Do you want to disconnect? Casa Besana is your place
After an hour driving from Madrid (or 45 minutes from Toledo), crossing the extensive plains of La Mancha, dotted with the unmistakable windmills, appears on our Don Quixote Route ** Casa Besana *** , in Camuñas , a town of 1,700 inhabitants.
Its simple façade, which respects its original construction, welcomes us. Once inside, a spacious hallway , cool even in the summer months, is the prelude to typical shady patio from La Mancha , with an old well and barbecue, where to dine (and lengthen) the summer nights, connected to the kitchen.
Attic of Casa Besana
Before taking off your watch, putting your phone on airplane mode and settling in, **choose your room from among the five that Casa Besana has**, decorated with objects from that era. The office will be one of your favorite corners.
But leave your suitcase and keep going up: upstairs, an attic, one of those in a country house, with outdoor roof terrace and shower to cool off.
But you will also find your refuge in the cold season and even in Christmas , one of the best times to “live” in Casa Besana: in autumn or winter you will take shelter in front of the homely fireplace in the living room , of stone walls, and you will abandon yourself to reading.
This converted two-storey old farmhouse, that will remind you of your house in the village , is full of corners where you can recall scenes from your childhood.
This is precisely where Leo, its owner, was born, when ** Casa Besana ** had countless rooms. Now with five rooms and three bathrooms , they rent it out for groups of up to 10 people , with the promise of taking you back to those moments of calm.
Where: because of its location, among the peoples of Field of Cryptana **, Puerto Lápice and Consuegra **, between the two Castillas, is a good place to do a stop on the way between Madrid and Valencia, Alicante or Murcia.
Corner in the kitchen of Casa Besana
When: the best time to visit the area and stay at Casa Besana is from September to June.
Price: from €180 per night (full house). Minimum: two nights.
What to see in Camuñas and surroundings
- At the end of May or beginning of June, depending on the year, Camuñas dresses up for a party: During Corpus Christi, the peculiar representation of ** 'Sins and Dancers' takes place,** declared of National Tourist Interest and of Cultural Interest.
The whole town adorns itself and turns to this ancestral tradition: the Sins, dressed in red and black, with a rod and a mask of horns, they represent evil and the Danzantes, in white and with rattles, joy.
Music, color and dance in an original and characteristic festivity that the camuñeros live with great intensity. To soak up their folklore , if your visit does not coincide with these dates, you can visit its ethnological museum.
- Visit the La Unión mill, the oldest and the only one that is preserved, restored in 2013. Here you can see grain milling on the last Sunday of the month at 12:00 noon (from September to April) and the last Saturday of each month at 9:00 p.m. (from May to August) . When there is not enough wind, they move it to the following weekend.
- Go buy artisan cheese, made with Raw Manchego sheep milk , to ** El Consuelo ,** the Madridejos cheese factory.
La Union Mill
They have their own livestock attached to the Protected Designation of Origin Manchego Cheese. You can also see the factory on one of their guided tours. Throughout the year, it is common to see Japanese coaches. An advice: also buy saffron.
Olive oil bread and muffins , to complete your basket of the ** castellanomanchega purchase **, in the San Isidro Cooperative (Calle Alcázar 2, Camuñas).
- Stroll through the Villafranca lagoons: this year, due to lack of water, you will not be able to bathe, but you will be able to see how the drought is wreaking havoc in this area, traditionally enabled for bathing, hiking and bird watching.
- If nature is your thing, take a stretch of the environmental route “Borderando el Amarguillo” (57 kilometers), through the riverbed and crossing five Toledo towns.
During your tour, full of oaks and broom, you will see hydraulic works, religious and civil heritage and resources from the agricultural sector, such as organic farming gardens , but also the native flora and fauna. Don't forget to bring binoculars.
Besana House room
- Did you know that "besana" means "first furrow that opens in the land when plowing begins" or "set of parallel furrows that are made with the plow in a crop field"? Everything here exudes a rural essence and that is precisely why it is easy to forget about the big city for a few days.
Are you coming?
Address: Calle Cerrillo de la Suela, 26, 45720 Camuñas, Toledo See map
Telephone: 639 12 95 73
Half price: From €180 per night (full house). Minimum: two nights.