It was only about an hour and a half drive, but we had a stop to make along the way.
We had been told about Las Medulas... the site of the largest open pit gold mine that existed during the Roman era.
Yes, the Romans really got around. And the fact that they were doing large scale open pit mining in Spain 2,000 years ago is testament to their engineering skills at the time.
Arriving at Las Medulas.
That's our sharp looking blue 2025 Audi A1 rental car. It's been great car for us! Fun to drive, and easy on fuel consumption!
There are a lot of these massive old chestnut trees in the area.
Most of these trees are over 200 years old, however they can live to 600 years.
The attraction at Las Medulas is the landscape that was transformed by the mining activities.
There are a lot of these red sandstone mountain peaks.
And some really interesting chestnut trees!
The trunks of these old trees are amazing!
One tree... and yes, it's still alive!
The mountains were cut into using water pressure.
Landscape at Las Medulas.
Church in the modern town of Las Medulas.
A view of one of the tunnels that has not fully collapsed.
Zoomed in.
The problem is that you're not allowed to get close to some of the more interesting areas. Of course we understand that falling rocks can be dangerous... it was just a little disappointing for us.
We found the old trees to be more interesting than the scenery.
But, learning about the mining itself was quite interesting. There are several information boards that explain things. As many as 60,000 free slaves would have worked at the mines, digging tunnels, with many dying inside of them. Over 100 years, it is said that the Romans extracted 6,000 kilos of gold per year.
Describing how they extracted the gold.
Interesting stuff.
But it was time to move on... to the small city of Ponferrada (pop 65,000).*
The big attraction in Ponferrada is the castle!
That looks like a great castle!
Now this is a castle!
Even with a grand entrance.
Unfortunately, it was closed. We probably would have gone in for the €6 ($9.35 CAD, $6.85 USD) entrance fee. We like visiting castles. However we would have had to wait until 4:30pm to get in, and then it takes about an hour and a half to tour it. We still had to get to our accommodation outside the city.
The Basilica in Ponferrada.
Nobody around.
There were a few people around the clock tower area.
Ponferrada City Hall.
Scenery along the way.
We left Ponferrada and drove to nearby Molinaseca. This is a stop along the French Way, one of the most popular routes of the Camino de Santiago. We booked in at a small guesthouse... I think they only had four rooms. It got really good reviews, but for €42 ($66 CAD, $48 USD) a night with a private room and private bathroom, we weren't expecting anything special.
But it turned out to be just fine... so it was a decent deal!
Basic room... but the beds were really comfortable.
The facilities.
The view out our bedroom window!
We went for a wander around town, and then found somewhere for dinner.
Park in town.
It's a pretty spot.
2,000 year old bridge built by the Romans.
It is common in Spain to have a "menu del dia"... a set menu at a set price, usually consisting of a starter, a main course, a dessert, and a drink. And so we found one place where they had that type of menu, with a few options... at €14.50 ($22.65 CAD, $16.60 USD) per person.
I had the Russian Salad for a starter.
Ruth had the artichokes. She said they were really good.
Notice we each had a healthy glass of red wine... included in the price.
I had the sausage and chips. Not the best sausage, but it was fine.
Ruth had the hake. Neither one of us thought to ask if it was breaded, but she managed to pick off the coating and eat just the fish.
Dessert! I had the ice cream on the left, Ruth had the flan on the right.
Not a bad meal for the price!
Walking back home through the old town.
Today, we head about 207 kms (128 miles) east to the small city of Palencia (pop 77,000).
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Great deal on these Vacuum Storage Bags.
And in Canada...
Both areas had different things of interest to make them worthwhile. Your meals are close to the cost of fast food here in Ontario. Good Deal.
ReplyDeleteStay Safe and Enjoy the adventures.
It's about time.
Yes, they were both very different sites to see and we enjoyed both.
DeleteThat is one reason why we rarely eat our in Canada, and really it is generally expensive to eat out here in Spain too but the Menu del Dia certainly makes it a little more reasonable, especially when it includes a glass of wine too!
Great post today, follow them all and always find them interesting. Palencia is a lovely city. We were there last Autumn on our tour of Spain. Looking forward to your posts from Edinburgh. Live in the UK and been there several times. Will be very interesting to see what things you and Ruth post about. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteThank you, we are glad that you enjoyed the post. we wandered around a little bit of Palencia yesterday evening as we tried to find a reasonably priced place to eat and one that was open so we did see a little bit of the city. We will go out this morning and have a better look around before heading on to our next location.
DeleteWe were in Edinburgh before but that was way back in 1987 and it was only for the day so we really didn't see very much of the city so we are looking forward to this visit. If you can think of anything that is a do not miss item or something that most tourists would miss let us know.
I would definitely recommend you walk up to Arthurs Seat. The views are amazing. The Royal Mile and Castle are beautiful (touristy in places but architecture is fab)
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