CUENCA

Who Did This?

Over the Easter holidays four of us took a little drive from Valencia to Cuenca City. It was the realisation of a long held promise by Pepe to give us a guided tour of the city in which he grew up and came to know so well. He made this promise ten years ago, and finally we got to make the journey.

The city itself is an important centre of commerce with about 50,000 residents. It seems to be fairly well laid out and quite modern. Pepe had not been in the city for a long enough period to notice that there had been many changes. To begin with, he first visited the hotel in which we lodged when he was nine years old. He recalled going there to visit when it was a Convent, trembling with fear that was appropriate for the nuns.

It is now a Parador, a state-owned and run hotel that has a commanding view over the great Gorge. It retains vestiges of its religious past, including the confessional that now houses a telephone in each recess. I tried to convince Pepe that modern technology allowed for him to place a direct call to El Jefe, instead of having to go through someone here on earth. He was not amused.

The principal reason why there were several busloads of Japanese tourists there was to see the Hanging Houses, (Las Casas Colgadas). In my opinion, we go there to celebrate this bit of utter lunacy. While there are only three houses that have been built in this manner, the entire Gorge is lined with other buildings that are close to the edge, but far enough back to be reasonable. If the ground ever moves in that area the famous three houses will be history.

So we, like the Japanese went for the same reason, and to add to that bit of folly we dared to have lunch in the building that is the restaurant. Many jokes were made about whether we should start with dessert, just in case the meal didn’t last all the way through to that point.

I can hear in my head the builders who put it all together standing back when it was finished and musing “I wonder how long the houses will stay there?” Well, apparently a very long time. The historical blurb states that it is not known who the architect/culprit responsible was, although it seems to have Moorish origins. The buildings date back to about the 14th-15th centuries and are now used partly by the Museum of Abstract Art, (Las Casas del Rey), and the restaurant (La Casa de la Sirena). Although I am being a little critical I nonetheless recommend you should visit as you won’t believe your eyes.

As you are in the Province of Cuenca there are a couple of other things that are worthy of your time and interest. One is to pay a visit to the birthplace of the River Cuervo. (El Nacimiento del Rio Cuervo). If you’re like me, from a country that has no rivers or lakes, to be in the presence of such a great river is a real treat. It begins in the normal manner of water flooding out from underground, but this river then immediately falls from a great height before going on its way, a very impressive start to a journey that will impact so heavily upon so many regions and people. We were there as the snow was melting and that added to the authenticity.

I reserve my greatest plaudits for something so incredible as to be practically beyond belief. I’m talking about El Ciudad de Encantada, The Enchanted City. Apparently, many moons ago, in spite of the high elevation this area was under water, and the wash of the water worn down the rocks forming many extraordinary natural shapes. You do have to have an imagination, but it doesn’t have to be that good for you to be able to see all manner of replications of animals and ships and this and that. It is truly astounding for the fact that it is all-natural. In this it is sort of a Disney World type of experience except that man has not had any hand in its design and making.

The amazing thing to me on top of everything else was that Pepe reflected on the many visits that he made as a young child, and again with his family when it was not a tourist point of interest, and the fact that they climbed all over areas that are now practically sacred.

How cool is that?

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

The Surprise at the End of the Road

The Different Personalities of a Roadway

I’m sure that at one time or another you have travelled most of the length of a particular road, but I believe that there are very few people who have actually gone end-to-end on any road. I just wondered how things might turn out for you if you did. I recently got to drive a distance farther than I have ever done before along the CV-35, otherwise known as the Pista de Ademuz in Valencia.

This is a roadway that I travel in part most days. I usually enter it at about kilometre 27 or 24 and I go in the direction towards Valencia City, so I’m counting down to zero. This section of the road has been upgraded and is now a first class Autovia with three and sometimes four lanes in the same direction. All of the bottlenecks that have caused us so much pain have been deleted, and it is now a real joy.

With a little imagination we can see the highway as something that has character. With this particular roadway it has a big, bold, brass, city-slicker personality the closer we get to downtown Valencia. It keeps up this façade until we pass La Pobla del Valbona. At that time a bit of its bravado slips and we go from three lanes to two in the same direction. Now, gone are the brassy Centro Comerciales with all their bright lights. We are evidently entering The Country side of life. Farms actually become noticeable, and we can feel a sigh escape us as we sense less claustrophobia. The condition of the road remains very good as we pass Lliria, the seat of the government in the east.

Soon there will be a major hospital located in this region to serve residents, who have had to make the journey all the way into Valencia to attend at a major centre.

We continue along a straight two-lane very excellent road that some people mistake for a racetrack. This is real country now with wide-open spaces on both sides of the road. We pass Domeño and head for the town of Casinos. The road previously ran right through the town. Now it by-passes Casinos altogether. We wonder how much of a loss that might be for the merchants.

