A cold morning but thankfully no snow. For those on the Camino 100kms further north its been a tough 24 hours. Same place have received a couple of feet of snow. So for some of the people I met over the last few days I hope its not too difficult. I narrowly avert a minor crisi of my own making this morning. On leaving the accomodation I stopped in a supermarket to buy water and some snacks for the road, and promptly left my wallet behind in the shop on the top of a freezer. Fortunately I hadn't left town when I realised what I'd done and after a mad sprint up the street I found the wallet, untouched where I had left. I was a very lucky boy. Last night night I had withdrawn from an ATM a week's supply of cash...three hundred euro!!
The temperature was near freezing this morning on the road but there were blus skies above and the rising sun brought slowly took the chill off the breeze. What wind there was behind me which made the 40kms hop over flat table land into Valladolid a joy. A couple of hours later I was descending from the high plateau in to a wide flat valley in which sat the former royal capital. I followed the suburbs to the banks of the rio Pisuerga and crossed in to the old town which lies on the left bank. Arriving here I'm excited I'm within proximity of Francisco de Cuellar's homeland now, no more than a day's ride from Cuellar. However I plan on spending the next few days in Valladolid and a visit to the royal archives at Simancas not far from here. I'm hopeful of finding some documents connected with Francisco but I have no real grounds for my optimism. Apart from the letter he wrote no other documents have been uncovered that throw any light on his life after the Armada. References have been made to the fact that he served in south America c.1583 and that he was involved in a battle with English galleons off the coast of Brazil. No full account has been so far been uncovered of this episode in his life other than that he was court-martialed for conduct unbecoming after the encounter with the English. Not a very heroic intro to the likely character of this unlikely 'hero' I've tried to find for the past couple of months.
First of all, however I have to discover how to reach the archive in Simancas and, before that I have to find some accomodation in this city. After the first pension I tried claimed to be full I had more luck with the second adress. I haggled for the cheapest room available and was given a single bed room for 18 euro. There was a shared bathroom with a bath in the corridor and as every other room was en suite it was for my use only. Happy days!
After settling myself into the room I had a look around town and made for the local tourist to find out how I could get myself into the Simancas archive. The advisor gave me an appropriate timetable and directions to the city bus station but said that I would have to make an appointment in advance to use the archive. I decided not to bother trying to make an appointment in favour of taking a chance that I wouldn't be turned away on arrival. I went down to the bus station and found out relevant timetables and platforms for the bus to Simancas. Once all that business was sorted out I had another wander around town.
On first impressions Valladolid was a really nice city, attractive and easy to get around. The heart of the city today, lies along the Calle Santiago between the Plaza Mayor and the Campo Grande, a public park in the centre which, during the medieval era, marked the ceremonial entrance to the city for the Kings of Spain. The pension where I was staying lay a couple of blocks to the north, in the heart of the old town just off the plaza los Arces, a small plaza close to the old royal palace. In the Plaza Mayor this evening workmen began erecting Christmas decorations and novelty rides for the kids. Thoughts of Christmas suddenly made it feel very late in the year. Until now I had been preoccupied soley with thoughts of this journey and reaching Cuellar so I hadn't considered Christmas or where I wanted to be for the New Year. But the sight of Christmas decorations in the shops and along the streets around the city made me realise I'd have to decide over the next few weeks where I wanted to be for Christmas. Eager to be fresh for the morning trip to the Simancas archive I had an early night.
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