Spain 38 - Cuidad Rodrigo/Gods house shut again/the castle that is a parador/the stinkiest camp site in the world

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If Carlsburg made campsites they would shied a mile away from this one. Gabby is parked on the stinkiest campsite we have ever been on. The type of campsite where you start to smell under your armpits, you check the toilet and the drains on Gabby . You wonder if it is the town drains or the river nearby. There wasn't a lot of choice in this area and campsites were few and far between. Everyone it seems had ended up on the worse campsite for miles around. So how did Gabby end up there?

We started out driving along some of the worse roads we have ventured on. We have passed fields full of pigs and cows. The landscape has changed considerably now that we have moved regions.

We were heading for the motorhome parking in Cuidad Rodrigo. Sometimes these are like finding needles in haystacks , Sometimes they are as hard to finding the elusive Hoopoe. . This one was quite easy to locate in the middle of town on a supermarket carpark which was empty given it was Sunday. It was totally empty and within walking distance of the town walls. Yes I hear you say - town walls again and Sunday. No shops, no people and you are not far wrong. The town had a shut down feel as if everyone had headed out of the town due to the great stink.

It had a castle too. Our holiday seems to be running to a theme. Castles and walls. On the way though we did smile as an old man next to us on a garage forecourt knocked on Gabbys door and gestured to me. He was holding two tiny cups and was going round and round with his fingers. I tried offering him coffee. He shook his head and smiled and his hands went round and round again. I tried sugar . Eventually the penny dropped and we realised he wanted to borrow a spoon to stir his coffee. The good deed for the day done. He used it , drank his coffee and came back thanking us . Not in so many words but with a smile.

There was no peace from the solicitor either who wanted to know how much glass was in Glenns mums front and back door. Something to do with health and safety .

We walked up to Cuidad Rodrigo town with only a few intentions - to walk the walls if that was possible, find a café for a cooling drink, buy a magnet , visit the castle and see inside the church.

The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right bank of the River Agueda has been occupied by man since the Neolithic Age. It was known also as Microbriga by those who associate it with the celtic village just outside the modern town. It was a key border fortress lying as it does on the border between Portugal and Spain site of a 10 day siege by the Duke of Wellington. in 1812. We looked for hints the Duke had been here but saw little signs. Sometimes in cities and towns the victors or the prominent soldiers receive some kind of recognition. A statue here or there around the town. Here not a mention of the man.

We entered the town through a gateway in its walls approaching the imposing church and gardens. A pattern is emerging very much on this holiday. It was hot as we skirted round the impressive church with its Arabic style gardens. All shut up and locked so no chance of a visit inside or the opportunity to light a candle.

We did however find a small café open which was pretty full. We managed a seat in the shade and whiled away half an hour. I would say people watching but there were few of those about . The shops showed little sign of life. This has been the flavour of our trip so far - desolated townscapes which look as if the aliens have transported all the inhabitants to another planet .

The town was repopulated in the 12th century by King Ferdinand the II of Leon but today there was little sign of any population. It was walled at the same time and to be fair walking them was very pleasant although the temperatures were hovering around 33 degrees at 4pm in the afternoon. The cathedral which we didn't get into was supposedly built at the same time and was of Gothic and Romanesque style. No doubt Baroqued inside. It seemed that the 15th century altarpiece might have been worth seeing but sadly it was repaired by the Kress foundation in 1961, the foundation donated the works to the University of Arizona Museum of Art In Tucson. This left the church sadly lacking in its original decorations.

It was clear looking at the defensive walls that this city was important on the main road to Portugal from Salamanca and was of great military importance during the Napoleonic Peninsula War . We walked around looking at some pretty important buildings very much of a Spanish style - the strange looking Ayuntamiento in the main square and the Castle which sadly had been turned into a parador - a hotel Spanish style which cost an arm and a leg to stay in. Sometimes I think it a good idea that the Spanish turn their historical sites into paradors. At least they get looked after . However on the other hand they deny the casual traveller a chance to look inside,. All we could view of the castle impressive as it looked was over a very formidable wall.

I think if there was one thing that did fascinate us about Cuidad Rodrigo was not the walls nor the castle but the pig. A small carved figure of what looked like a pig. Ok we found out it was a boar and not a pig later. He was carved from granite and sits in the Plaza del Castillo. He is one of the emblems of the city and is of Celtic origin dating from the IVth century. He was discovered in the river in the 18th century. Lovely he was too. Sometimes these little things found on backstreets are the most fascinating .

Our walk back took us around the remainder of the walls where we found no shade. Back to Gabby and our home for the night - the smelly campsite. By now more Brits , Belgians , Germans and French had turned up. They parked up . Everyone sniffed the air. Everyone looked at their shoes to see if they had stood in something nasty . Eventually the cause of our smell was found. Close your eyes now if you have a sniffy stomach . A local cat had gorged himself on what looked like a frog or a lizard. It had upset his stomach and the meal was now deposited right by Gabby. Much flicking went on as I removed the offending lunch. The smell went away. I am not saying the campsite smelt of roses. It most certainly did not but it did smell a touch sweeter.

The remaining hours of our night was spent in the campsite bar watching the locals. The locals were watching and cheering on the local bullfight being shown on TV. Great whoops of delight followed the matador when he struck the bull. This was followed by a young lad whose dad had purchased for him an electric motorbike. He must have been all of six , kitted out in helmut and racing leathers. Looking like a budding MotoGP rider he went round and round the campsite until in the end he ended up wedged in a ditch and had to wait for dad to come to extricate him from the mess he had got himself into. We laughed as did the rest of the adults as he tried to work out how to get himself freed from the hole that he was making deeper every time he revved up the engine.

Where we will end up tomorrow is anyones guess? All our plans have for once gone out of the window. Planless we are drifting from place to place. Who knows what sort of day it will become? We look at our furthest point and are approaching it fast. From now on the holiday has reached the turnaround point and we will be heading homewards.

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