Now the road is down to one lane in each direction, although the road is in excellent condition. For the remainder of the CV-35 we will have to be content with no more than that. However, it’s the state of those two lanes that are the subject of concern. The road will take us through Losa del Obispo, Calles, Chelva, Tuéjar, Titaguas, Aras del Olmas, all of which are within the Communidad de Valencia. The road, although it degrades, is still reasonably good up until kilometre 90. Then it degrades further into not much more than a country cami, the sort of roadway that existed and served the Seat 600 so long ago. There are curves upon curves, and two cars of today’s sizes can barely pass without knocking off mirrors.

The CV-35 ends at kilometre 107. That’s where we pass out of the Valencian community until we re-enter at Ademuz. At km 107 we can hardly believe that this is a part of the bold and sassy CV-35 we know from farther down the line.

When we think back and reflect upon all the complaints we had because we were delayed for a few moments, and we compare that with conditions at the end of the line, we realise we didn’t have anything to complain about after all.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

Underground Parking Lots

Underground Parking Lots
The entrance into Hell?

I came upon an underground parking lot in Valencia with which I have no complaints at all. The drive in is wide and comfortable to manoeuvre; the bays are wide enough to park even a large car with room enough to open the doors; and getting out again can be done without leaving your paintwork along the sides of the walls. This is a new site and truly an exception in an otherwise hellish experience offered to drivers.

To begin with such places are usually under lit, giving the impression that you have ventured down into the depths of hell. Often just paying for your stay can be frustrating. I have been into a few that make it a challenge to get a Volvo five-seater car into without scratching or denting the vehicle. The smog bastards who run these places simply say it’s not their fault if you damage your car. It certainly is their fault!

I recently was leaving a department store and I could not find where to pay for my ticket. There are several exits from the store into the parking garage, but only one in which the machines are located. There is not one sign that directs drivers to that place, consequently so much time is wasted (and paid for) while trying to pay. Then, the exits involve very tight turns so that unless you are driving anything other than a Smart Car you will have to be very careful indeed. There is ample evidence of people who were not careful enough.

As if all that were not enough to bring on Parking Garage rage, there’s the cost involved. This seems to be one recession-proof industry as costs continue on an upward spiral.

That’s why you need to know that the Agua Shopping Mall in Valencia that is located alongside the Arts and Science Museum offers shoppers three hours free parking; and the Mercado Fuencarril, located along the old river bed at the base of Avda Campoamour offers two hours free in garages that are fairly well appointed and well lit.

Better still, leave the car on the outskirts of the city and travel in on public transport.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

My Mechanic and Me

Of one thing I’m certain: it’s a man thing. It’s amazing how we can value our motor mechanic relationship higher than the one with our doctor. In both cases finding just the relationship that works is very difficult. So many of us prize our cars and we want someone who is knowledgeable and sympathetic to care for our pride and joy.

How ridiculous can our obsession get? I once had a Volkswagon Scirroco that I prized to the extreme. Each evening when I got home I would give it a wipe over, put it in the garage, then cover it. How dopey is that? It’s a car! It’s a utility that gets me from A to B and back again. It will get dirty and scratched and pranged and dented, and worse. That is the nature of the game. But, there I was treating it as though it were a live thing, with the greatest of Tender Loving Care. Women can only wish that we men take the same degree of care and attention with them. Like I said, it’s a silly man thing.

Like so many things, there comes a time when we have to trust to others to take care of business, and so it was when my car came to a full stop suffering from a broken hose spilling a lot of boiling hot water into the street. I did the natural thing by calling a grua, (tow-truck) to pick it up and take it to my trusted garage. I called them to say what had happened, fully expecting that as they were the authorised dealer they would figure out where the break had taken place, and to fix it. Wrong! Big mistake! A 700 euro mistake, as it turned out.

They put the water system under pressure but no water appeared to escape, so they changed the radiator and a pump, as being the most likely culprits. I drove the car away only to find that it was having the same problem I went in with. Back it went to have the problem taken care of, but now we have a new problem. I have paid a bill for 700 euros (910 dollars) for things that I did not need at the time to be changed. Granted, a new radiator and pump would add life to my old car, and if I actually had that much money that I would not miss, there would not have been a problem. But, in these days, or even in the good old times, a 700 euro mistake is a big one.

I take my car to an authorised dealer because they are supposed to have the equipment and the experience to avoid guessing. I can get guessing at a much less cost. My mechanic guessed and got it completely wrong, at my cost. Now that the parts are on the car, would it have been reasonable to ask that they be removed and the original be put back, assuming that the originals were available? Probably not!

Well, now we know that the leak was coming from the heating element and water went everywhere when it was hot. When the water was cold it simply went inside my car where it went undetected under my carpets. Could this really have been the first time something like that had occurred? If it should ever happen to me again I will be sure to check that possibility out.

When your doctor lets you down and you die, that’s just one of those things. When your mechanic lets you down and you lose your faith, that’s the end of the world!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael