Europe 2021: Center for the Iberian Wolf

 Europe 2021:

Center for the Iberian Wolf

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere near absolutely nothing in the northwest corner of Spain is the Centro Del Lobo Iberico. I happened across the website for this place during one of my searches for random things to do along our route, and since wolves have always been my favorite animals, I planned a visit.

Calling this place difficult to find, and visit, would be an understatement. First off, you have to book your visit in advance via the website and when you do they tell you that if less than 10 or so people book for that time the visit is off. That would be fine, if they would inform you one way or the other. I heard nothing from the place up to the day of our visit so we just headed there. You can't find it on your navigation system either, and it's about impossible to drop a pin on the location as the road that you follow, which ends at the center, doesn't seem to officially exist. Eventually, if you're lucky, you'll find a parking lot and then follow a rather long pathway that opens up to a good looking visitors center. 

 

The inside of the center is neat, but nothing to write home about. We were relieved to see others there and happy that the tour was on. It was entirely in Spanish, and we seemed to be the only visitors who didn't speak it, but that would have been fine....except the first 45 minutes was just someone talking about the place. They were nice to us and offered to explain things, but I never take issue with tours in foreign countries not being in English. We are in Spain, after all! 

Eventually, they lead you out through the center, which is gorgeous, and you get to see the actual wolves that reside here. They have viewing areas and they let you just observe them. It was very cool. 

The highlight, however, comes when this guy, who we haven't seen before, walks out amongst the wolves and starts throwing raw meat around. Now, you may think you're cool, but I assure you, you are not as cool as a dude walking around a pack of wolves with a bag of raw meet! The wolves responded to him differently. A couple were pretty aggressive and pretty much just tried to help themselves to his bag, while others wouldn't come within 20 feet of him. It was fascinating. He talked to us, but unfortunately we didn't know what he was saying. 

It was an interesting experience. You'd have to really love wolves to make a special trip here, but we enjoyed the stop. It's a neat place and I appreciate what they're doing.

After our wolf adventure we continued on our way and stopped in a tiny little town for lunch. You'll find that while in most major cities in Europe everyone speaks English, that is not always the case in the small rural towns. This led us to accidentally order food that I just couldn't eat. I know what you're saying - "Google Translate" the menu. First off, what menu. Second, that doesn't always work. Some of the names of dishes just don't translate. You may be able to figure out that what you're ordering is pork or something, but have no idea in what form. Branelle bravely worked through her plate and I tried to move things around to make it look like I had eaten so as not to be rude. Oh well, the entire meal probably cost like $8 - including a bottle of wine.

Europe 2021: Salamanca

Europe 2021:

Salamanca

Heading northwest from Madrid, we stopped in Salamanca for a day and night. The Old City, where we stayed, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, for not being one of the more known destinations, was a wonderful place to visit. I booked us at the Salamanca Luxury Plaza with a room overlooking the Plaza Mayor de Salamanca. It was difficult to find, but we had the heart of the city for a view.

It was cool enough during the day, but as the sun went down, and all at once, the lights came on and it was even more spectacular...and active. This was a popular place into the very late hours. The balcony doors were soundproof, as we tested successfully.

We didn't do a whole lot in Salamanca, but they did have a car museum, and you know Nel can never pass up a chance to look at cars!

It wasn't a particularly large or spectacular museum, but it was still worth checking out and was just a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We also came across a little Fiat Spyder just like one we have back home. 

A lot of times when you're sort of just traveling around, the best thing to do is eat. It's not because of the food (although sometimes that's certainly the case), but putting yourself in interesting places and observing the world around you, a world that isn't your norm, can be very relaxing/entertaining/educational.

Branelle putting the finishing touches on a Sangria while indicating which balcony was ours.

I was staying in contact with a friend of mine who resides in Spain from time to time while we were on this trip. He gave me some excellent recommendations for things to see and places to eat, etc. He, like myself, also happens to collect cars, albeit at a much greater level than I do. He mentioned that there was an article about him and a Lamborghini he owns in the new CAR magazine, and I spotted it while walking past a newsstand. Sure enough, there was Paco and his black Countach - the article was in Spanish so I couldn't make it out, but still pretty cool.

Another thing I tried to do while on this trip was remain productive and engaged with work. In Europe it's actually pretty easy because my late evenings were around prime meeting times back home so with a little flexibility and some occasional rescheduling, I didn't miss a thing for three weeks.

Salamanca was a nice stop with no agenda. We enjoyed our brief visit and I recommend it if you find yourself in the area. We headed out the next morning after breakfast.

 

Europe 2021: Valley of the Fallen

Europe 2021:

Valley of the Fallen

This trip had been partially designed around my father and his history, and the first stop on the nostalgia train was the Valley of the Fallen just north of Madrid. The Valley of the Fallen is a Catholic basilica and a memorial built by Dictator Francisco Franco that he claimed was a "national act of atonement" and reconciliation after the brutal Spanish Civil War. My father was trapped in Spain as a young child along with his mother for six or seven years during this war, before they escaped to the US on a boat through Cuba into the port of New York.

