Well the carnival went on to 11pm, but they shut promptly then and it was quiet for the rest of the night. Before they shut down the volume of the music and other sounds was incredible. My watch kept warning me that the noise levels were dangerous and we should move to a quieter environment.
Last night during the disco we planned to move to a small town nearby called Alba de Torme. It was about an hours drive. We are still criss crossing the empty zone of Spain but we really enjoy it. Today’s drive was through miles of wheat fields that reminded us of Eastern Washington or the mid-west. The roads were perfectly straight and villages were few and far between.
Alba was named after the Duke of Alba who led the Spanish forces under King Carlos V in the 1500’s. Under his leadership the Spanish forces beat the German Saxon army at the battle of Muhlenberg. This led to a temporary return of Saxony to Catholicism.
We visited the remains of his castle. Today all that remains of his castle is one tower. Alba was a crucial point during the Napoleonic Wars in Spain as it controlled one of the main river crossings of the Tormes River. It changed hands three times with the French taking it from the Spanish, a combined British, French, and Portuguese army taking it back, and then the French winning it again.
When the French were about to retake the town the British commander ordered the castle to be burned to prevent the French from using it. The castle was never repaired and this led to it falling into ruins. Today the only surviving tower has been preserved and is a museum.
When we went to look at the tower we wandered onto the grounds only to have a nice lady tell us there was a €2 entrance fee that included the tower and a ceramics museum.
The tower museum was very nice. It had some of the history of the castle, and an extensive explanation of the battles of the Napoleonic Wars. We spent quite a while looking at the exhibits and enjoying the views from the tower. It was also amazing to us that we had this large historical site entirely to ourselves.
After we finished the tower we headed over to the ceramic museum. I was not sure if it was going to be worth the walk that was mostly uphill.
When we arrived at the ceramics museum we were again the only ones present. The lady at the front desk greeted us and then walked us through the entire museum explaining each display. She was charming, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about the local pottery.
Alba was a center for pottery for centuries and at its peak had 11 major pottery operations in the town. Over time with the advent of first glass, and now plastic traditional pottery became obsolete.
Today only one company remains in business and they have shifted to decorative pieces to survive. The artisanship of the pieces was extensive. There were great displays showing the process for turning the clay, adding the handles and fine loops, painting the pieces, and then firing the pottery.
At first I was skeptical of a pottery museum, but in the end because of a charming lady who went out of her way to make us feel welcome, and really talented artisans who produced some amazing pieces of art, it was the highlight of our day.
For the first time today we came across a campground that had closed for the season. Luckily we were only 30 minutes from Salamanca which we knew from a past trip had an excellent campground. Another bonus was that on the way to the campground we came across a giant LeClerc supermarket. Western Spain is really winning us over.