We drove our farthest distance so far on this trip today (165 miles). We also stayed almost entirely on main roads and divided highway. The infrastructure here seems excellent and well maintained. We are staying at Parador Castillo de Monterrei near the town of Verín in Galacia. This Parador opened less than two years ago.
As you can tell from my posts so far Duke and I really love Paradors. Paradors are a government run hotel chain. In our experience each one is unique but the quality is dependably high. They are often located in historic buildings like castles or monestaries. The one we are staying into tonight opened in 2015 but it is in a castle that was built in fourteenth century.
The Parador we stayed at in Salamanca last night was in a new building but it had a stupendous view of Salamanca.
On our last trip to Spain and Portugal we stayed in 14 Paradors. (One Parador is in Portugal.) This trip we are planning to stay in 14 different Paradors. There are 98 total so we will have to come back a few more times if we want to stay in all of them.
The cost to stay in a Parador is usually quite reasonable, (often less than $100) especially in the off season and when you book in advance. Both of our trips have been in the off season.
They have a program called Amigos where you get points for every dollar you spend in a Parador and then can use those points for free rooms. We expect to have four free nights on this trip. The Parador web site www.parador.es has a lot more information. They also have an app.
After arriving at Castillo de Monterrei today we took a tour of the castle and climbed both towers. The guide told us the history of the castle and the church. I was impressed with the size of the key to the church, the thickness of the walls, and the commanding views. We are only 10 kilometers from Portugal. This castle was built for defensive purposes.
We have a package deal here that includes dinner and breakfast. The restaurant doesn’t open for dinner until 8:30. We have adjusted our schedule to stay up late and sleep in on the morning. Our meal tonight was wonderful. It was called the Monterrey Traditional menu.
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