It's a beautiful drive from Madrid - even in a VW Caddy! We pretty much had the place to ourselves as my excessive efforts to avoid people continued to pay off on this trip. You see it from miles away as you approach from the south, and it's quite impressive.

The area is beautiful and full of hiking options. The complex is huge! I think it surprised Branelle quite a bit as she said it "felt like it was built for giants". The pictures don't do the scale of the place justice.

I rarely have an emotional response to places, but I had one here for some reason. I'm not sure what it was, probably some combination of reflection on my father's journey in life and missing him. If it were packed with people I'm sure it would not have been the case, but walking around this landmark of 20th-century Spanish architecture hearing only the wind (and Nel talking about bears) was quite special.

The interior is equally as striking as the exterior. You aren't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck a few in. Even as large as the outside is, you're still shocked when you walk through the doors at what they've built under the mountain. 

This place isn't without controversy. Franco himself was buried here upon his death in 1975, and after decades of debate his remains were removed in 2019. There are some that would prefer to see this place removed, or at least altered. I'm certainly no fan of Franco, but erasing history is an exercise for the weak and ignorant. Beneath the valley floor lie the remains of over 40,000 Spaniards, and this memorial to that tragedy, regardless of who ordered its construction, should serve to remind Spain and the world in hopes of never repeating the circumstances that lead to their end. For me, it is a reminder of what my father escaped, barely, to find a better life in America.

El Escorial

A bonus to stopping in the area is a visit to El Escorial. This is the historical residence of the King of Spain, and it's only about 15 minutes up the road from the Valley of the Fallen. It's a palace, and not a bad one, in the nice town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. We did the tour and had lunch at a restaurant recommended by a friend of mine before heading on.

A great number of the Spanish royal family is entombed here, and it's something you shouldn't miss if you're already north of Madrid.

The town itself was charming. The restaurant we had lunch in was called Charoles, and it was a Michelin rated dining option. It was a nice place in a great location, but a little fancy for my taste for a quick lunch.

Europe 2021: Madrid Part 2

Europe 2021:

Madrid Part 2

Plaza Mayor

Madrid is a vibrant city, and the hub (both figuratively and geographically) of Spain. We spent a few days exploring some, but certainly not all, of what it had to offer. Here are a few highlights.

El Retiro Park

El Retiro Park is a delightful green space in the heart of Madrid. It's right next to a number of museums, including the Prado, and makes for a relaxing place to get away from the crowds and concrete. We spent some time walking around and also rented one of the little rowboats they have on a lake in the middle of the park.

Monument to Alfonso XII

The Prado

The Prado is the National Art Museum of Spain. It's a fine facility with one of the great collections of European art in the world. If you like art museums, you're going to want to go to this one for sure. If you don't you could probably skip it. It's a basic art museum - paintings on the wall and not much else. 

Lunch - They used to have a charming café on-site, but now it's more of a cafeteria style set up. 

Sobrino de Botin

There is no shortage of great dining options in Spain, but Botin has the distinction of being the oldest restaurant in the world in continuous operation as it has been serving the specialty of suckling pig (and other things) since 1725! We made reservations before our trip to insure we would have the opportunity to try it out. 

It's located just outside of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid Centro.

 

Misc

Nel Nav Day

On every one of these trips, we usually end up having a Nel Nav Day - basically a day where Nel takes over the navigation duties. I like it. I just get to follow along with no thought and enjoy whatever fate has in store for me. 

Even in the most remote of places, much less a major European city like Madrid, you will find eating options that you have back home - in this case, Five Guys. We follow a rule when we travel of not eating anywhere that we can get in H-Town. It's a guideline more than a rule really, but we usually follow it. 

After spending a few days in Madrid, we headed to Plaza de Espana to pick up our rental car for the next couple of weeks. I usually book with Avis, but on this occasion I opted for Enterprise because our company has a new contract with them and they had an office that was very near our apartment. 

I had booked a car in the Luxury class and was willing to take my chances (with Avis, I just pick whatever car I want that they have). When I walked in the lady had some bad news for me:

Her: "There's a problem. We don't have anything that is automatic." 

Me: "That's no issue at all. Just give me something cool." 

Her: "We don't have anything cool either." 😒

In fact, they only had one vehicle available at the entire facility, and nothing available at the airport. We had no choice but to take it or try to find other options and delay our departure further. We chose to go with it and get out of town.

It's a Caddy! - a Volkswagen Caddy. They call it a 'leisure activity vehicle', whatever that means. It's horrible to drive and extremely under-powered, but it did have plenty of room for our stuff and it was unlikely anyone we know would actually see us.