Medina del Campo and Queen Isabella

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Twenty-three kilometres south of Tordesillas, through the Rueda vineyards lies the town of Medina del Campo. It has one of the largest plazas we have ever seen, huge, and of course the plaza is dominated by the town´s largest church (of which there are several) and a statue of the famous or infamous Catholic Queen Isabella (depending on your point of view) stands proudly in the plaza opposite the church. We didn´t stay long in the town because our crazy dog Mutley is frightened of "other" Mutleys that he sees in large shop windows; he barks at them and they bark back at him! There are a lot of big shop windows in Medina del Campo!

The castle, the Castillo de la Mota, set on a natural rise above the town is a gem. It is free to walk around, has a good information centre and dogs are welcomed in the grounds and in the castle, except the inner courtyards. We enjoyed ourselves here. There is a splendid view of the town from the old walls and we could see snow on the hills to the North west (the way we are heading tomorrow)! It has to be said that, despite brilliant blue skies, it is a lot cooler here than at home in Alicante and at night it is freezing. Oh well, we came for the sights not the sun, we´ll get plenty of that when we get home!

The castillo is very old, the first part being constructed in 1070 and added to over the centuries, notably the twelth, until in the fifteenth century it was made truly palatial for Isabella. The tower was built in 1460 and the ornate gateway to the inner palace was finished in 1506. This was originally one of the frontier castles, to keep out the Portugese from the west and then later on as defence against the Moors from the south.

This afternoon we went for a walk along the Duero and took more photos of the lovely Tordesillas bridge. Tomorrow we are heading off further towards Galicia. This has been a very good three night camp. So ends week one of our six-week trip.

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