Castillian Culture

The rain in Spain does not fall mainly in the plain. We saw clear evidence of this today, as we moved from the northern city of Oviedo, set in a mountainous region, to the flatlands of Castilla y Leon. In Oviedo, there are a lot of umbrellas for sale, since there is a lot of rainfall there, but as we traveled south today, we saw an immense difference in the landscape; as the land became flatter, it also became dryer. Our dull, overcast morning was replaced by a blue sky by noon.

Oviedo Cathedral tower

Quadrangle at Oviedo University

Before we left Oviedo, we wanted to see the centre of the town; there is an impressive cathedral there as well as a few other buildings of note, but mainly, we found the city unremarkable, in part because so many buildings were under renovation.  So shortly after 11:00 a.m., we were on our way south.  The drive took us through the Sierra de Cantabria, a striking mountainous region. Sometimes, we drove around mountains, but more often than not, we went through them. The Spanish have constructed a large network of tunnels in this country to expedite travel through such elevations. One tunnel took us several minutes to navigate – it was very long!

Mountain views

We arrived in Leon at just about 1:30. This is where we remembered a few things about the Spanish culture that might inhibit road trippers like us. The first issue is the siesta, that age-old practice that shuts down Spanish life in the afternoon. In Portugal, the siesta period was a reasonable 1.5 hours, but in Leon, it was 2.5 to 3 hours! And it started just at the time we arrived. We had to wait until 4:00 to see the highlight of the town, its massive cathedral. The other problem with Spanish culture is the unavailability of “lunch”. Restaurants tend to serve a prix fixe, three-course meal at midday, something that does not agree with us – too much food. After a while we found a middle-eastern place where we could have a salad or a kabob.

Leon cathedral

Stained glass windows in the cathedral

Gaudi Palace

My little rant is over. Of course, Spanish culture is beautiful most of the time. Leon is a lovely town. Highlights of our walk in the old city centre were the many palaces, including Casa de los Botines, designed by the eccentric Barcelona genius, Antonio Gaudi: the many plazas; and of course, the gothic cathedral of Santa Maria de la Regla with 1800 square meters of stained glass windows.

Old Plaza in Leon

On our way to Zamora for the night, we made a brief stop in Benavente to see its Romanesque church, Santa Maria del Azogue. Sometimes, the smallest towns have hidden treasures. This old church was well worth visiting.

Romanesque church in Benavente

We are staying at a Parador in Zamora, in what was once a fifteenth century castle. We had a walk around the old town before our dinner here, the three-course meal we did not seek at midday.

The staircase at our Parador