Sunday 12 October

Trujillo greets us with grey skies but the cool mornings have given way to warmer temperatures. A sleepy late start as we have gotten used to sleeping in and the sun doesn't rise until about 8am. Walk to Plaza Mayor, the tourist info centre where we purchase entry to 4 of the town's main attractions. Purchase memory for the camera. Coffee, tostada and tortilla. First stop Iglesia de San Martin and although our tickets do not include this church the attendant happily lets us pass. Compared to other churches we have visited, this Iglesia is modest in its decoration. That doesn't mean it doesn't share opulence with its more “upmarket” cousins. Dee comments on how much time and money these churches would have absorbed to construct. The local socioeconomic ramifications are not lost on us. The excessive drain on local populations must have impacted severely on local economies.

That aside, San Martin contains a beautiful Romanesque carving of the Virgin la Coronada (1200) and a magnificent Baroque organ. Next stop the Iglesia de Santiago, The house of Ferdinand Pizarro the South American explorer and conqueror and finally a castle with Roman foundations, built on by Moors and finally topped with a Spanish flavour. The parapets afford breathtaking views even on this cloudy, and by now drizzling rainy day. We head for cove in a local modern bar that would not look out of place in a swank area in any major city.

Taking advantage of a break in the weather we head for the car and out of town with the intention of navigating to Guadalupe. The road is straight with mildly undulating topography and we pass through Zorita and on through Logrosan and Canamero where we first encounter caballeros and horses. Continuing through Canamero and heading for Guadalupe we encounter hundreds more people on horseback all seemingly headed for Guadalupe and all in groups distinguishable by coloured jackets and some with banners. It is of course a national holiday and Sunday of a long weekend. Guadalupe is a quaint pueblo filled with Spanish tourists celebrating the holidays. It would have been great to stay and check out the town, however, we quickly shop for wine and dried figs and decide to leave and lunch in the surrounding hills. Lunch out of the back of the car is a welcome break from driving and crowds. The figs are unfortunately old and infested with weavels. Packing the car we consult the map and decide to head to Belalcazar which has some historical significance and a castle icon on the map.

The drive turns out to be a real highlight of our trip as we pass fields of thousands of solar panels at Castuera followed by a a topography of mountains that rise sharply out of the flat plains. Each high vantage point an excuse to build ancient fortifications. Each backyard seems to have it's own castillo. We aim for Belalcaza via Cabeza del Buey with the sun setting on this amazing vista. Our need for accommodation overcoming our desire to enjoy our surroundings. C del Buey is in the grip of Sunday/ National holiday siesta and does not invite us to stay. We head for Belalcazar but no accommodation to be found. We backtrack to a side road offering rural accommodation. It seems to be long forgotten except by teenagers. With dark upon us we find a hotel on the outskirts of Hinojosa del Duque. The room is expensive but good and with no other choices, a welcome sight. Vodka and tonics prove a hit. Kate rings unexpectedly, early morning Coffs time. It is great talking to the kids and homesickness and talk of an Aussie summer fills our conversation that night.

Saturday 11 October

The morning is cloudy and cool but we dress for walking, Pete in his shorts and me in light leggings. We decide to drive to the highest point – Pena de Francia at 1728m - and see if there are any walks from there. The drive is breathtaking and unsettling, with mountain goats peering down at us from rocky outcrops and vultures riding the thermals above the highest point. The craggy rock piles appear insecure, as though the whole mountain might decide that gravity is the victor at any moment. There is the obligatory church ( The Sanctuary of the Virgin of Pena de Francia) and associated buildings at the top of this completely isolated and inhospitable place. It's impossible to imagine how it ever got built ( commenced 1450 ) in the first place but now it is a hotel and restaurant. The wind blows bitterly cold and the rain sets in. We settle for coffee and photos instead of walking.

