AVisual: A report not suitable for speed lovers. Rutas Culturales de España has selected five small roads dotted across Spain.
To drive calmly, with pleasure, without rushing, without sudden accelerations, enjoying the scenery and the stories it has to tell us.
1. Ruta Vía de la Plata: BA-067 road between Montemolín and Fuente de Cantos (Extremadura)
From where to where. from the Badajoz locality (‘Badajocense’: said of a native of the province of Badajoz) of Montemolín to the neighbouring Fuente de Cantos.
How many kilometres Just 15 kilometres separate the two villages via the almost straight BA-067 road. Driving time? No more than 15 minutes at a calm pace. Brief but intense.
Why To experience a radical change in landscape akin to travelling to two different continents in just fifteen kilometres. You will pass from an olive grove with slight geographical features (these are the last spurs of Sierra Morena) to a plain with gentle profiles, carpeted by dry-farming fields and the occasional solitary tree.
Origin Montemolín, a village south of Badajoz, near the border between Extremadura and Andalusia and (for that very reason) with a very substantial history of tribes and conquerors. Yes, the Romans settled here (its proximity to the Via Ruta de la Plata is not coincidental), as did the Tartessians and the Arabs, who built the alcazaba that can be seen today.
Destination: Fuente de Cantos, another town in Badajoz with ties to agriculture and livestock farming and an interesting cultural heritage. For example? The house-museum of the Baroque painter Francisco Zurbarán, who was born here, or the remains of the (fortified) pre-Roman settlement of Los Castillejos.
What do you eat? A great deal, very well and with the raw materials this landscape offers. In this corner of Spain, excellent olive oil, hams, bread, and sweets are made, not to mention the preparation of typical dishes like Extremaduran gazpacho or stews such as caldereta or chanfaina.
2. Routes of Passion: A-333 Road between Baena and Priego de Córdoba (Andalusia)
From where to where. from the Cordoban town of Baena to its sister town, Priego de Córdoba.
How many kilometres Approximately 32 kilometres, of which we are interested in the last 15, from the point where we leave the national road N-432 and take the regional road A-333 until we reach Priego de Córdoba.
Why Andalucía has roads and landscapes found nowhere else in Spain, such as this one we are considering: a gentle ascent towards the south through a landscape that, kilometre after kilometre, gains hills and crags without ever relinquishing a geometrically ordered checkerboard of olive trees on either side of the road. The great advantage of the olive tree is that you don't just see it. You can also smell it. And a great deal too, especially at the start of autumn, when the fruit is ripe after the summer heat.
Origin The thousand-year-old city (and that's not hyperbole) of Baena, an idyllic town of white houses spilling down from a height and resembling an open-air historical archive: without even needing to enter a museum, one can see Roman and Muslim remains, Baroque architecture, or, during Holy Week, processions with Jewish confraternities.
Destination: Priego de Córdoba, a white blot floating in the green sea of olive groves and making its way through the elevations of the Sierras Subbéticas. A town with a substantial historical and landscape heritage: Baroque churches? It has half a dozen of them. Arab castle? Up, at the very top. Labyrinthine neighbourhood with views of the purest southern Spanish landscape? Ask for the Adarve balcony in the Villa neighbourhood.
What do you eat? In Andalusia, it's very simple to find happiness with the simplest things: a good loaf of bread and a bit of extra virgin olive oil (which has a Protected Designation of Origin from Priego de Córdoba). What else? Delicious cured pork products, artisanal and homemade pastries, or wines, also with a D.O. Montilla-Moriles.
The Maza Bridge in San Vicente de la Barquera over the estuary, start and end point of the route.
3. The Emperor Charles V Routes: A circular route starting and ending in San Vicente de la Barquera (Cantabria)
From where to where. From San Vicente de la Barquera to San Vicente de la Barquera, a circular route that barely leaves the municipal boundaries of one of Cantabria's most beautiful villages.
How many kilometres A drive of around 15 kilometres through marshes, cliffs, meadows and vast beaches, mainly along regional roads (outbound via the sun-drenched CA-236 and return via the winding CA-131) and the typical landscapes of northern Spain.
Why Emperor Charles V passed through San Vicente de la Barquera in 1517, when he was still a minor who knew little or nothing of the country, Spain, of which he was king. He stayed here for 15 days, but not for pleasure, but due to a fever. In memory of those Cantabrian days of rest, let's drive along the nearest roads.
Origin San Vicente de la Barquera, a fishing village clustered on a hillside, on the banks of an estuary that changes radically with the time of day (blame the strong Cantabrian tides) and surrounded by a repertoire of beaches of all types, sizes and conditions. It's the perfect size for a stroll and has enough inclines to whet your appetite. You could easily spend a thoroughly entertaining morning just looking for the perfect photo: a selfie from the viewpoint of Santa María church or the castle.
