In Gallegos at sunset

A remarkable curiosity, common to many Spanish peoples, is one that, referring to their names, indicates the origins of their settlement.

Regardless of Neolithic times and occasional settlements of Celtiberian origin, the name of this town, refers to that warlike Middle Ages and a few centuries, XII and XIII, in which the Christian armies began to remove the yoke they had been maintaining since the Muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, at the beginning of the 7th century.

They will understand, then, that Gallegos directly takes the name of the origin of its first repopulation, that is, settlers of that Galicia, whose privileged situation and its beautiful constitution, are always an invitation to visit.

Gallegos, on the other hand, is a small population that belongs to the Community of Segovia, and we have to place, on this side of that formidable Sierra del Dragón, denomination that during the medieval era was given to that imposing Sierra del Guadarrama - currently Park Natural - that separated the Old Castile from that one, of very new creation, as the Christian armies gradually reconquered the occupied territory.

Let's say, with a view to a better situation, that Gallegos is far from the capital of Spain, from Madrid, approximately one hundred and twenty kilometers.

Also its privileged situation, little more or less than at the foot of the N-110 national road, which connects Segovia with Soria, makes it very close to towns with great history and interest, entering a route where collect the beauty of the mountain populations and an art, the Romanesque, especially interesting, for the great variety and quality of its ancient temples.

The closest and most interesting towns are Arcones - with its magnificent 12th-century temple, whose façade can still be seen, used as fillers, pieces from an earlier temple - and of course, Sotosalbos, a town not only famous for having one of the most magnificent and interesting temples of the entire Romanesque of Segovia, the church of San Miguel Arcángel - in whose interior, interesting traces of Romanesque painting are still preserved, representing a Pantocrator surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists - but also appears immortalized for posterity, for being the place where the Archpriest of Hita, dedicated some beautiful verses to a shepherdess, whose beauty we have to imagine that produced fiery fantasies.

Given the situation of Gallegos, it is a truly beautiful sight to see as a backdrop, that imposing mountain range, which is the Sierra de Guadarrama.

Although it is true, that today there is hardly anything left of the watchtower or small bulwark that protected the entrance to the town in medieval times and that, in addition, the same fate has also run its old Romanesque church, excessively reformed following the dark artistic patterns from later times, the town, as a whole, retains a state of rural purity, not without a singular beauty.

In fact and despite having modern buildings, the old rural houses, in better or worse state of conservation, are a good example of the mountain architecture: solid and of good roots, with stone walls capable of conserving heat in homes during the harsh winters and keeping the fresco in the hot summers.

One of the pleasures that I remember best and that because of its unique beauty was fixed in my memory, are the splendid winter sunsets, when the sun, losing itself behind the high mountains, gives off an unforgettable halo of pink tones, colors that support the soul and that would delight the most demanding painters.

Another interesting detail to highlight, is the great peace and contact with full nature, that the traveler, especially the city, can find in a place like this and where to recover from that stress and pollution that suffers daily, which , seen from a purely therapeutic point of view, a trip to Gallegos, in addition to being a formidable adventure, is also an infallible remedy to return to the place of origin, with renewed energies and fully charged batteries.

In general, and following the mentioned general road N-110, Gallegos would dispense, kilometer plus kilometer less, about fifty kilometers from Segovia capital, although in restoration issues, both Arcones and Sotosalbos, have magnificent restaurants, where the specialty, old Like this land, it is in the formidable lamb-based dishes, without underestimating other juicy meats such as white veal or piglet itself, which is so famous throughout the Community.