Day 136 - From Teruel's Tranquility to Medinaceli's Medieval Festivities
Rediscovering Teruel, Medinaceli's Medieval Magic, and Our First Steps in Galicia
If you read our last post (Day 136 - Teruel Exists?) you’ll know or guessed by the title that our first stop now that we are on the road again was the town of Teruel. We had only ever been to Teruel in the winter, when it is usually covered in a blanket of snow, even though it is only one and a half hours from Valencia and we’re usually visiting the ski resorts in Javalambre and Valdelinares.
Summer In Teruel - Day 136
It was definitely a different experience being in Teruel during August. We didn’t actually get a chance to visit the town centre as we wanted to get back on the road and get to the places we couldn’t get to with our old car, but the motorhome/caravan area was ideal. If you’re parked up in a motorhome, there is a bus stop close by where you can get to the town centre or if you’re in a caravan like us, we believe you’re allowed to detach and drive into the town. There is also an Alcampo shopping centre next door, so it’s easy to get supplies, as well as a mechanic!
Revisiting Medinaceli
When we left Teruel we decided to re-visit one of our favourite places that we visited last time we were on the road, the beautiful medieval town of Mediaceli. It’s around 2 hours from Teruel which would have been impossible for us to do in our old car especially as towards the end there is a long winding road that goes up to the town. Last time out, we barely made it, but this time around, it was a breeze. However, last time we were the only ones up there apart from the locals, and we knew that being August, it might be a little busier than last time, but we weren’t expecting it to be THAT busy! As you enter the town, there is an entrance for the caravan/motorhome parking area on the right, but as we arrived, it seemed blocked by cars. We knew there was another slightly smaller entrance just further on, so we thought we’d just use that entrance, but as we drove up to it, we realised there would be no way through with our home on wheels, which left us with a bit of a dilemma! Any further forward and we would be in the town’s narrow streets which cars barely fit down. We had no option to turn around, so the only real option was backwards. By this time we had realised our mistake; we were indeed meant to have used the first entrance, and we had arrived in the town when there was a medieval-themed fair, which it seemed everyone had come to at exactly the same time. Every time we tried to reverse, more and more cars came up behind us. Luckily, a group of motorcyclists came up and after Livy explained the situation to them, they very kindly blocked the road, letting Livy guide me backwards with a few apologies to the locals along the way! We eventually managed to reverse enough to squeeze into the first entrance, and we were able to grab the last of the parking spaces for motorhomes and caravans…Phew!!!
⬆⬆⬆... Little look at one of the small local shops in Medinaceli …⬆⬆⬆
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Medieval Fair In The Medieval Town
Medieval markets are relatively popular in Spain but we have yet to see one quite as impressive as Medinacelis. All through the streets, there were different medieval-themed banners hanging from the walls, locals all dressed up, and even the stalls were mostly made from wood. There were street performers and medieval dishes. The atmosphere was superb.
Heat Wave
There has been a bit of a heat wave throughout Spain for the past couple of weeks. We have been struggling a little bit to keep cool during the day. The air conditioning does give us a little bit of a break from it, but it’s not something that we can run continuously. As soon as it turns off, the heat soon rises. The temperatures have been reaching 40+ Celcius (104+ Fahrenheit) which has made for some interesting situations:
Arrived At Our Destination in Galicia - 141
After 141 days of our Happy Life On Wheels adventures, we have finally made it to our first original destination!!! 🎉🎉🎉
We have finally made it to Galicia. As soon as we crossed the province border, it did feel different somehow. The land around us was a lot more of a darker green and there are more large boulders and stones around. It’s hard to explain, but we’ll try to get some photos for the next post.
Our first stop in Galicia was in an area offered to motorhomes and caravans by a restaurant named Cazador. It’s in the South of Galicia not long after crossing the border. We ended up going into the bar to begin with, just to cool off, of course! But after finding out the restaurant was actually pet-friendly, we decided to see what they had to offer. A three-course (large) meal with a ‘jug’ of wine for 26€ euros—we most definitely were not disappointed!
From there (the following day of course), we travelled to the thermal baths in Barbantes.
This is where we’ll begin our next post and tell you all about them.
Almuerzo In Valencia
Interesting article from the BBC about the "Almuerzo," the meal between breakfast and lunch in Valencia. It often includes a bocadillo (a large sandwich) and beer or wine. It's a must-try if you travel to Valencia. We've had it many times, but not often with beer or wine at 10 am
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230823-almuerzo-and-the-super-sandwiches-of-valencia
Estonia
This guide to Estonia is really tempting.