The vistas are amazing as we head downhill to San Martin del Castanar, another little town in the National Park that is roughly in the direction we want to go. It is a beautiful little village where we lunch after walking around the tiny cobbled streets. We're first in the restaurant at 1:30pm and order the menu of the day and a veal dish. We also try to order a plate of vegetables but it is not possible ... however, the food is fantastic with plentiful salad, tender meat and vegetables with the main dish. Coffee is served with some “Spanish rocket fuel” and we wonder how we'll fare in our car and very narrow streets.

We fare okay even though we are lost and drive through some amazing country and towns. Pete manages to drive up and then back through the centre of an alpine town called Cantelario (with of course my expert navigation) and the civil guard hails us down to tell us we're driving the wrong way. Oh well – they don't seem to really care and there are no street signs that we can see. More to the point there are no road rules at all.

The autumn leaves are turning and our drive is sometimes a wash of golden yellow. Driving into these old towns, from altitude, was amazing as they would present themselves as a spread of red tiled roofs appearing all of a sudden around a corner - continuous colour – no quarter acre blocks here. In fact whole towns fill such a small space and everyone is part of the sometimes quite large community that fills such a little area.

We continue on through Bejar and Plasencia heading for Trujillo. Our route takes us through another National Park – Montfrague - and once again breathtaking. The vultures that we saw at Pena de Francia are here en masse. Hundreds glide the thermals and stare down from the highest of the amazing rock formations. The weather is changing from rain to sun to cloud as the countryside responds to the light variations with predominant grey, green and yellow tones.

We arrive in Trujillo passing stone fenced paddocks, pigs and cattle. Men on horseback. Caballeros. The town is an imposing mass of grey and red on a stark rocky outcrop. The hour is late the image foreboding. We drive into town taking the obligatory turn to “ centro cuidad” (town centre). The cobble streets narrow to less than 2 car widths (with rear view mirrors folded in) as we approach the Plaza Mayor. Very bad choice. It is impossible to make a 90 degree turn without multiple attempts. We eventually get out and try our luck in the outskirts of town. The Hostal Leon will do for tonight.

A really beautiful day. A bed for the night.

Friday 10 October

We pick our little Fiat up at around 10:30 and head off through the city. Pete is navigating and I'm flashing the wipers and grappling the door handle instead of the gear stick. Pete looks a little nervous – well he actually looks absolutely terrified – but he navigates up out of town and on the road to La Alberca in Sierra De Francia National Park. We stop for provisions along the way and arrive in La Alberca around midday. The town is delightful and we find a house come apartment just 50 m from the centre of town overlooking a little stream. With kitchen, balcony, dining, lounge and laundry it's fantastic for 60 euro. It's called La Conventina and the little old lady who brings along a boy to interpret for her assures us that she is fully booked and we can't stay the night. Then she opens the door, shows us through and all of a sudden it is available – our interpreter looks equally confused. Anyway it is a delight. We've strolled through the streets this afternoon and actually found a green vegetable in the supermarket. A zucchini – you might scoff – and even Pete who doesn't like zucchini's is cooking.

The main centre or Plaza Mayor has all the little cafes surrounding it and in the middle of the square is someones pet pig having a snooze. In Australia you can't get a dog even close to a food store let alone a cafe and here the pigs, dogs, cafes, supermarkets, deli's and people all hang together.

We plan to walk in the Park tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. After the endless mesata's it's great to be back in some hills with lots of vegetation.

Pete's dinner is fantastic and our little Casa Rural is very cosy. We watch TV – in Spanish of course – and get a bit of information on the Economic Crisis and storms in the south-east of Spain around Valencia where there is major flooding. The weather forecast shows almost the whole of Spain covered in cloud and we assume rain so not sure what tomorrow will bring.

Thursday 9 October

We decide to go direct to the car hire place. Every car hire site on the internet has the same office address in Salamanca. We manage to organise a car for 5 days hire from Friday at much the same rate as the web and so now we can settle into looking around this beautiful city. A visit to the tourist office to find where the other restaurants are and then off to the cathedral, churches, roman bridge and the historic quarter of the city. It is bitterly cold during the middle of the day with a strong icy wind and we try to shelter inside the few buildings that are open during siesta. As the afternoon moves on the wind drops, the sun comes out and it is really beautiful. We head off to the restaurant street “Van Dyke” at the other side of town and try 2 tapas bars before finally settling on the third one which is fantastic. We still haven't seen any green vegetables on any plate or menu but the food here is great with lots of fresh fish and interesting combinations. We think we now have a plan of how to survive the tourist garbage they keep serving.

