Salamanca, Spain, although inexpensive, did not make my list of 18 potential new homes. I have two reservations about Salamanca: (1) it’s too small, and (2) it’s too touristy. But, it is situated in a convenient location to be a stopover between destination #6, Málaga, on the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and destination #7, Porto, in the west. And my rule with these layovers is: No one-night stands. So I spent two days (15-17 May) in Salamanca.
Once again, I took advantage of Spain’s excellent train system and zipped from Málaga to Madrid on an AVE bullet train, with the rolling hills, farms, and orchards of central Spain flying by.
The peculiar duck-shaped engine of an AVE train. Like a duck, these things can fly — the top speed I observed on my train was 300 km/hr (186 mph). Unlike a duck, I don’t think they’d do well underwater. Fortunately, I didn’t have the occasion to test this theory (15 May 2018).
Madrid has two main train stations: Puerta de Atocha, in the south, handling traffic to locations south of Madrid, and Chamartín in the north, where trains to northern destinations depart. It’s the same setup as North Station and South Station in Boston. My train from Madrid pulled in to Atocha, but I needed to get to Chamartín to catch my transfer to Salamanca. Spain’s Renfe train system offers a free ticket on local train in between these two stations — all you do is scan the bar code on your long-distance train ticket at a machine, and out pops your ticket for the inter-station train. It was easy.
One observation I forgot to include in my València and Málaga blog posts: Do not mess with Spanish cops. They are packing some serious heat. While I think the overall number of police in Spanish cities is fewer than in Washington, D.C., Spanish cops ride everywhere in armored personnel carriers and carry riot gear and assault rifles. This is most noticeable in Madrid, which is understandable given there was a major terrorist attack (at Atocha train station) there in 2004 or 2005. But elsewhere it seems a bit like overkill. The ever-present graffiti here, from what little I can tell, seems to be more political than gang-related like in the States. I certainly felt safe during my stay here.
These three guys patrolling Chamartín train station in Madrid are not messing around. The one in the center carries a riot shield, and the one on the right is equipped with an assault rifle (15 May 2018).
Anyway, my transfer between stations in Madrid went off without a hitch, and a regional train (traveling a mere 200 km/hr [124 mph]) whisked me quickly to Salamanca in western Spain.
Salamanca is gloriously cheap. It’s the first overseas destination on my trip so far where I very nearly spent more money on food ($52.90) than on lodging ($56.67 for two nights). And for the first time since Taiwan, I was able to afford a hotel room right in the touristy center of town. While there are pros and cons to hotels vs. rooms rented in private homes (a la Airbnb.com), I generally prefer the former because I like the privacy and convenience of a private, en suite bathroom.
This bathroom is literally the size of a (walk-in) closet. I had to sit sideways on the toilet because there wasn’t enough room for my knees in front, and I’m only 5’8″ (172 cm). But this bathroom’s got a working toilet, sink, and shower (not pictured), so I’m totally satisfied. Note that the toilet tank is mounted to the wall high above the toilet bowl (out of the frame of this shot), probably because that’s the only place it’d fit; you pull the chain hanging there to flush (16 May 2018).
I made my way first to Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor, which Rick Steves calls the “ultimate Spanish plaza” in his guidebook. I’d agree that it’s the most impressive one I’ve seen on this trip. I walked through on my first night, and then, although it strained my meal budget to the limit, I just had to eat a late Spanish lunch in here the following day, 16 May.
Can you tell I was very happy to be standing here? (15 May 2018)
Relief busts of famous Spaniards ring the plaza. There’s Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, on the left. And there are plenty of blank spaces, so if you’re ambitious and considering gaining Spanish citizenship, I’m just saying (15 May 2018).
