Our bus to Salamanca wasn't until early afternoon so we were able to do some more sightseeing. Our first destination was the aqueduct, to see it in daylight. We walked the back streets to get there, and as is typical in these old city centres with their narrow streets running in all directions, almost every time you turn a corner there is a little plaza and another interesting old building to marvel at. It was good to see the aqueduct in good light and the shadows on the other side formed an interesting pattern. After returning to the hotel to check out by noon, we left our bags and went for another wander around the back streets, this time walking along the northern section of the old city wall, which we had completely to ourselves.
We returned to the Plaza Mayor (not Major as I have previously written) to buy some food for the trip and to have a few drinks - it was over 33° by this time. While we were sitting in the square with our drinks we observed that preparations were underway for something at the grandstand in the middle. We soon noticed too that there were an unusually large number of different types of police in attendance - Joan counted over a dozen (usually not more than one or two). The reason for this vigilance soon became clear as we heard music coming from one of the side streets. Going over to find out more, I saw that it was a demonstration of some kind, probably by agricultural workers protesting that they didn't cause the world economic crisis. They made their way around the square and were addressed by their leaders.
As we made our way into the hotel to retrieve our luggage, when there was an almighty bang in the square - a huge firecracker, thank goodness. While sitting in the square we had become concerned by the lack of taxis at the rank in one corner - we had always seen some there, and this was our intended way of getting to the bus station. After waiting ten minutes or so, the more nervous (or foresightful) of was about to go the hotel to ask them to call for one. Instead, I approached one of the senior policemen and asked why there were no taxis. From his response I gleaned that they had caused this to avoid problems in the streets the taxis would otherwise use. Joan was about to go to the hotel when he stopped her and motioned her to wait. He then proceeded to make arrangements on his radio for a taxi to come and get us. I heard him make reference to signores mayores (senior citizens!) to help expedite the request. What great service! What great memories we have of the helpful people in Segovia.
The bus trip was a sort of all-stopper ranging over rolling farmland and stopping to drop off passengers in quite small places. I was a little annoyed as our road ran parallel to motorways for much of the distance which of course would have been considerably faster. The slow road has its charm too though. For most of the journey the route ran along the range of mountains we had seen in Segovia and there was still quite a lot of snow in the upper elevations. This has been a great surprise to us as we had never perceived Spain, especially the lower half, to have landscapes with snow.
As we took a taxi from the bus station in Salamanca, we noticed black ribbons on the radio antennae of all the cabs. I tried to enquire of the driver why this was so, and he explained in great detail the murder of one of his colleague two days earlier, confirming the story we had heard in Segovia. We expressed our sympathy, which we think he appreciated, as he rounded the fare down to the nearest Euro.
After checking in at the hotel, directly around the corner from the Plaza Mayor (again), we did a reconnoiter walk to familiarize ourselves with the city layout. Salamanca is much bigger than Segovia and the old town has a wealth of large old buildings. The standouts are the old/new cathedral combo, the university buildings (that look like churches) and the Plaza Mayor, which is particularly striking lit up at night.
Having previously had success with the LP's eating recommendation, we tried our luck again and were delighted to have a good three course meal with bread and wine for €10 each. This is more like it!
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