Hello amigos! I just got back from three full days in Spain. I started out in Madrid airport on Friday May 29 at 10am. I drove my rental car straight to Medinaceli and visited the Plaza Mayor and a few areas surrounding it, that were used as locations in Duck You Sucker. After about an hour there I drove North for another hour and a half to visit Carazo aka Betterville prisoncamp. It’s still easy to find ( if you know where to look…), but the sign that was once put up by Tuco Tours is no longer there. After taking a bunch of pictures and hiking back down the mountain, I drove to Sad Hill, going through the town of Santa Domingo de Silos. I spent about 1,5 hours there, taking many, many pictures. The Sad Hill sign and plaque were still there, but most mock up graves were broken (by nature, I hope)…so far during this day, From the time I left the airport, I think I only saw three people (two of which in Medinaceli)!!! After Sad Hill I drove North, through Contreras and on to Rio Arlanza aka Langstone Bridge. Again I was all alone. The bushes, grass and other vegetation was in full bloom, but I made my way up the mountain and again made tons of pictures. As it was getting later, I closed of the day visiting the Monastery nearby, where some interior shots for GBU were done. The guard there told me that in the one barrack across the street from the monastery they filmed the scene with all the wounded soldiers lying next to each other. Thats seems right after I took a peek inside… I spent the night in hotel Dona Sancha in Covarrubias, which was a great place to stay. The next day I started, after a good breakfast, by going back to langstone bridge to find more locations and I succeeded. It was already getting warmer and warmer. After the double dip, I drove for about two hours South, to Manzanares El Real. The tuco ambush location was easily found. The vegetation was somewhat unfriendly, but nothing really bothersome. then on to Colmenar Viejo, to visit Dehesa de Navalvillar. First I visited the monastery/church across the street which was used in The Mercenary. Then a big surprise: Dehesa de Navalvillar was closed for cars, you could only get in on foot or a bike. as I didn’t have a bike, I hang my backpack with plenty of water on my shoulders and went for a long hike. I visited the Ranch-location (the chimney is still there) where once a ranch stood used in The Hills Run Red. I also saw a few NAvajo Joe, The Mercenary locations as well as some rubble, a picket fence and an information plaque that pointed out White Rocks. After a few hours, soaked in sweat from walking in the heat, I again took my car and drove to Hoyo De Manzanares to visit the San Miguel site. I couldn’t get my car all the way there because of poor road conditions, but I had to walk just about 150 meters. There were just two drinking throves and the recognisable background, but nothing else really. It was nonetheless a great place to visit. After this visit I drove to Las Rozas de Madrid to stay in a comfortable hotel there. tapas, a cold beer and FC Barcelona on TV winning the Opa Del Rey made for nice evening closers. On the third and final day, Sunday, I first went back to Dehesa de Navalvillar to find a few more locations (there’s so many there!). The next stop was an hour away to the West on Madrid: Aldea del Fresno. This is where the ambush from FOD was filmed. The river is hard to recognize, but the aguaduct is still there. the final spaghetti stop was in Campo de Madrid, where I visited the restaurant where some scenes for FOD were filmed. To kill a few hours before going back to the airport, I toured Santiago de Bernabeu, the home stadium of Real Madrid. At 20.15h, I flew back to The Netherlands, happy with a great trip. Now it’s time to go through all the pictures and make a nice photoalbum.
Angel eyes
