La Alcarria (2006)

La Alcarria (2006) The Alcarria is a region in Castilla-La Mancha, in the province of Guadalajara. It is place of great natural beauty, with rolling hills covered with vivid green and chocolate brown fields, crystalline rivers and reservoirs, and an astounding cultural and historical richness.

In 1946, Camilo José Cela, Nobel Laureate, took a walk (mostly) around and wrote a book, Viaje A La Alcarria, that became a classic of Spanish literature.[1] It describes the author’s encounters with people and places, and it provides a snapshot of a sleepy part of post-war Spain. I decided to use the book’s itinerary as the basis for a short trip (1300 kms) during Blanca´s five-day holiday. We had planned to go on the Harley, but the weather didn’t bode well, so we opted for the Toyota.

I don’t much like Cela. Start with the fact that he fought for the Nationalists in the Civil War and served as a “censor” for Franco. And he´s insufferably self-important, a fact constantly underscored by his referring to himself as “el viajero” (the traveller). It´s even more annoying that he´s a wimp. His feet hurt him before he even gets off the train from Madrid to Guadalajara. (He has walked to the station in Madrid.) His walking stages would count as puny to any moderately decent pedestrian. He seems to spend most of his time resting, eating, drinking, and smoking; he rents a cart and lets a mule carry his knapsack; he hires a “guide” to get him over the Tetas de Viana; and he hops on a bus when he gets pooped at the end. Despite all this, he seems to regard himself as some sort of Spanish Reinhold Messner. Anyway, a good trip often benefits from a theme, and the book does provide a structure of sorts.

Wednesday, December 6.

We were off bright and early. We stopped in El Toboso (Toledo), where Blanca raided her favourite shop (“La Aldaba”).[2] By chance the Mayor, Natividad Martínez, stopped in, and we had a pleasant chat with her. (She remembered us from several years ago when Blanca and her class presented her with a copy of their Quijote.[3]) We had lunch with our friend Isabel at the “Casa De La Torre.” Then we hit the road.

We headed north and arrived at dark in Pastrana, which turned out to be my favourite town of the trip.[4] After a rather unnerving half hour lost in the labyrinth of narrow medieval streets—I scraped the car’s mirror and had to back up several times when the lanes petered out—we found a place to sleep: Hotel Palaterna (2 nights, 35€ per night). . The hotel is right on the Plaza de los Cuatro Caños, a Pastrana landmark.

The next day we explored the Palacio Ducal, the stately residence of the Mendoza family, whose most famous member was Ana Mendoza, the Princess of Éboli (1540-1592).[5] This beautiful and intriguing woman, with her emblematic eye patch and ruffed collar (see picture), provides the main symbol for the town. She is to Pastrana was mooses are for Maine. We have the Bar Éboli, the Éboli Laundry, etc. etc. She was the wife of the Duque of Éboli, who was the secretary and confident of Felipe II. The Princess bore her husband 10 children. But after his death, she fell out of favour with Felipe, who imprisoned her in her own palace for nine years. The highlight of the Palace is the cell where she spent her last years. Her only window looks out over the Plaza of the Hour, so named because the Princess was allowed only an hour to gaze out through the prison-cell grates (“rejas”).

The palace was for many years left in shambles. Cela, in 1946, complains about its condition. But it has been recently restored by the Universidad Alcalá de Henares, which uses it as a forum for classes in the summer. Of particular interest are the gorgeous wood ceilings, “artesanados,” which have been skilfully restored.

Pastrana´s past is filled with holy celebrities. The most important is Santa Teresa de Jesús, who founded a convent for Franciscan monks and Shoeless nuns. She was pals with San Juan de La Cruz, who supposedly wrote “The Dark Night of the Soul” in Pastrana. The convent now houses a parador (state run hotel in an historic building), with a fine collection of art and furniture. But the gem of the place is the museum of Santa Teresa, located in the same complex. It contains numerous paintings and memorabilia associated with the saint. Included here is a seat, which Santa Teresa actually (really!) used. Visitors are allowed to lift the modern cover and sit down on the rough original. Blanca availed herself of the opportunity. I asked the guide—who had the look of an ex-nun—whether the experience would change Blanca´s behaviour for the better. The lady was not amused. “If she has genuine faith, anything is possible,” she muttered, without as much as cracking a smile.

Another curiosity in the same building is a natural history museum which houses a huge collection of fauna from the Philippines. Why so? Well, it seems that the Franciscans did a lot of missionarying in the Islands, and they brought back loads of specimens to use in their school teaching.

