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