Daimiel (population 16,249) is 212 km southwest of Cuenca. This is real Don Quixote country, deep in La Mancha, that treeless, wide-open land with nary a hill in sight. Vineyards stretch from one flat horizon to another.

Some 100 km along the road to Daimiel, from Madrid, you pass one of Spain’s most beautiful castles, at Belmonte, where the tournament scenes were shot for the film El Cid. French Empress Eugenia de Montijo spent part of her days of exile there. It is open daily for visits from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m .

Herencia, 169 km along the route from Cuenca to Daimiel, is a little Mancha pueblo famous for its cheeses. Manchego sheep’s milk cheese comes in several varieties: mild, aged, and cured in oil.

Daimiel boasts a lovely Plaza Mayor and two fifteenth-century churches, but it is noteworthy primarily because of its proximity to the Tablas de Daimiel, a National Park covering 2,750 hectares, which is a nesting place and point of passage for much of Europe’s waterfowl. The Tablas are virtually treeless marshlands formed by waters of the Rivers Ciguela and Guadiana. The Park, 11 km from Daimiel on an unpaved road, is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but is otherwise open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., in winter from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cooperativa del Campo la Daimielefia, Plaza del Carmen – This winery does not have the capacity to store as much liquid as the Tablas de Daimiel, but it comes close. It ages and sells forty-five million litres of wine per year, and has its own vineyards that cover five times as much surface area as the Tablas de Daimiel Park. Among brands which it sells in the EU and the States are Castillo Daimiel and Clavilefio.You can buy the stuff at special prices at the bodega.

Almagro (population 8,380) is 23 km south of Daimiel, or 190 km south of Madrid. Before the Spanish administration opened a parador there in 1979, about all most Spaniards knew about Almagro, if only one thing, was that it produces tons and tons of fiery hot pickled aubergines. Since then Almagro has had its second Renaissance, calling attention to its first.

This small agricultural town has an elegant elliptical main square (Plaza Mayor) dating from the twelfth century, with two storeys of glassed-in galleries above the colonnades, a mute reminder of its powerful families of the Middle Ages, who were bankers from Flanders. Another Flemish reminder is the handmade-lace industry, which has persisted for centuries. Coats of arms still adorn the doorways of noble buildings.

Other monuments include: the Calatrava Convent with its extraordinary Renaissance cloister; the ponderous Mother of God Church, believed to have been erected by Diego de Almagro, the Conquistador of Chile, a native son; and the San Francisco Monastery – now the parador – all from the sixteenth century. Last but not least, there is a courtyard-type theatre from Spain’s Golden Age of Literature,  the only one left intact. Today it is once again the scene of performances.

Obviously, lace is a good buy here. Almagro is also a good place to buy Manchego cheese. There are shops on the Plaza Mayor. The Tourist Office is at Calle Carnicerias 11.

The St Bartholomew Fiestas, 23-28 August, bring bullfights and theatre to Almagro. Fiestas in Ciudad Real (24 km west) in honour of the Virgin of the Meadow, are the occasion for bullfights, a poetry contest and other events around 15 August. In Valdepefias, a wine town 36 km to the east, there are fiestas 1-18 August, with bullfights, traditional dancing and other events.  Sarah loves all of Spain and write a guide to Majorca

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