To Spain and back - part 2, travelling north

We left Granada as we arrived, in the rain, but the weather quickly brightened until we neared our destination in the mountainous Castellón province, in the mountain-top village of Morella.  This photo was taken the following day but, as we approached in rain and fog we saw this mountain disappearing in the clouds and asked weakly 'do we have to go up there?'  Indeed we did, and having found our hotel in the pouring rain and parked some distance away the skies really opened as we carried our bags back through the rivers now filling the steep streets .  So we were glad of a comfortable room, a nice bar with tapas on tap and tennis on the telly!.  We awoke the following morning to glorious sunshine and a stoll round the Sunday market stalls and up the narrow streets to the church below the ruined castle, the gryphon vultures circling overhead.

We bought mountain cheeses and sausage which are typical of the region, and set out across the mountainous landscape towards the coast again and Tarragona.  The province of Arragon is sparsely populated, with small hillside villlages and small towns and dramatic vistas, with huge wind farms - we'd never seen so many wind generators in one area, but they did not seem to detract from the splendour of the landscape and, I guess because of them, the roads have been very well engineered so that driving was not at all difficult and we could admire the scenery.  More on Morella here.

Near the village of Cretas we came across this 15th century hermitage, with its ancient rock causeway, even more pretty in the poppy season, and a tranquil stop on the journey.

So gently we descended through the forests of winmills towards Tarragona.

We really enjoyed our overnight stop in this a city of Roman origin, with plenty of Roman remains including a tower and arena.

We had plenty of time to stroll, and to ride on the tourist bus, to see the mediaeval cathedral and the steep old town centre and Roman ramparts.

We stayed right in the centre and ate tapas in the square right in front of our hotel.  More on Tarragona here.

So we returned to France last week very content with our 10 days' holiday in Spain.  Thanks to Brenda for welcoming us in Granada and to Linda for suggesting some places to visit on the return journey.  Lots more to see in the future...