Destination: Although we'll return to the same San Vicente, our destination is Oyambre beach, a gigantic stretch of sand on the Cantabrian coast, a paradise for surfers, for those who don't enjoy crowds, and for history lovers: the first European transatlantic flight landed here in 1929. Ask about the bizarre feat of the Yellow Bird. If they don't remember it (which would be odd), do the same with Shakira. Ask about her, as she has also passed through here a couple of times to surf waves.
What do you eat? It’s almost better to ask what isn’t eaten. San Vicente is a paradise for sampling the best Cantabrian seafood cuisine. Emperor Charles V may not have had the constitution for tributes, but that doesn't stop the modern traveller from trying one of the delicious seafood platters or the Cantabrian sorropotún, a delicious stew made with potatoes, onions and tuna. What more could you want?
In the distance, up high, the Soria city of Medinaceli from the moors near Layna, in the final kilometres of the route.
4. Camino del Cid: A blend of regional country lanes between Sigüenza and Medinaceli (Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León)
From where to where. from the Aragonese-Castilian town of Sigüenza to the Sorian town of Medinaceli. Two villages with immense charm, with a wealth of monuments, from two different provinces and communities, separated by a handful of kilometres and united by the footsteps of El Cid Campeador.
How many kilometres Just 25 kilometres separate Sigüenza from Medinaceli, but we’ll be taking a detour to follow in the footsteps of El Cid himself through these borderlands, amongst dry valleys, inhospitable moors and the occasional orchard. The route, complete and detailed, can be found here.
Why Because inland Spain is characterised by a host of attractions that are concentrated here, almost in their entirety: quiet country roads, a wealth of landscapes and ecosystems within a few kilometres, centuries-old monuments in almost every village, and two historical gems at either end: the aforementioned Sigüenza and Medinaceli. It promises castles, cathedrals, churches, traditional architecture, Roman ruins, Gothic sculptures… El Cid knew exactly where he was going.
Origin Sigüenza. A historic city with all the necessary attractions (cathedral, castle, medieval quarter...) for a day of exploring on foot. We've already said lovely things about it and its Plaza Mayor in another entry from our blog.
Destination: Medinaceli, which a poet called ‘The City of the Sky’. Why? For (almost) nothing: from Medinaceli you can see everything: the Castilian sky, the highly important crossroads that go and come from the four cardinal points, the hills (that look like volcanoes) that water the landscape… and if you wish, you can frame it all through a Roman arch that has stood for 20 centuries. More luxuries? Buy artisan pastries in one of its shops or visit the imposing castle which, nowadays, is a cemetery.
What do you eat? The landlocked interior of Spain conceals one of the country's most flavourful and delightful cuisines. On this journey where two great traditions collide, the culinary offering is astronomical: game meat, cured meats, mushroom traditions, a passion for honey, a devotion to traditional sweets (the yemas of Sigüenza, for example), pastoral cooking (where migas never fail) and a Soria treasure that must always be championed when possible: its butter.
Journey's end: the Lakes of Covadonga, surrounded by rocky crags, welcome the traveller.
5. Prehistoric Rock Art Trails: from a Christianised dolmen in Cangas de Onís to the lakes of Covadonga
From where to where. From the Asturian town of Cangas de Onís to one of the peaks of the Principality and an emblematic location of the Tour of Spain cycling races: the Lakes of Covadonga. In between, the sanctuary of Covadonga, in which, tradition has it, the Reconquest of Spain began… in which, incidentally, the recently mentioned El Cid also participated.
How many kilometres Just over twenty kilometres separate Cangas from the lakes, but a significant altitude gain is overcome: more than 1,000 metres, meaning the car will face steep gradients and, in the final stretches, tight bends on a narrow road.
Why Because it’s well worth starting the journey at one of Spain’s most striking and unique prehistoric monuments: the Santa Cruz dolmen, a burial structure dating from 4,000 BC which, in the last century, was covered by a Christian chapel. Any more reasons? Because it’s well worth ending the tour in the barren, minimalist landscape of the Covadonga Lakes.
Origin Cangas de Onís, a historic Asturian town with an important tourist tradition, where you must not miss its Roman bridge (with the emblematic Cross of Victory), the aforementioned hermitage that consecrates the pagan dolmen, its church, or the numerous restaurants and shops where you can sample the extraordinary (and copious) Asturian gastronomy.
Intermediate /and mandatory) stop: The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga is an emblematic corner of Spain's history (legendary or otherwise). A place of extraordinary natural beauty to which the hand of man has imparted a special magic that can be experienced in the Holy Cave.
What do you eat? In Asturias, the food is eaten between well and very well. This is not new, as it happens in almost all of Spain. The differentiating Asturian factor (apart from the quality) lies, in many cases, in the heartiness of its dishes and the generosity of the portions: those who taste the mythical fabada, the Asturian pote, its beef, wash it down with cider or finish the meal with a dessert like casadiellas will find this out.
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