El Escorial

The time to see the capital was approaching! The drive to our next site looped south towards Madrid and westwards in the direction of Salamanca. We left the Sierra Norte mountain range behind us and saw the sprawl of tall buildings ahead of us. As we drove around the peripheries of the city, a large dramatic cross appeared in the foothills of Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains ahead of us; it was the cross that looms over the Valle de los Caidos, not far from the El Escorial site that we were staying at.

 

El Escorial is large site accommodating 1068 pitches. At this time of year, very few are taken but the flow increases at the weekend as international visitors are joined by those escaping the capital for a break. Hard standing pitches (a mixture of gravel and grass) sit side by side in blocks, separated by trees. A large toilet blocks sits in the centre and has innumerable toilets and showers. Facilities for washing clothes and dishes are also located in the same central block. 

 

The site offers lots of great sporting facilities, including a football pitch (on which we played a few games), skate-park, playground, basketball courts, squash courts and a volleyball pitch. For younger children there is also an indoor soft play area, but this is only open in high season or for parties. There is a supermarket on site, selling fresh bread and a wide selection of other goods and a cafeteria / restaurant / bar next door, that offers food throughout the day, but is only open at the weekend during the low season.

 

Being in the countryside meant that we were close to nature and lots of birds. Tits and sparrows flocked around the pitches while blackbirds and magpies hopped around nearby. There was also a resident woodpecker, storks flying overhead and owls are nights. Owls weren't the only sound that we heard when the sun had set. As soon as darkness descended each night we were entertained by a cacophony of crickets and frogs.

 

Travelling into Madrid is easy from the site. A regular bus travels from El Escorial, stopping at the end of the lane leading to the campsite (a short 10 minute walk). A one way fare costs 4 Euros 20 and it takes about 45 minutes. The final stop is Moncloa from which you can then get the Metro into the centre of Madrid. As with other cities, it is cheaper to buy a booklet of 10 rather than individual trips. We caught la ligna 3 to Puerta del Sol, where we began our tour of Madrid. We emerged from the underground and were immediately greeted by all the street artists. Many statuesque figures stood patiently waiting for passers-by to stop and donate money while others, dressed as various well-known characters accosted you on the street for a photograph in exchange for money.

 

There is so much to see in Madrid and a day is never enough. Rather than spend most of the day in a museum, we wanted to soak up as much as possible so after collecting a map and walking route from the Tourist Information Office in the Plaza Mayor we took to the streets to see as many sights as we could. Our route took us to the Puerta de Alcala, Parque de El Retiro, Real Jardin Botanico, past the Prado museum, and back to the Palacio and Plaza de Oriente. We spent the most time in the Parque de El Retiro, an enormous green space in the middle of the city. It is popular with joggers throughout the day and tourists flock to the boating lake to hire rowing boats. At the weekend a puppet theatre presents shows to the public. In the centre there is a Crystal Palace, a much smaller version of what must have once been in the Crystal Palace park in London. Unlike London it sat beside a large pond that was the home to dozens of terrapins. Ducks and pigeons wandered around the perimeter of pond while green perroqueets flew over head. 

 

We were hoping to see some Flamenco dancing when in Spain and thought Madrid might offer the best opportunity since we weren't heading to the south, the birth place of this famous dancing. There are many establishments offering Flamenco shows in Madrid but they are aimed at tourists and are very expensive. Some include a meal or a drink with the ticket and all were in the evening. We decided not to splash out this time. Maybe we can return to Spain another time and venture further south to witness Flamenco.

 

El Escorial site is situated amongst a wonderful selection of historic sites. Unfortunately, it is not easy to access them by bike or foot. In the nearby town of San Lorenzo de el Escorial is a monastery which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is an impressively large building, once the largest in the world.an contains 14km of corridors in total. The building was built to commemorate the Spanish victory over the French at the Battle of Saint Quentin and took 21 years to build, from 1563 to 1584. The monastery is made of granite and the interior was decorate by many famous Italian artists. There are about 1600 paintings and over 500 frescoes in the walls and ceilings. 

It is possible to pay for tickets to enter the building and appreciate the sights inside or you can wander around the gardens and nearby park (with museum).

 

If we had had more time, we would probably have ventured to other nearby locations such the Valmayor reservoir, la Valle de los Caidos and the pictureque towns of Avila and Segovia.

 

@meekroadventure