My wife and I traveled in La Mancha for a couple of weeks this past winter. While in the area around Calzada de Calatrava, we encountered the thickest fog I've ever experienced. We made our way carefully to the Holy Convent of Calatrava Nueva climbing out of the fog. On top of the hill, it was a beautiful sunny day and we watched the fog wax and wane in the valley below. It streched as far as the eye could see. We then decended back into the fog and carefully made our way to a casa rural near Villanueva de San Carlos. Visibility was less than 8 feet in the fog. Driving was crazy! Even walking was strange--buildings would miraculously appear only feet in front of you! It was one of the strangest experiences in all my travels. We asked our hosts, an elderly couple, about the fog and they said it was that way all winter. They also said that it was that way all over La Mancha. We didn't experience it anywhere else in La Mancha so we don't know if we misunderstood what they said, or if they were wrong or exagerating.
Anyway,,,I was hoping that someone out there would have some more information on it. Anyone ever run into it? Is it true it's that way all winter? I couldn't imagine living in it! if so, what causes it?

oh my gosh..I know exactly what you're talking about! I spent 5 months on Alcazar de San Juan and the fog is incredibly thick during the winter months there. I've actually injured myself walking straight into sign posts and mailboxes.

Leche

pretty cool stuff! i was driving from murcia to madrid last november and i remember after passing garcimunoz, toward madrid, was when the wall of fog hit. i have never seen anything like it! it was a thrilling drive. not knowing what was in the road ahead made me utiltze my keen sense of smell to press on toward madrid. i made it, finally. but i almost rear-ended a citroen jumper or a galloper or twingo.

Speaking of Fog: Try the Pyrenees around Roncesvalles in March...at 10:00 at night. Driving up the switchbacks in rented Renault was quite the adventure. Apparently this sort of pea soup is common in the cooler mountain valleys. As I've been studying and preparing for my trip on the Way of St. James, I've seen incredible pictures of fog like the sort you've described at a place called O Cebreiro in Galicia. We get some marine layer fog in Southern California, but nothing like that!

I've been several times to Calzada de Calatrava (Ciudad Real). My uncle leaves there and my father's home town is only 30 kilometers from there.

Did you know that Calzada de Calatrava is also Pedro Almodovar's home town?. There is even a park dedicated to him and his mother would live in Calzada until she passed away one year ago.

Another curiosity of this village is that it has the factory of the popular glue brand "Imedio" (now owned by a Dutch company).

If you happen to go to Calzada, don't forget to buy some queso manchego (cheese from "La Mancha") which is made with sheep milk only.

From Calzada you can visit also Valdepeñas (popular for its wine) and Almagro. Almagro has an old "Corral de comedias" (theatre) in which the Festival de Teatro de Almagro takes place every year, the well-known "berenjenas de Almagro" (Almagro's eggplants) and the "encaje de bolillos" (does anyone dare to translate this?).

Daimiel and its Parque Natural de las Tablas de Daimiel (Natural Park) is another destination in Ciudad Real.

Note that all these places are not as popular as cities such as Toledo or Segovia but if you want to explore other places which are not crowded with tourists, you may consider them.

Regards,

Antonio

Antonio,
Great list of things to do in the area. I managed to do almost all of those listed, and they were highlights of my trip(the cheese is very strong, but can be tempered sucessfully with some good Valdepenas wine).

The only thing is, you forgot to mention the castles in the area. They are incredible! From them you get some of the best views of La Mancha to be found. And the lack of tourists that you mentioned is another plus.

If you're looking for a place to stay in the area, there are several "casas rurales." These are great experiences if you want to get to know people and see how people live outside of the large cities.

Guynes,

You're totally right. I forgot to talk about the castles. One of them is the Convento - Castillo de Calatrava La Nueva. It was built in 1217. They were working on the restoring of this old castle, but I haven't seen it.

Another interesting place to visit is the Palacio del Marqués de Santa Cruz in the nearby village of Viso del Marqués? (there is where my father was born).

Oh, and you forgot to talk about the windmills. You will find them in several places but I would say Campo de Criptana is the best place to see them.

Again, you were right when talking about the "casas rurales". They are old houses restored as hostels. If you are fed up with visiting crowded tourist places, give them a try.

And, to finish this post, two interesting facts:

* Did you know that the mercury mines in Almadén are opened since the IV century bC.?. Can you imagine?. More than 2000 years extracting mercury from that place!!!. It used to make Spain the first world producer of mercury but now it's only the second!!.

* Did you know that Almaden has an hexagonal bullring?. I wonder whether this is the only one in the world or there are others.

Regards,

Antonio

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com

bobbin embroider? nice

I revived this as I'm looking for more info on La Mancha area and found this thread interesting..but does anyone know what the reference to bobbin embroider is about? And as I've heard textiles were/are important in the area, are there still textile factories, museums, items for sale etc. that I can look for?

If I'm not mistaken it refers to lace. I was up in Galicia, in the town of Camariñas, and they had lots of shops with "encaje". The art of making it is unbelievable. The women had such control over the bobbins, manipulating them with such accuracy and speed. If you get a chance to see it I highly recommend it.