Plank Road: La Vera

We drove back to the La Vera area for the walk we could not go on yesterday. As we watched, the clouds lifted from the Sierra de Gredos prior to our arrival, it proved to be a great day for a walk. The walk started just outside the small historical village of Garganta La Olla. In this area, garganta means ‘torrent’ or ‘pass between mountains’ while olla means pot; the river runs through the village and the village is located in a setting that is surrounded by treed mountains.

Overlooking the village of Garganta La Olla is Serrana de la Vera, or Mountain Woman of la Vera, along with a sign board in Spanish which tells of her legend. In the middle ages, after a dispute regarding marriage, she fled into the mountains. She was armed with weapons and would seduce men, then kill them and leave their bones in her cave. Interestingly, the village celebrates a Serrana day.

After having a look at the striking statue of Serrana de la Vera, we started out on our walk over the hills to the Yuste Monastery. The Yuste Monastery is where Charles V wanted to live out the last years of his life. He was unwell; therefore, he gave up his reign and travelled to the La Vera, but prior to residing at Yuste, he travelled to Jarandilla de la Vera to stay in the castle while the monks in Yuste prepared for his arrival. He was carried over the mountains to live in Yuste and died there within a couple of years. The two journeys are celebrated annually with walks in which thousands of people attend.

As we don’t have much of an interest in monasteries, we just had a look into the garden and then sat on a bench and had a bit of our lunch with the view of the monastery before us. It is located in a very picturesque setting.

Just down the road from the monastery is a German war cemetery with soldiers who fell in Spain during both world wars. The cemetery is in a lovely area with olive trees and is well cared for. We then continued on our route back to Garganta La Olla.

The La Vera area is known for the production of paprika, they also have numerous cherry orchards and raspberry patches which are grown under plastic tunnels. The gorgeous cherry trees are just beginning to bloom.

When we trudged up into the village, we dropped into the plaza and had a café con leche. Then we dropped into a shop, a very rare event for us, and picked up some smoked paprika.

The village has ancient 17th and 18th century houses, with the upper levels cantilevered over the very narrow streets, this gives the village an interesting aspect which we have not seen prior to this.

We carried on up to where the car was parked but stopped in at a nice spot on the rocks to sit by the river to eat the remainder of our lunch, while watching the water come down some small falls. The water has worn small pools in the rocks, and the locals frequent this area in the summer for a swim. After getting back to the car we drove through a few more of the small villages then headed back to Trujillo, passing through a few rain showers on the way.

Serrana de la Vera