San Esteban De Gormaz
This was the most interesting of the four town stops, and will probably be the one I write the most about. During this stop, there was one thought that was constantly running through my head: "Should've brought my good camera." Now, I know that the camera doesn't make the photo, the photographer does, but it would have been a little easier with the better camera. So, I made do with what I had, but, although some were half-decent, none turned out great, which I am conveniently blaming on the camera. Anyway, we originally stopped here for the sole purpose of stretching our legs and looking at the two ancient churches (dated back to around 1038). We chose this town because this was where Esperanza's grandma was born. The fact that we were only planning to make short visits to the churches led to my decision to only bring my phone camera. I knew that old churches weren't something that really interested me a lot, and for that, I was not going to end up with any great photos except by accident. Therefore, to me, it wasn't worth lugging around the bigger and heavier camera. Anyway, the first church wasn't that interesting to me - it really was only another church to me, but here is a photo of it for those of you that are interested in old churches:
Anyway, things got interesting when we started heading towards the second church. We didn't stop at this one though because we were drawn past it by music. We had accidentally stumbled onto some kind of festival. It turned out, from what I understood of what Lorenzo told me, that we had stumbled upon a festival that only occurs once every two years. This festival celebrated the dulzaina, an old medieval instrument that is somewhat like an oboe and is very rare and uncommon. This festival occurs in order to bring almost all of the people who play this instrument in Spain, although there were also some from France, together to march around playing (just so you know, there weren't an overwhelming number of musicians there - probably less than 100). When we got there, everyone was starting to eat and drink, so we joined in (later, as we were leaving, we learned that the food was only for the musicians). We spent about half an hour there eating fresh grilled chorizo and tons of bread with cheese, ham, and wine. My host parents ended up chatting with this old man who offered to show us his family's wine cellar (this was the only moment where I really needed my bigger camera, as my phone one couldn't handle the lighting). After this we climbed up to the last remaining wall of the castle that once stood on a hill above the town. From here, we could look out over the whole town, which was quite pretty. On our way back down to the cars, we stopped to watch the musicians march by in groups on their way to the center of town, where there was going to be a concert later in the day. It was cool listening to them play, and the instruments had a somewhat unique sound which I can only really describe as a stereotypical medieval sound. Anyway, after they all marched by, we headed back to the cars to continue our drive.
Looking out over the town
The remaining wall
A guy playing a dulzaina
El Burgo De Osma
I brought my camera for this one, but wasn't really in the mood to take many pictures of anything. I was hoping for a bit of a drive so that I could relax and maybe nap a little, but instead the drive lasted a lengthy 5 minutes, so I was a tad tired throughout the time we spent here. We visited this town in order to visit the cathedral as well as have a picnic. The cathedral was old (1236) and quite pretty. We took a guided tour of the inside, which wasn't that great. This was for three reasons. The first is that I don't like wasting an hour of my time getting a guided tour when you can explore and look around without a guide. The second was that the guide was quite bad. I'm sure he knew what he was talking about, but he talked quite fast, with a heavy slur, and with a voice that made it impossible to concentrate, even for the Spanish speaking people listening. It was kind of like the voices you hear on those listening activities that come with some textbooks for school. But anyway, it was impossible for me to concentrate on what he was saying. The third reason was that I just don't find spending on hour looking around inside a church interesting. Now I know some people would disagree with this statement, but walking around inside a building looking at hundreds of naked babies with wings just doesn't excite me. Sorry.
In between
Had to add a short in between section here because two things make me remember the drive between Burgo de Osma and the next town. The first was that we were driving quite fast (between 100 and 120 on a thin road with speed limits between 60 and 80). The second was that we stopped to view a beautiful sunset.
Not a great photo of it. I need to get in the habit of checking my photos after I take them so that I can make adjustments while I'm still at the site of the photo. The upper part was actually a bit darker which provided a prettier contrast with the orange.
Molinos De Duero
This was where we spent the night. It was a nice little town. Didn't see much of it other than our hotel and the surrounding buildings, so don't have any more to say about it.
The Hike
Don't really feel like writing a lot, so I'll give a short description and then post some photos. We climbed from a small lake, called the Laguna Negra, to a peak, called Urbion, which, at 2225 meters in altitude, was probably the highest I've been since leaving home. On the way down, we took a short detour to stop by the birthplace of the Rio Duero, one of the more important rivers in Spain. Anyway, pictures:
The Laguna Negra was very clear and reflective
Seen again here
One of the purposes of this trip was to see the fall colors. Although they were not quite as brilliant and pretty as in Colorado, they weren't bad
Laguna Negra
Ice? Finally a sign that it can get at least somewhat cold in Spain
Sign above the birthplace of the Rio Duero
And the incredibly majestic birthplace itself (it is hard to see but there is a tiny trickle of water coming out of that red thing).
Yeehaw!! For those of you that can't see what is important in this picture, look below
Snow. Didn't think I would see any until we go skiing the first week of January, but I got lucky.
Vinuesa
We stopped here briefly to have drinks before heading home. Nothing more to say.
Ending Thoughts
I learned three things about Spanish people (or at least my family) this weekend. One, they lack a sense of direction. Two, they lack observational skills. Three, they believe that lane lines don't really have much meaning from a law standpoint but instead are more decorative. Anyway, it was a fun weekend and I enjoyed visiting the region. That's all.
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