Day 35 - Cuenca and the River Jucar

 Wake quite early to the sound of the river beside us and not much else… it’s really peaceful considering how many vans are here. No rude awakening so looks like the rumours about change of conditions were false.

Quick breakfast then the walk into old Cuenca. It starts off very gently with a riverside path but then becomes a huge staircase over the waterfall and up to the town. 

Having emerged through a tunnel and onto a road it’s apparent the climb doesn’t finish there. At the Placa Major we pause for a bit to pick up a map from the tourist information office and admire the beast of a cathedral that is the main presence in the old town centre. 

Our first stop is the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art at Casa Colgadas (free entry) which is one of the famous ‘hanging houses. If this was the only thing we’d seen today it would have felt like a worthwhile stop. Notwithstanding the art itself the building is absolutely beautiful. The Foundation has created stunning spaces that are perfect for the building and the art in it. Aside from the restoration of the oldest parts of the house the rest is clean and white with windows looking down the gorge and framing beautiful scenery. I loved the work by Fernando Zobel, someone I’d not heard of before and whose work forms the main part of the collection, but there was also a lot of other interesting work, generally feeling very mid century and very Spanish.

If they ever open up the top floor room as an Airbnb I’m in! 

Back to the square for a quick ice cream And then back to the climb uphill for the other modern art gallery. 

There is effectively one ‘main road’ through the town. It’s not much wider than a car but that doesn’t stop the bus hammering up and down in saving tourists the walk and causing us to periodically jump out of its way. 

I’m glad we did the galleries in this order as the Antonio Perez Foundation ( free entry) is something of a contrast. A personal collection and one which doesn’t appear cohesive and the galleries are so rammed with pieces that it’s hard to appreciate any of them. A fine example of the need for museum curators…half of the collection displayed well would have made for a much better experience. 

Our visit was cut short by visiting hours but I’m not sure how much more my brain could have processed. 

As this visit had taken us closer to the top of town we continued up to the mirador at the top where the views back of the hanging houses and the gorge itself were incredible. 

Finally we got to walk downhill! Until we got to the old castle … a ruin of a entrance at least but steps up so up we went!

 

Great views of both the rivers that converge here … and great views back to the park up, though our little van is impossible to see tucked between the big boys! 

A bit further down and we decided to pop into the Iglesias de San Pedro (€2.50). We are getting a bit ‘churched out’ if I’m honest but there’s the promise of s mudejar dome (which is lovely) and you can climb the bell tower ( yes more climbing!). 

The tower is a bit different in that it’s pretty tiny for one with tourist access- the same diameter as the small spiral staircase to get to the top. At the top there not really any standing room but great views past the bells out to the town and surrounding countryside. G enjoyed studying the automatic ringing system and I tried not to have a panic attack. 

Then it’s out to cross the Punte de San Pablo and get the famous hanging house view. It’s a great view though not really any better than we got from the top of the hill. 

However, the bridge itself was an achievement for me, not long calmed down from the bell tower and crossing a ridiculously high footbridge without passing out is my proud bit of the day!

Further down the hill we ran into an English couple we’d seen when parking up last night and exchanged some ‘best bits’ we’ve had some good information like this and it’s rare to see anyone ‘wandering’ like we are, so nice to chat about our best bits.

Back in the main square ‘kitchen closed’ so too late for lunch so we have a coffee and enjoy the sunshine. At this point it’s hard to decide whether to overnight here or move on. Backs are too tired to do any more museums so we head to the Torre de Mangana an Arabic tower that sits on a new built ‘park’ not far from the main square. But no option to climb it so we sit in the sun for a bit, look at the excavation sites and decide we fancy having an evening in the countryside. 

Back at the van the carpark is busier than we left it and we have new neighbours, one of whom is parked a little too close  cementing our decision to move on. 

Not entirely sure where… we are aiming to get Segovia and the Rioja region in before our return but only need a tiny step tonight so head to a wild camp spot by the river near Villalba which we give us some walking options tomorrow.

The road is lovely and follows the river Jucar, the river is running really fast atm and we stop a couple of times to take pictures before we find our spot. 

Our stop for the night is just off a rural road down a short track and right beside the river. We’ve just set up and start cooking and we hear our first cuckoo… g convinced that the prints in the mud outside are a wild boar … time will tell!

Mileage so far: 1962

Steps today: 14,877 ( none of them on the flat!) 

Overnight: wild camp beside the Jucar river just short of Villalba, free