We ended up in Salamanca yesterday by accident, but I was in favor of staying a day even though we visited it last year. I remembered it being very picturesque and walkable, plus I was feeling kind of lazy about driving. So I convinced Ton to stay by telling her I would use the truck free Sunday (tomorrow) to shift from western Spain to eastern Spain.
Our first stop was the market as Ton remembered that it was a very good one. She had her eye out for a couple of things, but in the end we struck out. But the market was hopping on a Saturday and the vibe was really fun.
We went to the Plaza Mayor to look for some busts. The Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is unique in Spain as all the buildings surrounding it are made of stone. There are 25 busts of famous Spaniards carved into the walls, with space for more as Spain creates more famous people. We went there looking for the busts of Cervantes, El Cid, and Christopher Colon (or as we know him Columbus). We found El Cid and Cervantes, but could not find Colon/Columbus which in the end seemed appropriate.
Ton had read about this neighborhood that was supposed to be a bit off the beaten path but full of good restaurants. After a bit of a walk we arrived to a pretty nondescript street with a handful of nondescript restaurants and one that looked good but was jammed. So in the end we ended up back in the old town at a Tapas bar that was founded in 1890. The food was good and the atmosphere was lively.
We had one more stone figure that we had to find. The University of Salamanca is the third oldest university in Europe and it takes up a big part of the old town. It is famous for those who want to learn Spanish as the Castilian spoken here is supposed to be the purest in the world, as a result it hosts over 5000 foreign students each year.
At the main portal to the university is an elaborately carved archway. The students are encouraged to find the frog that is carved on the archway, because if you find it you will be more serious in your studies and thus more successful. The frog is supposed to be a symbol for the trouble you can get into as a student. Finding it is difficult and thus proves you are diligent.
We looked and looked, and even followed the laser of a guide. I finally cheated and checked on line to get the location. So I don’t think I am going to be a successful student in the future.
The bus back to the campground only ran hourly, so about 4 pm we had to decide whether to linger longer or head back to the bus stop to get the 4:30 bus. Alas, our old age drove us to the early bus.
Tomorrow we are going to end our 3 week stay in western Spain, and cross over to the east side of the country. We have really enjoyed it here as this is the less populated part of the country. But our experiences tell us we will also enjoy the east.
