gets going until 10) we head down to the fresh produce mercardo. I love these places where everything is available including the pigs oink!!

After this we head down and check out the cathedral. There is an old and a new cathedral butted up against each other with the new only about 700 years old .exploring them  is no small task with all various nooks and crannies that these old churches come with. Worryingly there is a large crack down one end which was a result of the earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, in nearby Portugal, 300 odd years ago. Maybe they could use some of that footing expander stuff to close the crack up.

In the afternoon we just wander the streets of this old city. Tonight Greg and kymmy are cooking a roast dinner.

The next day arrives, and we are off to see the university of Salamanca, the third oldest in the world. No they aren’t in America as Columbus was sent to find that place until 300 years later from Seville just down the road.

It’s a pretty amazing place as we peer in the sealed off old library with 700 year old books inside. After this we head  back to the cathedral this time to climb the bell tower and the ceiling and roof space.  Up here we are able see those cracks right in front of us. At least they aren’t using duct tape to hold it together. I actually saw this at a cathedral in Switzerland before so anything is possible.

Tonight we ate a spaghetti bolognaise even though we aren’t in Italy. We found this rich tomato sauce the other day that’s perfect for it . So good Greg returned to it the next morning for breakfast.

The next day we are off and it’s time to repeat the process of getting the bikes downstairs as we head off to Zamora.