A day in Spain

Some overnight confusion regarding time when my watch stopped.  At Barca d'Alva, virtually on the Spanish border but we are still in Portugal - while mobiles have registered to a Spanish service provider, and there is a one hour time difference between the two countries.

Early morning departure for a 115km bus trip to Salamanca in Spain. The first 30km up the valley is quite a climb and the country quite rugged. Once on the plain, extensive farming (although very dry) with cattle, hay cropping and some sheep and pigs (and sun flowers closer to Salamanca). The whole area is covered with stone terracing and fencing (some of it abandoned long ago). The farming properties seem generally quite ramshackle as do the small towns. Despite this, poke your head in a door and you will find an amazingly stocked and presented smallgoods shop.

Salamanca is a world heritage site, settled 2000 years back. It is built of sandstone and very clean. Its central square (Plaza Mayor) is very large and the site of concerts, protests and much student celebration (35,000 university students in a city of 160,000). It has two adjacent, and massive cathedrals, the old gothic (800 years) and the new romanesque (160 years). While massive, they are relatively understated internally, but have such incredible architecture and history.  We also visited part of the 800 year old medieval, and still operational, university and see a lecture theatre of the day, where student seating was arranged by societal ranking and where students could only ask questions of the lecturer as they individually filed by on exiting the lecture theatre.

Our guide, Antonio, was outstanding, and talking to him, I found out that his 12 year old son attends a training school for bullfighters - three, 4 hour sessions per week. He had a video on his mobile which I got him to show our group.  Our "english speaking" group comprises just twelve people, so our excursions are quite personal.

Very big lunch, with wine,  in what was once part of a palace and then some free time before heading back to our boat. Our Spanish night featured tapas and paella (served initially from table pans and then by the Chef from giant pans).  The evening was topped off by a group of Spanish musicians and dancers - and a late night visit to the Sun Deck.