beautiful vistas of the plains where
he had been and the snow caps
where we were headed. Despite
the altitude, it was hot, and when
we dropped down into the beautiful
valley of the Bosque Finlandes (Finn-
ish forest) de Rascafria the cool air by
the river was a welcome respite.
We resumed our climb looking
over the Sierra Guadarrama Parque
Nacional but had to alter our route
at the Castile and Leon border as the
pass was closed due to snow. Unde-
terred, we adjusted our route and
cruised into Segovia (UNESCO World
Heritage Site #1) for lunch and after
finding a place to park, we had a
little time to explore the town before
selecting a quaint touristy restaurant
right by the enormous Roman aque-
duct and colourful carousel.
The atmosphere proved better
than the cuisine. The partridge was
pretty good, but Brian found the baby
TRAVERSE 76
lamb to be more like old mutton,
and it was all fairly expensive. None-
theless, we left full, in a good mood
and behind schedule. As a group we
resolved on simpler lunches going
forward. It was almost 3:30 by the
time we left Segovia, headed for Avila.
There was no disappointment in
Avila, where we actually stayed in
UNESCO World Heritage site num-
ber 2; the Parador de Avila, a luxury
4-star hotel housed in a 16th centu-