Three More Adventures

Over the past few days, I’ve visited Manzanares, El Parque Nacional Las Tablas de Daimiel, and Almagro. All three are along Quixote’s route. By the way, this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I had internet troubles for my last night in Daimiel. I'm in Toledo now with better internet connection. Toledo post comes this weekend!

Manzanares is another small, rural town in the La Mancha region of Spain. By the time I arrived, it was siesta time (it was 110 degrees Fahrenheit, so almost everyone seemed to be asleep) and the town was empty, just as El Toboso had been the day before. However, the people I did meet during my time there exhibited the typical Spanish hospitality which I’ve encountered in other towns. I wasn’t in Manzanares for too long because I had to time my arrival at Las Tablas de Daimiel just right in order to catch the sun before it set while avoiding the mosquitoes which abound during sunlight hours.

The Parador of Manzanares

The main theater in Manzanares!

El Parque Nacional Las Tablas de Daimiel is the smallest national park in Spain, on the outskirts of the town of Daimiel The terrain surrounding the park is similar to parts of California. The park is a wetland formed at the convergence of two rivers in an otherwise arid landscape and it’s known for its variety of birds. It was very serene and I arrived just at the right time: the sun was setting, the temperature had dropped into the 90’s and there was a flurry of activity among the wildlife before dusk set in.  I can see how Quixote passed through here while travelling from one village to another.

The Spanish countryside along Quixote's route

A cool looking bird...

...some more cool looking birds...

...and my favorite type of bird

Almagro is a larger town that has an authentic theater which was used for comedies in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. It’s a somewhat touristic town, but that didn’t detract from my experience there. The corral de comedias (the comedy theater) is open to the public for viewing and is also used for comedies every summer during the Almagro International Theater Festival. Since I’ve read some Spanish comedies, I decided to check it out. The building is three stories tall and painted a combination of brown and white. In the 16^th/17^th centuries, the higher up you sat, the “higher” your social status in society, When I visited, it was hot. So hot you’d think I dropped my mixtape there. Besides going to the theater, it was too hot to do anything else in Almagro.I arrived in the late morning and encountered quite a few locals at the Plaza Mayor. By 2pm all the shops were shuttered and everybody took their siestas between until 5pm. Almagro hosts an international theater festival in July with a variety of productions ranging from Shakespeare (directed by Tim Robbins) to Spanish language productions of both well-established as well as contemporary Spanish authors. The venues for these shows include the corral de comedias as well as the Teatro Municipal, the Parador de Almagro, and Patio de Fucares.

Almagro's main plaza

Stay tuned for more this weekend!