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Passage
Through Time: Itinerary Page
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Day 1 - Sat, Sept.
7, 2002
USA to Madrid, Spain
Meals aloft
Departure from your home city for the overnight flight
to Madrid. (You may wish to arrive in Madrid a day or two early. Call
TravelQuest at 800-830-1998 for details).
Day 2 -
Sun, Sept. 8
Madrid
Lunch
After our morning transfer from Madrid Airport to
Hotel Lopè de la Vega, a 4 star hotel located
across from the famous Prado museum,
it is off to explore the treasures of the National Archaeological
Museum where our guide will take us through the collection and
acquaint us with our ancient past.
A brief walking tour of
Madrid's Old Town
will end at the Plaza Mayor for a late afternoon lunch at one of our
favorite restaurants. The remainder of the day is yours to spend as you
wish.
Overnight:
Hotel Lopè de la Vega
Day 3 -
Mon, Sept. 9
Madrid - Santillana del Mar
B/L/D
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Altamira Cave |
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Altamira
is one of the most famous palaeolithic
caves in Spain. It is situated in Cantabria province not far from Santander
city, on the edge of Santiliana del Mar village. Although the cave and its
paintings are known all over the world, the dramatic history of its first
investigator, Don Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, the owner of the
land, where the cave is located, is not so familiar. The cave was found by a
local hunter, Modesto Peres in 1868. Everybody in the neighborhood knew about
the cave. But
only 11 years later, in 1879, Maria, M. de Sautuola's daughter, walking in
the estate, turned her father's attention on the strange images on the ceiling
of one of the "halls", barely discernible in the darkness of the cave. Engraved depictions of bisons made
de Sautuola guess that the paintings of
Altamira dated back to the Stone Age. He began excavations in the cave and
invited his friend, a well-known specialist in the field of prehistoric
archaeology, professor of the Madrid university Juan Vilanova y Piera for
a consultation. The latter supported de Sautuola's conjecture. Soon they
published the first information about that unique monument, which evoked general
interest and even made king Alfonso XII visit the marvel cave. But all the
prominent specialists in archaeology, especially French ones, beginning with
Gabriel de Mortillet, admitting the palaeolithic age of the finds, made during
excavations in Altamira, rejected flatly Piera and de M. Sanz de Sautuola's arguments in favour of the palaeolithic dating of the paintings. And what is
more, de Sautuola was accused in deliberate distortion. They considered that
the paintings had been made by one of his friends, an artist, who stayed in his
castle. One can imagine the moral shock caused by "the guardians of the
scientific truth" to the spanish nobleman with his enhanced sense of dignity
and honour. Only almost 15 years after M. de Sautuolas death his opponents,
and E.Kartaillak in particular, had to admit that the Altamira paintings are
really palaeolithic. |
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From Madrid, we’ll take a convenient
one hour flight north to the Spain’s Costa Verde region and the city
of Bilbao. We’ll then drive to our first cave, El Castillo,
which features bright red and black images of hands, points and bison.
Since its discovery in 1903, this cave has stood as one of the most
complete and complex ideograms of antiquity. |
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After lunch, we will travel to the
romantic cobblestone village of Santillana del Mar, which
will be our convenient home-base for day trips to nearby caves. This
peaceful village, whose origins date back to the 8th century, features a
12th-century Romanesque church, winding lanes and stone houses with
regal coats-of-arms in relief.
Our Parador is a converted manor house
at the edge of a bustling plaza where we can visit local art museums,
the 12th-century cathedral, and purchase a variety of traditional
Spanish crafts. This evening, join us for dinner and a discussion on the
caves we will be visiting in the days ahead.
Overnight: Parador Santillana del
Mar
(3 nights)
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Santillana Del Mar
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Day 4 - Tue,
Sept. 10
Santillana del Mar
B/L
After breakfast, our guide will treat
us to a walking tour of the architectural & cultural treasures of
Santillana del Mar.
After lunch we will drive through scenic countryside
to the seaside resort of Comillas, notable for its
beautiful beaches and Antonio Gaudi's northwestern-most
architectural creation, El Capricho. After our return to
Santillana del Mar, enjoy the evening as you wish.
Day 5 - Fri, Sept.
21
Caves of Altamira - Tito Bustillo - El Pindal
B/L/D
We’ll begin our day with a visit to
the new Altamira Museum, increasing
our appreciation of the lives of our ancient ancestors. We
will visit Altamira II, where we will
see exact reproductions of the
original cave, which is now closed to the general
public. A visit to the Cave of Altamira will leave you with a
wonderment about so many aspects of the prehistoric lifestyle.
After lunch we will travel west along the coast highway, past small
fishing villages and the dramatic tides of he Bay of Biscay. One
of the most important Paleolithic cave sites, Tito Bustillo dates
back 14,000 years and was discovered by speleologists only in 1968.
A new museum at the entrance displays the tools, weapons and lifestyle
of he Ice Age hunters. Inside the cave, there is a wall smeared in
blood-red pigment over which the images of animals were engraved and
painted. El Pindal Cave is dramatically situated above a
narrow, deep cove pounded by the tides. The images include a very
rare engraving of a fish, as well as an elephant outlined in red.
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Day 6 -
Thu, Sept.
12
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao - San Sebastian
B/L
We will depart Santillana del Mar this
morning for the Basque capital of Bilbao, where we will find a jewel in
this coarse, industrial capital of northern Spain - the
Guggenheim |
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Museum Bilbao. This exciting new museum of modern art invites
everyone, from children to the elderly, into its expandable space, with
its undulating walls and lofty, silvery fish-scaled roof. We will take a
brief guided tour and then allow time for lunch and exploring on your
own at this famous new museum.
Today’s journey will conclude in the beautiful city of San
Sebastian, an important Basque cultural center and seaside resort.
Enjoy dinner on your own in the Old Town or
at the hotel overlooking the city and the bay. |
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Overnight: Hotel
Amara Plaza
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TRAVELQUEST INTERNATIONAL
Tel. ++928-445-7754 / USA & Canada: 800-830-1998
Fax ++928-445-8771
For detailed itineraries and pricing information,
please contact TravelQuest International
at:
800-830-1998
or press here to request a brochure be sent
to your postal box.
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Copyright 2002 TravelQuest International. All rights
reserved.
Revised: October 25, 2005.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies or trademark holders. |
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