Thursday May 9 – Saturday May 11, 2024
- Starting Point: Ourense, Spain
- Ending Point: Salamanca, Spain
- Distance: 450 km (by train)
After my one-day detour to Ourense to soak in the thermal pools, I was up early to catch the train the remaining 450 kilometers to Salamanca. This historic town was where I planned to reunite with my best friend, Sean, and his wife Angelique.
The two of them are currently walking the Via de la Plata (or Silver Way) from Seville to Finisterre. Their photos back in early April were part of the reason I hopped on a plane to Portugal with barely 2 weeks’ notice. I was having such FOMO for an European walk that I considered even joining them for part of their walk.
But they, admittedly, walk in a very different style than me. They had a travel company plan their entire itinerary with lodging, a baggage transfer, and a pace of roughly 10-15 miles per day. What’s more, if they get to their mileage goal for the day and have a hotel booked that’s off their route, they have to take a taxi to the hotel.
So, while it would be interesting to join them, doing so would entail a lot logistical planning that I didn’t care to do. Instead, we plan to link up when they arrived at the town of Salamanca, where they had a 3-day break scheduled and we could just enjoy each other’s company.
Salamanca
With just three short days together, we spent the majority of our first day just catching up on life and all of our recent adventures. Sean and I text each other multiple times a week, but there are always stories that need to wait until you are in person. Texting won’t do them justice.
On our second day, we took a tour of Salamanca itself. Angelique hired an English-speaking guide for a 4-hour walking tour of the city highlights and she made an excellent choice. I learned so much about the city’s history and architecture. It was 100% the time and money.
Salamanca has such a rich history. I don’t tend to read guidebooks to plan my visits, so walking around the city with someone who knew where to take us was a delight. I loved learning about this amazing city including discovering:
- The University of Salamanca was founded in 1134 AD, making it the oldest university in Spain, and the third oldest university in Europe – behind the University of Bologna (1044 AD) and Oxford (1096 AD).
- Salamanca is directly on the Via de la Plata – a 1000-kilometer Camino route from Seville to Santiago. It’s also part of the network of ancient Roman roads vital to trade and troop movements in Spain.
- The city is knows as La Dorada (the Golden City) because of its sandstone buildings, which take on a golden hue at sunset.
- Salamanca is a UNESCO World Heritage City, recognized for its global importance and rich history (other cities that hold this honor include Florence, Jerusalem, Moscow, and Tokyo)
- White storks are a protected species in Spain, so you’ll find numerous large nests sitting undisturbed up on bell towers and other tall places they frequent.
Here’s just a few of the many photos I took during our walking tour.
The city had several stunning convents and churches to visit too. So, on our third day, Sean and I set out to explore Salamanca on our own – with a visit to the Convento de San Esteban and lunch.
While we were exploring the historic city, Angelique got an afternoon of much-needed peace and quiet, before cooking us a lovely dinner in the apartment I’d rented off the Plaza Mayor.
We talked until late in the evening before reluctantly calling it quits and saying goodbye. Our three days together in Salamanca felt like a whirlwind. But we all had early mornings planned the following day. I had tickets for the 7:30 am train to Madrid, and they were resuming their walk to Santiago.
