After the hectic pace of yesterday, today promised to be slower and more relaxed. We woke up at 6:45, showered and left the suitcases outside the door at 7:30 while we checked out and ate breakfast. By 8:30 we were on the road, outbound from Madrid. Today was also seat assignment day. To make it fair for everyone on the bus, we initially choose seats with friends or loved ones either in front or behind us, but not across. Every day we move 1 seat towards the rear, so that everyone eventually gets to sit on both the left and right sides and at the front and back of the bus.
None of this is important, and most people dont really care where they sit, but the most important part of this exercise is that we now have a decode sheet that we can use to figure out the first names of each person on the bus that we had been talking to for the last couple of days while we had already forgotten their names 5 minutes from introducing ourselves. We are now finally certain that the nice PHD couple from Texas is Bill & Mary, the 2 couples
from dinner last night are Dave & Debbie and Bill & Cheryl. The embarrassment of having to ask them their names and promptly forgetting it again has been resolved.
As we head out of Madrid, the countryside changes rapidly. No longer the bustling metropolis of Madrid, we are now in farm country. Spain grows lots of wheat, grains, and sunflowers. Rural Spain looks pretty much like any farm in the Great Plains of the US, maybe just a bit hillier and rockier, and the farm equipment is yellow instead of John Deere green. Spain doesnt have a lot of heavy industry as part of its price for joining the EU, but it does survive mostly on farming and tourism.
Our first stop of the day is in Segovia, but our actual first stop is at a coffee shop for coffee and a restroom break. One thing we have noticed this morning is that it is very cold! Its like 10 degrees Celsius or like 55 degrees F. Of course Jody and I are wearing shorts and not very pleasant for an outdoor coffee stop. But the coffee was good, and it gave us a chance to meet
John & Linda from Virginia. Poor Linda has been without luggage since the start, since it was misdirected somewhere. The airlines are tracking it down, and hopefully it will be returned before her trip back home.
Back on the road, and its not long before we reach Segovia. The first thing you notice when entering Segovia is the HUGE Roman aqueduct cutting through the center of town. Built in the first century AD, it still stands looking perfect and has never been restored. The granite blocks are cut conically and are set without mortar allowing the weight of the stone to pressure lock the stone in place. They still look exactly the same as they were when the aqueduct was first built by the Romans. A look up to the left, and the Segovia Castle is visible at the skyline. Dating to the 11th or 12th century and said to be the inspiration of the Cinderellas Castle at Disney World, it really looks impressive.
We met up with our local guide Rufo, who grew up in Madrid, but came to stay with his grandmother for summers in Segavio, before the widespread use of electricity. Segavio has some of
the charm of an ancient city like yesterdays Toledo, but not in the same museum quality. As with most Middle Ages cities, there is also a beautiful ancient cathedral. But this is an active town with a population of 55,000 with of souvenir shops for the tourists and actual shops for the locals. Rufo did a great job showing us around his boyhood town, and we did get a little time for some souvenir shopping. But we have 165 miles to cover today, so it was time to get back on the bus.
The next major stop is in Salamanca (not to be called Salamander, it evidently upsets the locals.) Along the way, we made a couple of stops for picture taking. The first was at the town of Avila, obvious hometown of St Teresa of Avila (patron saint of headaches) Avila is one of the last walled cities in Spain.
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