Wednesday 8 October

Wake early to clear skies, pack and head off in search of internet and the possibility of car and hostel bookings. We find internet at the Bibliotec Public following coffee at the Plaza Mayor. Lots of helpful leads re accommodation and we mange to book a car only to find it will take 48 hours to process. The website is difficult to navigate so we ring the customer care centre, in the Nederlands!! We are promised a quick solution but at the time of writing (2pm) we are sitting in the bus station with no firm plans and waiting for a car. Siesta is upon us and we are treading water. Very frustrating.

Zamora looks a great place to hang out for a couple of days but it is not part of our plan and we want to be in Salamanca today, driving south tomorrow or the day after. We have some good leads on “casa rural” that appear cheaper than hotels and very well appointed.

From Dee
We did have a joke to write a book called 'Lost in Zamora' as it felt like everything was conspiring to keep us here. The car booking didn't work. Over the counter rates to hire a car were double the internet. The free internet in the Hostel didn't work. When we went out for dinner last night looking for a connection to book ahead a hotel offered for us to use theirs but the mouse wouldn't work and there were no replacement batteries. That's when we gave up last night and came up with the book title. Things look much the same today - still waiting for Larrs to call.

Have finally given up on the car hire and decided to bus it to Salamanca and try again from there. Our taxi driver in Salamanca is great. He ducks and weaves around barricades, suitcases in plazas, people and cars to finally reverse up a one way street and deposit us at our hotel which is well appointed in the centre of town. We stroll around the plaza mayor trying to select a place to have dinner. Our choice is poor and I think we've finally come to the conclusion that the Old City area is great for sightseeing but expensive and poor quality for food.

Tuesday 7 October

Another rainy night and another late start. A walk through town and beautiful gardens. We spend some time on the internet trying to book a car as our train doesn't go to Salamanca but the booking doesn't quite work so we head off to the train and will try our luck when we get to Zamora.

The countryside is beautiful and as we sit and relax, Alma walks down the isle. We knew they were headed for Madrid but had no idea it was the same train – spooky.

We expect a 2 hour trip to Zamora but upon examining our tickets with glasses on it turns out we will not get in until 6.45pm. Time to crack that red that I have in my pack and settle down to mountains, ancient stone walls , bridges and vast open plains that glow pale yellow under a dark sky pregnant with expectation. It is a landscape that might be taken from an image library with an Australian theme and the poignancy of the moment is not lost. Far from home and missing the kids. The glow fades to sleet grey and rain as we alight in Zamora. Another town that looks drab and uninviting from the outskirts. A taxi to Plaza Mayor brings the old part of the city into view and as with many other small towns the ancient walls and stone iglesias and cathedral, with 12th century origins, are inviting and we set off under our heavy loads to find accommodation. Zamora was once the western ( or Portugese) frontier of Castillo y Leon, sitting on the Rio Duerdo just 50kms from the border.

Hostal la Sol is tidy and dinner is hearty but not exceptional.

Monday 6 October

It rains all night and most of the day so we are glad to have finished the walk yesterday – as you know walking in the rain is not an option. We have a late start, pick up our extra backpack which is in storage and organise train tickets to our next destination before starting our sightseeing. The Cathedral is the main stop and like all the cathedrals is breaktaking, mind-boggling, opulent and over-indulgent.

We run into 'the yanks' (sorry guys) again – Alma and Jeremy. I can't help but feel there is always some synchronisty going on in everyone's lives as Alma and Jeremy seem to keep popping up. They are like minded people and we join them for drinks in the Parador where they are staying. After a few vino tinto's and a great chat we head off to dinner and find a tapas bar which promises better food than we are used to. Happily sated it's off to bed.