Cuenca - a cliffhanger!

Saturday 15 March
Hola de Cuenca, or should I say the old part of Cuenca, a beautiful medieval village on a hilltop between two gorges which separate the Rios Júcar and Huécar.  Set in the vast Castilla-La Mancha region just a couple of hours from Madrid it is, like Segovia, another world.  Cuenca is also a UNESCO world heritage site because of its dramatic casa colgadas (hanging houses).

From the bus station it is about a 30 minute walk - uphill! - so we took a loop line bus to the Mirador (viewing point) for vistas of this spectacular valley - and that's before you spot the casas colgadas.  Not many people live in the old town but enough to warrant a regular bus service up the hill from the new town below.  I can't imagine what a winter would be like up there... not for the feint hearted! We spent quite some time at the Mirador and the ridge marvelling at the big country:

The Grand Canyon?

The ultimate Big Country shot!

 

This rock formation reminded me of E.T.!

It was a beautiful, dry and hot day - 25+ degrees - so we took the slightly shaded gorge-side path until we reached Puente de San Pablo, an iron bridge footbridge over the gorge for closer views of the casas colgadas.

Path down from Mirador to Casas Colgadas

The casas were built in the 14thC and share some features with later British properties of the 1800s - internal and external timber beams, etc, which in some ways put me in mind of Dickens' Ye Olde Curiorisity Shoppe - but then I've always had a furtive imagination!

Casas Colgadas - slightly left of centre

And after a long walk it was time for nourishment at the fabulous El Secreto - a ravine-side restaurant which, itself, slightly overhangs the cliffs.  Cuenca - like most of Castilla - loves its roasted meats - and we'd worked up an appetite for the house speciality which is venison.  Mick chose the venison burgers - no bun here! - just three patés served with tasty crushed, garlic potatoes; I had the venison fillet in a red berry juice which was 'melt in the mouth' delicious!  We had a nice green salad with it and in no time the plates were clean!  We'd recommend the ever popular El Secreto to anyone who likes delicious, quality food with friendly service - ticks all our boxes!

The busy front of house @ El Secreto

And after a relaxed lunch it was time to waddle off to the bus station - about a 20 minute walk - downhill!  Our bus journey home was entertaining - the driver played an '80s music compilation which, after the dross which is Spanish pop radio, was a breath of fresh air and the soundtrack to my adolescence - I had a great trip down memory lane!

So, that sums up our day trip to Cuenca which we'd highly recommend - and so close to Madrid.  So, until the next post which will be from San Sebastian - ¡hasta pronto!