I left Manzanarez before sunrise, and found my muleteer obliging and intelligent, and my mules active. Soon after leaving Manzanarez, the small town of Argamasilla de Alba is seen on the right: here it is, that Cervantes is said to have been imprisoned, and that the first part of Don Quixotte is said to have been written. Betwixt this point and Val de Peñas, I passed through a small village called Consolacion,--almost a ruin, from the effects of war; the inhabitants had in few instances rebuilt their houses, but had scooped out hovels and habitations in the rubbish. My vehicle attracted many to the outlets of these miserable abodes; and the inmates looked more like wild animals peeping from their dens, than civilized beings, looking from human habitations. In approaching Val de Peñas, the country improves, the land is evidently tilled with greater care, and the more anxious culture of the vine shews that the grape is here worth cultivating. Before entering Val de Peñas, I passed through an extensive olive plantation, in which I noticed several monumental crosses,--two of them, broken by the weight of stones with which the devout had burdened them. Val de Peñas--“Valley of Stones”--is alike the name of the town, the district, and the wine: the latter makes the riches of both the others; and Val de Peñas is accordingly said to be the richest town in the Castiles. The wine of Val de Peñas, is the wine universally drank by the better classes all over the Castiles--indeed, it may almost be said, every where north of the Sierra Morena. But unlike most other wines, it is drunk most in perfection in the district where it grows; not because it is incapable of exportation; on the contrary, it has body enough to bear exportation to any climate: but because it is not tasted once in a hundred times free from the taint of the skins in which it is carried. When found in perfection, it is a wine deserving of being held in the highest estimation; there is a raciness about it, which would certainly recommend it to the English palate; and if a communication should ever be opened between La Mancha and the southern provinces, there is little doubt that the wine of Val de Peñas will find its way into the English ports. I visited one of the repositories of the richest growers, who told me he had there upwards of six thousand skins,--the average contents of the skin being about ten arrobas; and that the price of the wine bought upon the spot, would amount to about (in English currency and measure) 3_l._ 10_s._ per pipe. I saw no beggars in Val de Peñas; but neither is there any appearance of general comfort. The culture, and preparation of the wine, employ all the inhabitants; but wages are low, and the enjoyments which they purchase few. The wages of labour are about three reals (less than 7_d._) per day. Mutton here sells at eight quartos; bread at six and a half quartos, per lb. Beef is not to be found in almost any part of La Mancha, and it is not esteemed.