We head off the road in the direction of the Embalse de Ricobayo but don't seem to be able to get anywhere near it - our luck has failed. We do come across the exraordinary sight of an abandoned urban development: neatly laid out roads and tar-mac driveways, all leading to barren plots, overgrown with the wild dreams and withered hopes of a lakeside idyll - the lake having shrunk to a now-distant pond. According to our Tom Tom we have driven across several fields before we reach a small village - clearly a local village for local people... There is one bar, but it's closed, and about as much life as Wood Street on a Monday night. Probably just as well, given (a) our earlier promise to restrain ourselves today and (b) the hostile looks of the local lurking lads - not well travelled, and perhaps not well travelled for several generations.
Heading out of the village again we find a clearing by the road, if only there was a litle shade it would be the perfect picnic spot. Our thirst has been tickled by the sight of a closed bar, so we decide to make do with the raised boot of the car and a couple of towels for shade. Our lunch is superb. Take the above listed ingredients, add a little wild thyme, eat. We've said it before, but we'll say it again - simple is, undeniably, best.
We reach León in the late afternoon and find our good luck restored with the hotel. Firstly, the grandly named Luis de León is bang opposite El Corte Ingles - the John Lewis of Spain - which has a 50% off sale. (Shareen has missed a bit of shopping and the food hall is always worth a serious browse.) Secondly, we are awarded an upgrade to an "executive room" - bigger and more comfortable and with a "pillow menu" no less! When we booked this the day before, we had had a discussion about whether we should pay the extra €30 for a better room as we were going to stay 2 nights and wanted to unpack and settle in a bit, but had decided to spend the difference on dinner instead... Ha! So now we could have our cake and eat it (or any pillows from the menu) and all for €60.León's magnificent cathedral (above) is currently being restored and we spent a fascinating half hour watching as some skilled and brave stone masons/antique restoration experts carefully removed a statue from a plinth on the front of the building, wrapped it up and took it away for repair.
That evening, we are on the search for a small bar we visited (several times) two years ago, when we passed through León on the Camino de Santiago, the old pilgrim route which runs through the town on its trail from the south of France to the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela. León is not only at the crossing point of this roue and the Ruta del Plata, which we have been following south to north, it is also at the centre of the universe of embutidos. The bar we were looking for made its own cecina - cured beef - as well as a range of rich and dark cured sausages and salamis of other kinds. After our deliberately light lunch we felt ready for a litle meaty snack... sadly when we eventually found what we thought might have been the place we remembered, it was closed.
León was, in fact, the first place where we had really been struck by how hard the global recession has hit Spain. We found many bars and restaurants closed, and not just for the holidays, and those that were open quieter than usual. Although Spain's banks have remained strong (historically very tight regulation resulting in them having been required to maintain far higher reserves than many other countries,) the country is now bracing itself for up to 20% unemployment by next year - much of this due to a dramatic drop in tourism. We read in our Rough Guide that, although the population of Spain is only around 46 million, (including almost 1 million ex-pat Brits) they welcome over 60 million visitors a year from all over the world. Maybe some of us are guilty of thinking of Spain as a slightly backward country with an overdeveloped holiday coastline, but, other than Columbus sailing the ocean blue, our standard UK history lessons didn't teach us a lot about the heyday of Iberian imperialism, when the conquistadores of Spain and Portugal between them dominated both sides of the Atlantic, parts of India and the far east as well. (As an Irishwoman, imperialism is bread and butter to Shareen...) Anyway, the fatal combination of the weak pound (buys about 30% less in euros than a year ago) and rising unemployment abroad, has hit the tourist industry hard and is expected to hit even harder. So if our story hasn't tempted you so far - perhaps this will encourage you to do your bit for Spain and pay it a visit this year!
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