Valle del Jerte! or... Spanish roadtrip!

Being here has made me realize how much I am not the typical American, and how much I am. I miss having a car. I love having a car. I love the freedom of mobility, of not having to depend on others to get you where you want to go. Buses are excellent but they don't go everywhere. I was scared to drive after 6 months of absence, but the Volkswagen Polo wouldn't let you make a mistake (didn't stall once!). I loved it and I want it.

Sydney and Bronwen rented a car in Badajoz, came to Coria para recogernos, and off we went! Chasing a green spot on the map to the north... Las Hurdes. So now I take back every time I said that Extremadura is ugly (although technically where we did end up was in Castilla y León). We ate lunch in Vegas de Coria (very original with the names here, although my favorite was Pozuelo de Zarzón: say it with the lisp and it's excellent), where we tried the "typical" lemon salad (sucker for comida típica). Lemon slices, orange slices, hard boiled egg, chorizo.. Quite strange, although not as bad as it sounds. We ended up in a natural reserve (Las Batuecas) in the mountains, in a pueblo called La Alberca. Precioso. We were in an actual forest.

The next day we went to the Valle del Jerte, to the north but more east than yesterday, north of Plasencia. Apparently the valley is known for its cherry blossoms but we had to go to the end of the valley to higher elevations to see what remained of the cerezos. On the way we turned off at la Garganta de los infiernos (the throat of hell? anyone have a better translation--hells?) and did the Ruta de los Pilones that everyone and their mother recommended to us. About 45 minutes to these phenomenal natural pools carved out of the rock by the river. The most beautiful place I have ever seen in Spain. There was this rock with a perfectly formed ass (really, whole body) groove. It was, as Bronwen said, the best easy chair with the best view. We made it to Tornavacas to see the last of the cerezos--beautiful.

In conclusion: an excellent weekend. I would not have seen these things without the car, and it was so much fun to drive again. And now the weather is crappy and I have to work again. Although less than 2 months; so hard to believe!