I walked through Salamanca today, quickly, but not too quickly to discover that it is a world heritage city. Its “Plaza Major” is stunning, said to be unsurpassed in Spain and one of the finest in the Latin World. A retablo in the Cathedral is also spectacular. I enjoyed a moment of fame in front of it as the guide of an Italian tour group asked me if I was a pilgrim. When I replied that I was, she began to question me about my pilgrim walking, translating my answers for her group.
You love the evening light on the August Via de la Plata. It’s not color that makes it especially beautiful. It’s that with the dusk as sunset approaches, the light becomes forgiving in ways that it has not been all day long. With the lowering light angle, the sun casts long, cool shadows. People assemble in them on furniture repositioned out on street sidewalks. Social life begins.
I’ve been to mass this evening in the Iglesia de Santa Elena here in Calzada de Valdunciel (KM 534). No cathedral, the church is nevertheless a very peaceful, spiritual place. The service began with a chiming bell and concluded efficiently a half hour later. Ninety percent of the attendees are women. From the looks of it, their husbands are in attendance at another sort of establishment in town of an entirely different character.
I’m walking on my own as of yesterday and enjoying being my own man.
