5-13-11 Fuente De to Leon

          The Parador here in Fuenta De is in a canyon carved by a river.  Driving through the canyon reminds me of the drive along the Merced River to Yosemite. 

          After breakfast, we took a tram from across the road from the Parador up 3000’ to a peak, above the canyon.  We were treated to a panoramic view of the Parador, the canyon, and the surrounding mountains.      

Tram ride above our Parador Fuenta De

On top of the canyon

        

    From the top, where the tram dropped us off, there are several hiking trails that are popular for hiking and also mountain biking.  There is a 14.5 km trail back to the base of the tram that looked like it would be fun – almost all downhill, and not too steep, since it only drops 3000’ over 14.5 km.  We met a young couple who live in the area and who were preparing to ride down – they said it takes less than an hour for the ride down, which they do often.

          We boarded the bus for our next Parador at 11 am.  The drive to lunch was back through part of the canyon, then over a mountain pass (San Glorio) and down to a reservoir where we had lunch in a small hotel.  Coming down from the pass, I saw a dirt road which ran for miles, winding down from the pass, and thought about how much fun that would be to ride on my mountain bike, provide Marge dropped me off at the top and met me at the bottom.        

        For lunch I had a hearty bowl of veggie soup, a salmon steak for entrée, and a lemon mousse for dessert.  All were good, so I finished most of them even though I could have stopped after the soup.

Outside our lunch restaurant were bike/planter boxes

          Our group of 26 people is good.  Normally in a tour group, there are a few people who are obnoxious or who don’t get on the bus on time, but this group doesn’t have anyone like that.  It seems that most, if not all, of them have traveled extensively.  It is interesting to hear from them about other places and/or tours that would be interesting.  It is also enjoyable just getting to know a new group of people, from different parts of the country.   Except for 5 people, all of the group are from either the east coast, mainly New York, or California.    

          The weather is again perfect – mid 60s with blue skies.  The countryside that we drove through is very green with light red dirt.   I’m glad someone else is doing the driving so I can relax, enjoy the view and write about it on my netbook.  Yesterday, when we were driving to our hotel in the late afternoon, it was misting, but that didn’t matter to us on the bus.

          We arrived in our destination for today, Leon at 4 pm.  When our tour guide said here’s our Parador – Hostal San Marcos, our hotel for tonight, all I saw was what looked like a big, nicely preserved church.  The hotel was originally built in the 16^th century as a monastery for the Knights of St James to protect pilgrims on the famous prilgramage to Santiago de Compostela, which is our next stop.  San Marcos is now a 5 star hotel, but they have done an excellent job of retaining the historical features.                     

Our parador in Leon

Marge's photo of the parador

Marge's photo of the parador

 After arriving, a local tour guide showed us the cathedral, which has many stained glass windows, but like museums, I’m not a fan of churches or cathedrals for that matter. 

Dinner was in the hotel in a very nice dining room looking out at a garden next to the river.  I had an appetizer of grilled veggies, which were very good.  The best thing about my next dish, veal in mushroom sauce were the mushrooms.  By the time I got to dessert, which was tiramisu, a small scoop of ice cream on a mirangue, and a taste of Teri’s strawberry gelato, I was very full. 

Veal in mushroom sauce

My tiramisu

Teri's strawberry gellato

Marge's dessert