Journey to the Alcarria: Stage 9

This descriptive passage is from the ninth stage of the book "Journey to the Alcarria," in this project that combines the themes of literature and life: "The town of Tendilla is lined with flat colonnades; it is long, like a sausage, and stretched out all along the highway."

"When he came down to breakfast, the traveler found Martín sitting in the dining room reading the newspaper. Clean shaven and carefully groomed, he was wearing a clean shirt and shiny shoes."

Journey to the Alcarria
Camilo José Cela

"People are talking about the reservoirs which are being made on the Tagus and the Guadiela"

Journey to the Alcarria 

Camilo José Cela

Today Entrepeñas is a reservoir on the Tagus River, in the Alcarria Baja region of Guadalajara. It was opened in 1956. Besides the Tagus River, it is also fed by other rivers, including the Valdetrigo, Barranco Grande, La Solana, and Empolveda.

Camilo José Cela walked around the area before it was built.

"The traveler, still in sight of the Tagus and with his mind on the Jarama, the Henares, the Tajuña— the rivers he has crossed—amuses himself by composing some spiritual ditties based on his memories."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

The Entrepeñas reservoir did not exist when the book was written. It spans an area of almost 8,000 acres and its total capacity is just under 677,000 acre-feet.
Along with the Buendía reservoir, it supplies the Tajo-Segura Water Transfer.

"Generally speaking, the landscape is green and wooded and continues to be so until after they pass Alhondiga..."

Journey to the Alcarria 

Camilo José Cela

This is what the countryside looks like when passing through Auñón.

At the Peñalver crossroads, today's travelers to the Alcarria can admire an excellent sculpture by the artist Francisco Sobrino, which the illustrious Camilo José Cela would not have seen, since it did not exist at the time.

In the words of the historian Pedro José Pradillo, "Sobrino the alchemist was a scientist who, locked away in his studio, faced the difficult task of coming up with formulae, defining and creating shapes, combining colors, and creating aesthetic figures that would make the existence of his fellow human beings more enjoyable."

"The bus is completely packed, and the passengers make room for the traveler in the last row of seats."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

Camilo José Cela traveled around the Alcarria on foot, by cart, and on a donkey, choosing to take the bus to Tendilla.

Tendilla's unfinished parish church stands out among the village's monuments. Its size is surprising to visitors arriving in the valley—especially those who have come from Sacedón.
It is next to the Plaza Mayor. The Church is dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption and was built between the 16th and 18th centuries.

"After spending some time chatting, the traveler goes out to leave his bags somewhere and see the village."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

Cela was able to see examples of popular Alcarrian architecture, such as the 18th-century house that, years later, would house Tendilla's Ethnological Museum. The museum opened in 2003 and displays objects relating to the traditional way of life in this Alcarrian village and its surroundings.

"The landlady was a very amiable woman who cooked a partridge for the traveler's lunch."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

All Alcarrian food comes highly recommended, and in Tendilla, the "torreznos" (thick, crispy strips of deep-fried bacon) are particularly good.

"The traveler arrives in Pastrana just as darkness is falling. The bus discharges him on the outskirts of town at the top of a long steep hill which it refuses to descend, perhaps so that it won't have to make the climb again."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

Pastrana is located in the natural area of the Alcarria. It is characterized by its moorland and valleys and lies between the Tagus and Tajuña rivers.

"Next morning, when the traveler made his appearance in the Plaza de la Hora and felt that he had entered Pastrana in spirit and in truth, the first sensation he had was one of being in a medieval city, a great medieval city."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

Plaza de la Hora is the main square that lies in front of the Ducal Palace. It was used for events such as military parades and royal receptions.

"On the Plaza de la Hora is the Palace of the Dukes, where the Princess of Eboli was kept prisoner and where she died."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

Ana Mendoza de la Cerda, Princess of Éboli, was a member of the Spanish nobility. She was from one of the most important families in Spanish aristocracy, and married very young. Her husband was Ruy Gómez de Silva, Prince of Éboli, who was very close to King Philip II of Spain.

"In the room where the Princess died—a sort of cell with a finely wrought iron grille, on the upper floor of the right wing of the building—the National Wheat Service has set up its office; there are piles of cereal on the floor and scales for weighing the sacks."

Journey to the Alcarria

Camilo José Cela

Ana Mendoza de la Cerda was known for her political influence. She is depicted in portraits wearing an eye patch, suggesting that she had some sort of defect in one eye. This imperfection is only referred to in texts written after the 18th century, and even then, in very vague terms.

"In the Plaza de los Cuatro Caños, the traveler finds a slender fountain in the shape of a glass, covered by a stone slab which has been cracked over the years and a chess piece on top of it."

Journey to the Alcarria 

Camilo José Cela

The Fuente de los Cuatro Caños (Fountain of 4 Spouts) is undoubtedly one of Pastrana's hallmarks. Dating from the 16th century, it features 4 large faces carved in relief, each one different to the next, with water spouts protruding from them.

The Collegiate Church of Pastrana was originally built in around the 14th century as the parish church of Villa Calatrava.

Some features were added to it later on, including the northern door, built in the Gothic style of the late 15th century. The naves and the transept were also substantially widened in the first half of the 17th century.

The church houses the impressive Parish Tapestry Museum, which contains a wealth of information, including its collection of Afonso V of Portugal's Gothic tapestries.

Pastrana, and indeed the whole of the Alcarria, is known for its cakes and pastries. Their world-famous "bizcochos borrachos" or "drunken sponge cakes" melt in the mouth, soaked in a sweet, alcoholic syrup that makes them really light and fluffy.