Sun setting on Miranda del Castañar and the Sierra de Francia |
• Autumn in the Sierra de Francia
There are many hiking trails that you can do in the Sierra de Francia. Unfortunately we only had time to do one: La Alberca-Herguijuela, a 3-hour (one-way) trail that connects La Alberca with another, even smaller town Herguijuela de la Sierra. The trail is rated medium difficulty (although it's pretty easy if you skip the final section, a steep descent to Herguijuela that I imagine might tire you out going up it). This is not the most famous trail in the region, which would probably go to the Peña de Francia Trail that leads up to the tallest peak in the region, and which is rated as very difficult, though you can cheat and simply drive up to the top. (Next time!) Still, any hiking in the Sierra de Francia is going to be pretty darn pleasant, especially if you are as fortunate as we were to do it in the Autumn, when fall colors were setting in.
The yellow-white mark of the "P.R.", pequeño recorrido, trails. |
And a river runs through it... always fun to see streams crossing the trail |
This was about the steepest ascent we had to deal with |
You can see the leaves of the Chestnut, Oak, and Pine trees changing colors at different stages, and the trail is covered in fallen leaves, giving it extra charm...
... and you'll find frost on the ground along the turns in the trail where the sun don't shine (a.k.a. "la umbría")!
And like all good trails, eventually you come out to some very nice overlooks, great panoramic views of the Sierra...
That haze or smoke you can see over the valley is from wood-burning fires. The entire valley, all the towns we visited, smelled of the fireplaces warming houses. |
• La Alberca, a foodie's paradise
The Peña de Francia, which you can see from La Alberca |
I wouldn't say the town is a secret in the region, since there were large groups of local tourists visiting it on the
The main square in La Alberca |
La Alberca's main square, seen from another angle |
The house on the right is an example of the typical architectural style of the pueblos of the region. |
Smile for the picture! |
Awesome brick-walled path leading from the town center out to the edges of town. |
I've written in earlier "Pueblos con encanto" entries that the perfect formula for enjoying these day trips to towns is to hike early in the morning and then save time to visit the town shops for local foods and to eat a hearty meal in the homey, traditional restaurants that always populate these places. Needless to say, that's precisely what we did. We booked a lunch at a recommended restaurant, La Cantina de Elías. After our hike, we were ready for the meat-heavy fare typical of the region.
At the end of the Main Street, at the edge of town, are these old arches and, behind them, the restaurant, La Cantina de Elías, where you can get some excellent, homey traditional local food. |
I order sopa de ajo every time I'm in a Castilian region, a specialty there. (Note the beers in the background... they always taste so good after a hike!) |
Chuletón! This is one Texan who is always desperate for the steaks in Castilla y León, in my opinion one of the few regions in Spain where they know how to prepare beef. This chuletón was made with ternera morucha, a local breed of cow from this region. |
After lunch, despite being totally stuffed, we could not resist stopping at half a dozen shops in La Alberca and buying local food products... beans, a specialty of the region, but also sweets and pastries from a highly rated, nationally renowned bakery...
We didn't know about it in advance, but we recognize a good bakery when we see it. Small towns in Spain are famous for their bakeries, but this bakery in La Alberca was another level! |
In addition to the usual suspects, you can find a variety of local bean varieties in the Sierra de Francia. |
• Jamón epilogue in Miranda del Castañar
We stayed overnight in the pueblo Miranda del Castañar, which is noteworthy for its castle and its history as an important center for the Spanish Inquisition. (Don't worry! That was many, many years ago.) While not as pretty as La Alberca, it has just as much to see and do. In our case, the highlight of our stay here turned out to be jamón! The Sierra de Francia is in the heart of Spain's jamón iberico de bellota country. (Please feel free to review my blog entry on it here.) On our drive from Salamanca to Miranda, I was floored when I realized that there were pata negra pigs roaming around the fields of acorn-bearing oak trees adjacent to the country road we were on. It was like right out of a jamón advertisement. (My wife must have wondered if the squeal she heard was from me or the pigs.) The Sierra de Francia is extremely dry, which is why it is a major center for producing the famed Spanish ham, and in particular the high-end variety from pigs that feed on acorns.
One of the coolest things in Miranda del Castañar is this point on the main street where two opposite houses nearly touch. I can just picture the owners passing each other the salt. |
Apiarian tools right next to the town walls... Yes, there is a lot of local honey to be found at the markets here. |
The castle during the day. |
On our first night we went to a great bar with great atmosphere, La Mandrágora, and ate tostas featuring different high-quality cuts of ham. (I confess, we violated our usual rule of trying different restaurants, and returned there the next night for more.)
From the traditional, quaint exterior, you'd never imagine that La Mandrágora would have such a hip, modern atmosphere inside. |
Mmm... tostas de lomo. This was the nicest quality lomo I had ever had. |
While talking to the owner of La Mandrágora, we asked where we could buy some good jamón at a reasonable price, thinking she'd direct us to one of the shops in Miranda del Castañar. Instead, she replied, "You should just go directly to the jamón factory here in town where I get it." She gave us directions (it's not a big town) and told us to tell him that she sent us. We thought, "What a bargain! We'll get it from the source. No middleman!"
But it was even better than that. This is small-town Spain, in an under appreciated tourist area, where people are friendly and proud. (Moreover, as an American, I'm a curiosity in such places, since we're not common there.) So when we struck up a conversation with the jamón factory owner, Jamón Benito Pérez (if you're curious), about differences between food in Spain and the U.S. (e.g. he laughed when we told him that tapas bars in the U.S. are a fancy affair), he invited us down into the cellars where they age the ham and produce the different cuts. Next thing you know, we're getting a free tour and lessons in how jamón is produced!
This is where they cut it up, grind it, and process it. |
Salt. Lots of it. |
So our brief weekend in the Sierra de Francia was delicious, and fun, and relaxing. I encourage you to add it to your list of destinations for the next time you're in central Spain. You won't be disappointed. And for the moment, it's still a hidden gem!
One of many spectacular sunsets during our stay in the Sierra de Francia |
Another sunset seen from just outside the town walls of Miranda del Castañar |
5 comments:
I was in La Alberca some years ago and it is true that it is a very interesting village. The whole region is known as "las Batuecas", being la Peña de Francia a part of it. The surprising thing is that a few kilometers away (or even miles, for the Americans) there is the region of "las Hurdes", one of the poorest areas of the Iberian peninsula. You probably know the Buñuel's film "tierra sin pan" that was filmed there. I don't know if the status of las Hurdes as improved since I was there, but I was shocked.
Hi Sorokin! Is there a place you haven't been? If so, let me know so I can add it to my bucket list. The subject of Las Hurdes came up while we were driving around there, because I had just written up the entry on Spanish cinema, including Buñuel's famous film there. I think our next long road trip might be out to around there, though we'll probably skip Hurdes and aim for Cáceres and Trujillo. Say hi to the in-laws for me! I'm sure they're having a blast with beer and muscles in Brussels.
Hi, Expat. I read your answer today and I can tell you that just on the 29th, when you wrote, i.e: 8.32PM I was with your in-laws in "Le Cirio" having a couple of "Triple Karmeliett" beers. I think that they enjoyed it.
Climbing on high mountains and travelling across the forest would be great for tourists on having such an interesting trip.
meet and greet at stansted
Alberca is a very interesting village. I like the views, especially the view of sunset its really amazing. Now its time to avail solar panels for homefor more details.
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