I hope you like Windmills.
Following my trip to Alcázar de San Juan, I decided to continue on my trail behind the dusty legendary tracks of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on their mounts.
Particularly intrigued by the story of how Don Quixote foolishly mistook the windmills on the plains of La Mancha for ‘monstrous giants with long arms’ and vowed to take them down in battle, I was excited as I approached the town of Consuegra - whose skyline is outlined by a 12th century castle and 12 beautifully conserved windmills on the hill, Cerro Calderico.
Above: The view of the town from the hill.
So yeah, I checked. The windmills are not monstrous giants made famous by Cervantes’s creative story-telling :) Before they are there sitting pretty on the hill attracting tourists and Don Quixote fans, they actually did serve a purpose of helping millers in Consuegra grind their grains with wind energy.
Another important stop in the Don Quixote route is Campo de Criptana, not far from Consuegra. Despite having been to Campo de Criptana two years ago to get my windmill fix (I have a thing for windmills and I love photographing them), I knew I couldn’t skip Consuegra.
It’s not difficult to see how the landscape of La Mancha had inspired Cervantes to pen his magnum opus. The splendour of the castle and windmills still impresses today. Indeed, no trip to La Mancha would be complete without a sighting of Don Quixote’s infamous foes.
I've got more windmill pics here!
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