Plaza Mayor is a great place to people-watch. Yes, being a tourist spot, you can count on a panhandler or trinket-peddler trying his or her luck with you while you’re sitting there. But I also saw some boys playing guitar, not to make money off tourists, it seemed, but just to enjoy jamming with each other. School groups came in, each kid holding a clipboard and a pen and scanning the façades. Just like when I was in school and we’d take a field trip to the Fine Arts Museum in Boston, and we’d all have a checklist of famous works of art to find. Only these kids can do this in the town square here! I’m glad I visited Salamanca in mid-May, when the university and the primary and secondary schools are still in session.
It’s hard to top ambience like this. And note the armpit-high waistline on that clipboard-toting Spanish schoolgirl’s pants behind me. An example of European fashion trends I mentioned in my previous post (16 May 2018).
The main course of the very same lunch. That’s jamón iberico (Spanish-style thin-sliced smoked ham) covered with a fried egg and, inevitably, fried potatoes in some form. I had no idea the Spanish ate so many potatoes. Jamón iberico is overrated in my opinion. Unless you cut it up into tiny pieces, you end up chewing on a tasteless ball of tough, gristle-like fat, kind of like chewing gum after all the flavor has gone out of it, and the ball is always just a little too big to swallow, no matter how long you chew. And so much of the ham gets stuck in your teeth, it’s like you can have a second meal picking out bits of meat out from in between your teeth afterward (16 May 2018).
After the plaza, Salamanca’s big attraction is Salamanca University, which was founded in 1208 and is the oldest university in Europe (!). And it’s still very much in business — the students scurrying to and from classes handily outnumbered the tourist hordes.
This most famous façade on the university campus features a tiny frog sitting on a skull that all of the tourists crane their necks to find. It’s within the frame of this photo, but probably the resolution isn’t high enough to make it out (15 May 2018).
This statue honors Salamanca University’s most beloved professor, Luis de León. He was imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition in the 1400s for translating part of the Bible into Castilian (proto-Spanish). In one of the great retorts in all of history, he began his first lecture back from his five-year imprisonment with: “As we were saying” (15 May 2018).
A Roman bridge still spans the river running past the city. Although the railings, walking surface, and storm drains are all modern additions, supposedly much of the bridge is original. Again, can you imagine anything lasting 2,000 years? Or can you picture what this scene was like when Roman engineers first laid its stones into place?
15 May 2018
A view from the far end of the Roman bridge, looking back toward Salamanca. Notice the bicycles — this pedestrian- and cyclist-only bridge is part of a city-wide network of bike trails. Again, well done Spain (15 May 2018).
And cathedrals. Lots and lots of cathedrals.
15 May 2018
A view of the opposite side of the same cathedral, from the Roman bridge (15 May 2018).
A closer look. I’m not sure whose idea it was to put those black halos around certain figures’ heads (15 May 2018).
And still closer. Some crazy gryphon-like thing. They don’t make ’em like this anymore (15 May 2018).
I call this one the “Tetris church” (16 May 2018).
Last one (15 May 2018).
OK I lied. But this really is the last cathedral photo. I promise. The elaborate artistic flourishes on these things are just so cool (15 May 2018).
And I like narrow medieval streets, particularly when they’re pedestrian-only.
This street leads from the university toward Plaza Mayor. And I thought my alma mater, Reed College, had a pretty campus (15 May 2018).
Note the green cross at the upper left. This is the universal sign of a pharmacy in Spain. My sister and brother-in-law would understand why these crack me up. In Eugene (and elsewhere in Oregon, I’m sure), a green cross signifies an establishment that sells drugs of a different sort (15 May 2018).
Of course, not all of Salamanca is a museum-piece medieval city. This is the architecturally boring modern street I walked along en route to Salamanca’s bus station. But even uninspired Spanish neighborhoods like this seem to be greener and more walkable than their American peers, graffiti and all (16 May 2018).
I had fun in Salamanca. Since I’m not auditioning it to be a future home, I didn’t feel the need to try every form of public transportation, find the nearest supermarket, rent a bike, and so on. I just enjoyed being a tourist. It was a good, relaxing way to finish up my travels in Spain. I did feel a little bit sad that my time in Spain was up. But I was also very excited about my next destination: Porto, Portugal.