Tourism in Spain: The Sierra de Francia, La Alberca, Las Batuecas, Salamanca

	As you cross the vast plains between Valladolid and Salamanca there is not the slightest hint that a landscape of breath-taking beauty is just over the horizon..
	However, once you get to Salamanca, if you turn towards portugal or towards the sierra, the fields of cereal change

into vast meadows where the holm oaks provide both shade and sustenance to the livestock:

This is the "Campo Charro": A paradise for the bulls and iberian pigs which the region is famed for.

We then enter the Sierra de Francia...

	and we travel back in time: The villages with their timber framework houses, their narrow streets, donkeys and mules drinking from the fountains on their way back from a hard day's work, the old ladies sitting around with their crochet, and embroidery, the fruit trees, the water...
	Water is everywhere and everything thrives because of this: Grapes, pears, apples, peaches, plums, figs and all types of vegetables. The water comes from mountain springs, and becomes torrents which flow down the steep slopes of the valley. Water springs from the Sierra...

The Sierra de Francia... A whole book would be required to do justice to its diversity and complexity.

To begin with its geographical complexity: From the Peña de Francia at 1723 metres to the river Alagón at 500, passing through hidden valleys and sheer mountains which make you feel tiny.
The diversity of climate and vegetation together with the unusual relief mean that the Sierra de Francia has many different faces within only a few kilometres. We might pass from a mediterranean climate on the low mountains, where brushwood is prevalent, to an atlantic climate with oaks, ashes and chestnut trees. This is where the vineyards and cherry orchards can be found, any further would be unwise because the possible freezing temperatures late in the season would put the ripening and collection of the fruit at risk.

Invasions, wars and religious persecution provide the explanations for the variety in the people, the customs ans the folklore of the sierra. The islamic, jewish and christian cultures have become fused through a strange alchemy which is reflected in the farming and irrigation techniques, in the architecture and urban development and in the unique character of the people. French origins can also be traced to the re-population of the region by groups of french, following the reconquest from the moors. This is the most probable explanation of the word France in so many of the place names (Sierra de Francia, Peña de Francia, Río Francia, Nava de Francia...) as well as the obviously french surnames such as Gascón (Gascogne) o Martín.

L a Alberca is the most well-known and touristic of the villages which have been declared historic-artistic monuments, however the others are no less authentic or beautiful for lack of this recognition. Miranda del Castañar, a fortified village around its castle, Mogarraz, with its mysterious religious inscriptions above the doors of its houses, San Martín del Castañar and the remains of its castle.... All of them are well-worth a visit.