Nisperos... tropical fruit I tried for the first time.

This fruit, known as loquat in English or nispero in Spanish, has soft orange flesh and usually three to five almond-sized seeds. It is native to Asia, but grows in Mexico and the Southern United States as well as Central and South America. It wasn't bad, but I can't say it had a memorable taste either. First you have to peel the skin away from the fruit and then eat it much like an apple. A bit like a plum, but not sweet much at all. The seeds in the center are so big and so many that there really isn't much pulp to eat.

Castle of Sax

The Castle of Sax which illuminates the town at night was originally built on a limestone ridge during the Tenth Century and the Levante tower from the Twelfth Century still survives today, the keep and courtyards were built at a later date. Despite its strong defensive position, both Sax and its castle were taken by troops under Jaime I of Aragon in 1239 and later in 1476 Sax became part of the Marquisate de Villena, within the province of Murcia. During the War of Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714) Sax sided with Felipe V who conferred the title “Muy Noble y Muy Leal” (Very Noble and Very Loyal) on the town for its staunch support. In 1836 Sax finally became part of the province of Alicante. We saw this on our way back home and couldn't resist at least stopping to catch a shot of it.

Castle of Morella

Visiting Morella takes you back in time. This small town is built on a rock overlooking the Mediterranean sea. 1.072 m above sea level. The impressive castle of Morella sits on the top of the hill, and the village is surrounded by an ancient wall.

The structure of the existing castle was built by Arabs when the Moors occupied Spain. Throughout history, because of its ideal location, Morella Castle has experienced numerous battles. The castle has been destroyed and then rebuilt by Iberians,Romans, Arabs and Christians. Remains still exist from all these periods in History. 





Courtyard to the monk convent of San Francisco.

Here I am standing at the door to the church, Santa María.

These little guys were everywhere to welcome us.

And this was the view looking down after the long
walk up the stairs. I left José at the bottom of these
stairs. He didn't want to go any farther and I thought,
we are almost to the top I am not stopping now.
So he sat and waited for me to finish my little journey.

What is a castle without weapons.

Beautiful view.

           

Don Cabrera was govenor of Morella at one time. Here you see him on his horse. I have to mention the sculpture of his horse here was anatomically correct, so much so that I had to position myself just right to avoid exposing his jewels. :)

Castle of Papa Luna, Peñiscola.

 

The beach at Peñiscola, you can see the castle that belonged to, according to Rome, the antipope, but to the family of Benidicto XIII, the Spanish Pope. It really has a lot of history.

 Okay, so maybe not my best hair day, but I was enjoying the scenery, not a mirror. ;)

 

Honest, I didn't tell José where to stand, it just worked out that the Pope was giving him a blessing. ;) We had a nice climb this day.

Castle Banyeres

 

After Peñiscola, we headed North and stopped at this Castle in Banyeres. They were having a festival that day, this is why the flags were flying. The festival was of the Moors against the Christians. 

On the way up the steps of the Castle I met this little guy slowly making the climb. On the way back down I almost stepped on the little guy.

Peñiscola beach.

The view from our balcony in Hotel Peniscula Palace. Today we walked along the beach to the Castle that belonged to the Spanish Pope, Benedicto XIII in 1411. I will load those photos after I get home.

Beautiful Day.... Spring is in the air.