Portugal River Cruise May 2019: Saturday, May 11, 2019: Day 7: Salamanca, Spain

This morning we are docked just inside of Portugal. Crossing the nearby bridge will bring us into Spain. The plan for this full day excursion is to dive about 2.5 hours to Salamanca, Spain. Along the way, we stopped at a coffee cafe for a pit stop. This area is known for their Iberian ham. Legs of ham were everywhere.

We also saw a lot of stork nests along the way, more in Salamanca itself. They are in their nests for the Spring hatching. We could see the heads of chicks occasionally. The Storks are migratory, but they return to the same next each year for breeding. They are also monogamous.

Salamanca was founded by a Celtic tribe before the arrival of the Romans. It is home to one of Europe's oldest universities, founded in 1134. Our plan is to be dropped off at the main square, walk across to the Market for a quick visit and snack before being set free to explore the city on our own for a few hours BEFORE we start an actual tour of the city. This reversal of the normal sequence of events is due to timing. If we did the tour first and then had free time, most of the shops would be closed during our free time due to the normal afternoon siesta. We were also told that we would have a professional local tour guide and would not be entering any structures. So, if we wanted to see inside a building, to go ahead and do that during our free time, before the tour. We were set free about 11:00 am and told to reunite in the main square at 2:00 pm for the tour.

Monk Fish

Carve your own prosciutto

No parts of the pig are discarded

We got a quick course in the color coding of the hams. The black labeled hams are the best (and most expensive), being raised on acorns and free ranged. The yellow labels are the next best with the white labels the generic.

Almost 500 Euros for a leg of black label

Gooseneck Barnacles like we had while walking the Camino last year

About 20 Euros/pound

At the main square, they were having a book festival so there were many tents set up which made viewing the square itself difficult.

During our free time, Stephen and I found the House of Shells. We went inside and looked around. It now is a library. Nice courtyard, but not all that interesting otherwise. It was the outside that was interesting, and the reason it was called the House of Shells.

House of Shells

We never did determine what the following building was.

Passed a modern art sculpture on the way toward the Cathedral.

One of the more impressive buildings we wandered into was St. Stephen Monastery. It was 3.50 Euros each to enter, but it was well worth it. We wondered through the cloister, then into the church and finally a small museum of mainly 16th century artifacts.

http://www.saintstephenspriory.com/

Cloister Stork

King's Cloister

De Soto's Staircase

The church was awe inspiring. We started up in the Choir before we learned how to access the main floor...through a door label "Do Not Enter".

Huge book stand

Church ceiling

The proportions were breathtaking from the Choir

No need for eye glasses

We both took some pictures of the apothecary display in the museum before we noticed a sign saying "No Photos".

Once we found the door labeled "Do Not Enter", we were able to access the main floor of the church.

Ceiling

We both lit a candle, mine was for Terri.

Next we were off to find the Cathedrals. There are two, side by side. The first (old) was built in the 12th century and is relatively small. The second (new) was built in the 16th century to replace the smaller one. But it took 200+ years to complete the larger building and they decided to keep both.

New Cathedral

They were actually having a wedding in the old cathedral. We did not wait to be served cake.

We hurried off to the main square and got there with about 30 minutes to spare. Stephen suggested a bowl of ice cream. A great idea as it was a warm day.