Ruta de la Plata— the Silver Route
We hopped on the Ruta de la Plata at La Granja. We followed the pilgrims who for centuries headed to El Camino this way, and who came after the Moors (who dominated 1100-1492 before forced to convert to Christianity), who came after the Romans who probably built the route for trade and domination. The path was smooth, a good bit shady, and scenic at railroad grade— I.e., perfect.
We saw a few cyclists, one of them being Juan. He had an amazing physique (sorry John, but he did) for a 40-year-old, but he was 69! He showed us a natural spring “better than beer” he said. Regrettably, I didn’t get a photo.
The first night on the Ruta De La Plata we found a flat spot for our tent at one of the abandoned railroad stations for camp that happened to be across the street from a restaurant, creating one of John’s favorite scenarios, cold beers and dinner at camp. Thus checking all the boxes but water in which to bathe. A good situation to contemplate whether the spring water was indeed better than our cold beers (John doesn’t think so)
There were also these sheep (one relatable black one) and this hard-working Shepard. And a pack of wild pigs.
Later, we crossed rolling plains rife with cattle. And flies. John, who has zero tolerance for one buzzing fly, went bonkers when hundreds were drawn to him.“It’s right out of a horror movie!” He rode with one hand on his bars and the other wildly swatting for miles. The cows had never seen anything like this madman from America.
At one point, our route took us down a rough gravel road that dead ended with a roped gate. On the other side were the fellows pictured below. We didn’t like the tone of their greeting and the feeling was likely mutual. We decided to take an alternative route. Before hightailing it out in the opposite direction I snapped their photo and saw a Ferdinand in the distance among the wildflowers (who remembers the children’s story of Ferdinand the bull?).
Even though we did a lot of soft pedaling, we were making it to the city of Salamanca. 57 miles. We were beyond ready for a hotel and a rest day.
We found a great hotel in the heart of Salamanca surrounded by 12th century architecture and just two blocks from the “Old Cathedral”, a building whose construction began at the beginning of the 12th century and completed at the end of the 14th over 250 years.
Below: View of the “New Cathedral” from the bell tower of the Old Cathedral. The New Cathedral is one of the largest and tallest cathedrals in Spain and was completed in 1733.
Below: The domes of the Old Cathedral..
After a late morning bakery and coffee, our visit to the Old Cathedral, and an afternoon nap, we wandered the town for drinks, dinner and desserts to put a period on our rest day in Salamanca.
