Avila - atop the walls

I arrived in Avila around 3pm in bright sunshine and took a taxi to the Hostal. It was a brand new place with an elevator and an English-speaking daughter. My room was lovely, with a balcony that looked out on......nothing, and a separate bathroom.

my balcony

I quickly headed out to see the walls. It was very cold and the wind was strong and freezing.  My first views had me gasping.

the main gate in the eastern wall

There are two sections where you can walk along the top of the walls.  The long section covers 1.2 km and runs from the north-east corner to the north-west corner.  The second section of 300 metres covers the south-east corner. The cathedral is in the middle of the east wall and actually forms part of the wall. It costs 5 euros to go up. I decided to walk the long section first.

the south-west corner

the western wall

the western wall looking to the south-west corner

the beginning of the "unwalkable" section

the same from atop the turret

It may only be 1.2 km, but when you climb every turret as well, it certainly makes for aching legs. The steps up to the top of each turret are about knee-high, so a real workout for the thighs.

On Wednesday morning, I went up the short section in the south-east corner.  Sunny again, and the wind was not nearly as bad but it was still cold.

note the snow on the mountains in the background

Plaza Santa Teresa.  My accommodation is to the rear left about another 30 metres

eastern walls with fountain and snow

I spent quite a bit of time on the walls near the cathedral, because there were some storks there, building nests. One or two or three......dozen.

three nests here; two with birds

four nests here; five birds

four storks in this pic

Off to get more sticks...

...and adding them to the nest.  This chap dropped a few.

Stunning!