Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Rest day in Salamanca
No walking today except to view sights as a tourist

A great deal has been written about Salamanca covering its rich and long history. I am not going to even try to re-tell the history of Salamanca. I can report from our short time in Salamanca that it is a city with great energy and activity. There are many things to see and many places to eat – except of course during the siesta time between about 3 PM and 7 PM.

When we arrived in Salamanca, the first item on our agenda was to get the keys to our accommodation. We have a room for three or four with a semi-private bathroom. There is a room for eating, but no kitchen. Also, no wifi internet, and inside the building. Mobile phone reception is very poor. And, the room is about 150 meters or less from the cathedral, an ideal location from which to see the old town.

Being in Salamanca was quite overwhelming, emotionally and physically. We have been in rural areas for a couple of weeks now and the towns are tiny compared to Salamanca with a population of over 190,000. My first feeling was one of complete exhaustion.

On the way into Salamanca, Javier took these pictures of the cathedral through the trees from the old Roman bridge.

After getting the keys and dropping off our backpacks, we went for lunch before the restaurants closed for siesta. We are all smiling and at the same time completely exhausted.

The cathedral is one of the main attractions for tourists in Salamanca. And we are no different. The cathedral is really two cathedrals, the old and the new, sitting side by side and connected. The old cathedral is Romanesque in style. The new cathedral is a 16th-century structure, that was built starting in 1513 and completed in 1733. It comprises a mix of styles: Gothic (Gothic was at this point going out of style but the architects wanted harmony with the Old Cathedral), Renaissance (the new contemporary style at the time), and Baroque. The cathedral is dedicated to the Virgen de la Asunción.

Here are a few views of the cathedral ending with Tom in front of the double-door entrance.

After arriving, having lunch, seeing the outside of the cathedral, and resting, we went for dinner.

On our full rest day, we attended Mass at noon and were able to see inside the new cathedral.

During a restoration project in 1992, one of the artists, Jeronimo Garcia, working on the project decided to include a few icons representing the 20th century. This is the explanation for why an astronaut replaced Saint Matthew in the facade. The astronaut was selected was because it was a symbol of the 20th century when one of the greatest accomplishments of mankind was achieving space flight and landing on the Moon.

Here is the astronaut in the facade of the cathedral’s main entrance:

We ended our “rest day” with dinner. Here is a photo of Tom and me with me looking somewhat somber. I’m not sure why – I enjoyed Salamanca very much. The city is alive and energetic. Perhaps Javier just caught me chewing or anticipating walking out of Salamanca towards Zamora tomorrow morning.

Next: Salamanca to El Cubo de Tierra del Vino