On my way up to Spains north coast and some more surf I make a stop in Toledo. And what a beautiful place that is. I had never heard of it before, but my lovely friend Alex recommended it me and since it is situated in the middle of the country, and I am trying to stay away from overpopulated cities like Madrid this was a perfect stop for me. I arrived in the early afternoon and was stunned by the view of the mediaeval city up on the hill, in the surrounding mountains smaller stone houses dot the greenery and between there is a river running down in the valley.
I entered the old town from the north and wondered around the small alleys and stone streets until it fell dark and the big church got lit up, standing there impressive and a little bit creepy. Toledo is an old mining city and to this day steel is conveyed in the area and beautiful knives and weaponry manufactured. I bought my first souvenir on this trip and got my partner and myself some traditional pocketknives from a small shop where I didn’t just get what I was looking for but a nice conversation and warm welcome from the craftsmen.
For the night I found a fairly calm parking lot on the other side of the river, next to a big park along the riverbank where I took a night walk and admired the view of the town in the moonlight. The parking was free and felt super save since several cars and campers had chosen it to spend the night. In the morning I went back to the city for some breakfast and another little stroll around the impressive huge walls of the old town. The Surf was calling me north, otherwise I could have spent another couple of days here, exploring and soaking up the special energy.
A few days later this place experienced strong floodings and I was happy to have listened to my intuition and moved on.