Staying in Salamanca

So I have decided to stay on in Salamanca an extra week, which will make three weeks all up. I almost regretted my decision when the sun came out just after school and I sat outside having lunch; but, now, as I sit in the Plaza Mayor writing this in the evening and it’s starting to rain I think I chose correctly. Anyway decision made, stuff cancelled, and new stuff booked.

My afternoon outing was to the Salamanca Museum. It cost 1 Euro to get in and was good value at that price. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else but I made good use of it as a Spanish lesson while translating the descriptions of the items. By far the most interesting thing was the verraco in the courtyard. I’ve seen these all over the place but this was the first that appeared to have a discernible head.

The verracos date from around five centuries BC and were made by the vetones people. Their purpose is unclear. They can be bulls, pigs or wild boars, or maybe bears, but either they were obscure in the first place or the passage of time has left them so. Either way they are probably best described as ‘stone animals of some sort’ which – no surprise – most Spaniards read as boars.

After the Museum I sat in the Plaza Mayor and watched people for ages until the rain started to get serious about driving me indoors.