The mountains that cross central Spain are beautiful. I saw them mainly from the window of the train. These and the mountains between Salamanca and Segovia were my inspiration for some of the scenes of the countryside in my story, though fictionalized.

I find the exposed stone and the alternations between the barren and forested areas remarkable.

We had a different view when we went to Segovia, with higher mountains and snow in one direction, and a vast plain on the other. Segovia is located where two rivers come out of the highlands to make a naturally defensible spot.

The following photos link into a panorama of the plain.

Here they are stitched together.