Pieces of History Along the Way

Many of you may not know our dear friends Martin and Linda Smith but to us they are like gold. They were the first couple we met at the beginning of our Space A travel life. They took us under their wing and from them we learned the intricacies  of Space A travel. To this day, we still call upon Martin to help us with any travel questions we may have and he always has an answer. I bring this up because today we walked alongside Medina del Campos. While this is not a popular tourist attraction there is an interesting piece of history I happen to know and I know this because of Martin and Linda Smith. It was at their suggestion that we read the book Iberia by James Michener before traveling to Spain. We did and this was the beginning of our love affair with this country with its rich history and lovely culture. Had we not read the book we might not have known about the significance of this small town north of Salamanca.

Medina del Campos is the place that Queen Isabella died. King Fernando and Queen Isabella ruled in the late fifteenth century and are still called beloved in this country. The overcame the Moorish rule and restored Catholicism which is still widely practiced and held sacred today.  But, there is no monument that marks this as the sight of the place where one of Europe's noblest queens died. Instead, it houses the penitentiary of this region. In a country that has a monument for nearly everything and everybody I found this to be interesting. Not as interesting as the rest of her story. It is a long one and I think I shall have you over to tell you of it in its entirety. Sometimes I am in awe of the history we are walking through.

We will walk through many small villages before we arrive in Zamora. As comfortable and familiar as  the small village life is to us is as exciting as it is for us to stop in places like Zamora and Salamanca. We hear Zamora is a beautiful place and are happy to explore this area. We are excited as we continue to live life in this way and all that we are learning along the way.

We think of you throughout the days. You are loved. Buen Camino.