Another landmark in Pastrana is the Collegiata, which houses a collection of tapestries from the 15th century, as well as a great deal of other eccelestical material. We were given a tour by the priest.

This is a town not to miss.

Friday, December 9

We did a long drive. From Pastrana we went north to Sacedón. Getting there, we passed a beautiful stretch of road near the Embalse de Entrepeñas, a large dam and reservoir, currently without much water in it.

Trillo is a charming little village. The river Tajo runs through it via a series of small cascades. Approaching and leaving Trillo one can see the Tetas de Viana, twin mesetas with flat tops rising abruptly from the plain. Disconcertingly, several degrees on the horizon away, the two towers of the Centro Nuclear spew huge billows of smoke into the clear blue sky. The contrast is between the natural beauty of the Tetas and the ominous symbol of modern intrusion is striking.

We arrived at Cifuentes (birthplace of La Éboli), in time for lunch. We luckily happened upon the Casa de los Gallos, where we had fantastic migas.

In Brihuega, we paid a quick visit to the Fábrica de Paños, which had pleased Cela. “Desde el atajo, Brihuega tiene muy buen aire, con sus murallas y la vieja fábrica de paños, grande y redonda como una plaza de toros. Por detrás del pueblo corre el Tajuña, con sus orillas frondosas y su vega verde” (Viaje, p.61). Torija has an impressive castle, which is now closed for restoration. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the Cela museum which is housed in the castle. Luckily we had been able to see some of the photos and other memorabilia in a temporary exhibit in Pastrana. We pushed on to Guadalajara, but did not do more than drive around. The hustle of a big city didn´t seem attractive after the peace of small villages. So we decided to head out of town to find a place to stay.

We ended up going all the way back to Sacedón. (We passed a number of interesting places, e.g., Budia, Durón, Centenar del Rey) We landed in the “Posada de Antonio Perez” (40€), right on the main plaza. Re-eading Cela that night in bed, I discovered that this was the place where he had slept.[6] Pure chance!

Saturday, December 9.

We drove north to Sigüenza and found a delightful hotel (“Hostal Puerta Medina,” 50€). The two most important things here are the Castillo (see picture), which dominates the town and is now a Parador, and the Cathedral. The latter is an over-the-top Romanesque/Gothic/Renaissance extravaganza, whose most famous treasure is the funerary sarcophagus of “El Doncel.” I was also intrigued by the “humilladero.” I assumed that it provides a suitable place to go if one needs to be humiliated.

Sunday, December 10.

We left Siguenza about 10:30, and did a leisurely trip back over the route we’d taken the day before: Cifuentes, Sacedón. On the way we stopped in a beautiful four-star hotel in Pareja, with a fantastic view of the Embalse.[7]

We came back through Cuenca, Motilla, La Gineta, Albacate, and Almansa. The sun shone all the way. [1] I first read the book as an undergraduate in Gil Novalis´s class at Middlebury. I’m currently working with the paperback edition put out by Debosillo, 2003. Cela later returned and wrote Nuevo Viaje A La Alcarria, which provides commentary on the first work. Francisco García Marquina´s Guía del Viaje a la Alcarria (aache, Guadalajara, 1993) is vaguely interesting. Of much more practical value is Francisco Lirón del Pardo, Viaje a la Alcarria en B.T.T. (aache, Guadalajara, 2003), which presents a 373 km. Route, based on Cela, for mountain bike. [2] Very sadly, Paco the owner of the shop had suddenly died the year before of a heart attack at forty some-odd years. His widow, Mariangeles, was glad to see us and was as simpatico as ever. [3] Blanca’s sixth-grade class produced an excellent Quijote of their own. Each kid wrote a summary of a chapter—they had read Mi Primer Quijote, a juvenile edition. They also produced illustrations and brief autobiographies. The parents helped with the final reproduction and binding. The result was a gem, an example of what real education of young children can be. A copy is now in the Centro Cervantino in El Toboso. [4] Antonio Herra Casado´s Pastrana: Una Villa Principesca (aache, Guadalajara, 2006), is an excellent guide. [5] La Princesa de Éboli, by Antonio Herrara Casado (aache, Guadalajara, 2000) provides the facts. [6] P.174: “La Posada es un caserón grande, con mucho fondo. Sobre el arco del portal se lee: Parador; en una esquina, un pequeño letrero de loza: Calle del Doctor Ramón y Cajal, y encima de los balcones y cogiendo toda la fachada, Posada de Francisco Pérez.” [7] Isla Alcarria Hotel, Embalse de Entrepeñas. 949-827-004. www.hotelislaalcarria.com