New Region

Goodbye Rioja and Hello Castilla y Leon

Looking like a giant lit cigarette on the flat landscape,
the map of the region ahead

We are leaving the smallest province of the trek and entering the largest region, containing three provinces. For centuries Castilla and Navarre (and Aragon, a province we do not enter this trip) all fought for productive and wealthy Rioja, until it at last became autonomous.

Those centuries of regional battles are evident even today, as Castilla and Leon have formed a truce as well as a single region, despite keeping both names.

It is a huge region with a small population, and a primarily flat or slightly rolling landscape, the Saskatchewan of Spain if you will. The land is not great for anything but grain growing, wheat on the best land, and oats or barley on the poorer soils. We will be spending a lot of time getting to know this region!