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Pilgrims, chocolate, rain and gold
Sep. 26th, 2012 11:10 pmYesterday we headed out west of León towards the mountain range that divides the plains of Castilla y León from Galicia.
The road runs parallel and criss-crosses the
We were really surprised to see so many people in small groups, couples and alone travelling the route to Santiago. It wasn't certainly a good day for them as it was windy and rather chilly, and in the afternoon it poured with rain.
First stop was the city of Astorga which boasts a Bishop's Palace designed by Antoni Gaudí
an impressive cathedral with many interesting details
(the devil is in the detail! lol)
and a museum of chocolate. Every other shop seems to be selling chocolate!
The museum was small and rather interesting.
and you even got a free sample at the end!
Next stop was the hamlet of Murias de Rechivaldo, one of many that flourished on the route to Santiago. And one of many with stork nests on the church belfry.
I am simply amazed at the number of nests I have seen around Castilla! Today we even spotted a series of 7 or 8 built on consecutive electricity pylons!
Also the next (larger) village of Castrillo of the Los Polvazares was quite picturesque, all built in the same ferrous stone
Then the intermittent rain became constant but we decided to soldier on and drive up to Ponferrada on this road in the countryside, or should I say mountainside?
Even there we often bumped into trekkers on the path and I didn't envy them: it felt all rather desolate and cut off from the 'civilised' world, and at the mercy of the elements.
Our destination was a unique man-made landscape, Las Médulas, the site of the most important gold mine in Roman times.
They used a mining method called 'ruina montium' and here's Pliny the Elder describing the technique:
"What happens is far beyond the work of giants. The mountains are bored with corridors and galleries made by lamplight with a duration that is used to measure the shifts. For months, the miners cannot see the sunlight and many of them die inside the tunnels. This type of mine has been given the name of ruina montium. The cracks made in the entrails of the stone are so dangerous that it would be easier to find purpurine or pearls at the bottom of the sea than make scars in the rock. How dangerous we have made the Earth!"
As it was pouring with rain, we only visited the visitor centre and then drove up to the 'mirador'. Pity that the viewpoint was about half a mile away from the car park and uphill!
We got drenched even with our brollies. Trying to approach the edge keeping the brolley up to take a picture was a Herculean feat!
The only crazy people around!
And the weird and wonderful rock formations that were created when the mountain top collapsed.
We were so tired and hungry by the time we got back to León that we couldn't be bothered walking into the centre for dinner (the parador is on the outskirts of the old centre) and went for a pizza at a Pizza Movil, a block away!
The road runs parallel and criss-crosses the
We were really surprised to see so many people in small groups, couples and alone travelling the route to Santiago. It wasn't certainly a good day for them as it was windy and rather chilly, and in the afternoon it poured with rain.
First stop was the city of Astorga which boasts a Bishop's Palace designed by Antoni Gaudí
an impressive cathedral with many interesting details
(the devil is in the detail! lol)
and a museum of chocolate. Every other shop seems to be selling chocolate!
The museum was small and rather interesting.
and you even got a free sample at the end!
Next stop was the hamlet of Murias de Rechivaldo, one of many that flourished on the route to Santiago. And one of many with stork nests on the church belfry.
I am simply amazed at the number of nests I have seen around Castilla! Today we even spotted a series of 7 or 8 built on consecutive electricity pylons!
Also the next (larger) village of Castrillo of the Los Polvazares was quite picturesque, all built in the same ferrous stone
Then the intermittent rain became constant but we decided to soldier on and drive up to Ponferrada on this road in the countryside, or should I say mountainside?
Even there we often bumped into trekkers on the path and I didn't envy them: it felt all rather desolate and cut off from the 'civilised' world, and at the mercy of the elements.
Our destination was a unique man-made landscape, Las Médulas, the site of the most important gold mine in Roman times.
They used a mining method called 'ruina montium' and here's Pliny the Elder describing the technique:
"What happens is far beyond the work of giants. The mountains are bored with corridors and galleries made by lamplight with a duration that is used to measure the shifts. For months, the miners cannot see the sunlight and many of them die inside the tunnels. This type of mine has been given the name of ruina montium. The cracks made in the entrails of the stone are so dangerous that it would be easier to find purpurine or pearls at the bottom of the sea than make scars in the rock. How dangerous we have made the Earth!"
As it was pouring with rain, we only visited the visitor centre and then drove up to the 'mirador'. Pity that the viewpoint was about half a mile away from the car park and uphill!
We got drenched even with our brollies. Trying to approach the edge keeping the brolley up to take a picture was a Herculean feat!
The only crazy people around!
And the weird and wonderful rock formations that were created when the mountain top collapsed.
We were so tired and hungry by the time we got back to León that we couldn't be bothered walking into the centre for dinner (the parador is on the outskirts of the old centre) and went for a pizza at a Pizza Movil, a block away!
