A Salamancan treasure hunt.
Fancy a bit of extra good luck and a different kind of treasure hunt? If so, then Salamanca is the ideal place for you. Here are my tips: go to the wall of the Universidad Civil first thing in the morning and try your luck. Somewhere, a small frog is hidden on it. According to legend, finding La rana de la suerte(the lucky frog) will bring you good luck for a year. To benefit, however, you have to find it without assistance, and that is only possible early in the morning before the arrival of all the tour guides who point out the frog’s location to their guests.
If you are up for some more searching, take a walk to the northern portal of the cathedral for the next challenge. The eagle-eyed among you will be able to discover an astronaut, a bull, a lynx and a demon eating an ice cream on the cathedral’s façade. These humorous details were added during restoration work in 1992.
Your neck may be a little stiff after all this looking up, so I recommend a detour to the Huerto de Calixto y Melibeagarden not far from the cathedral. It is a romantic oasis of green in the heart of the Old City and a perfect place to rest.
Incidentally, the legend about the lucky frog is true: after umpteen attempts, I eventually found it on the wall. And lo and behold, shortly after that I found two five-euro notes, and a few weeks later I suddenly discovered a 50-euro note lying at my feet. I invested the money in tapas and good wine with my friends, thus turning my good fortune into happiness.
