Friday, September 27, 2013

The original Don Quixote


Decided to give our muscles a break and stop a little early particularly since we knew of a very special alburgue that was an artists gallery.  They provided canvas and paints to any pilgrim who wished to indulge their artistic nature and the entire alburgue was filled with paintings that have been left behind. Unfortunately, Jerry decided not to contribute. The town has a beautifully preserved medieval bridge (13thc) which is noted for a jousting tournament in 1434 when a knight scorned by a beautiful lady (of course) threw down a gauntlet and undertook to defend the bridge.  He successfully defended the bridge for a month until he had broken 300 lances. He then traveled on to Santiago to offer thanks for his freedom from the bonds of love and that his honor had been restored.  They say this was the inspiration for Don Quixote and the town reenacts this event every year in full costume.

No comments:

Post a Comment