Friends of the Spanish Maestrazgo .

SATELLITE VIEW LOCAL TOURIST OFFICE METEO NEXT 10 DAYS City on the Sea Peñiscola (City on the Sea) Pope Luna I remember my very first visit to Peñiscola many years ago. I had bought a well known American, world famous, travel guide and the section on Peñiscola attracted me because it was said that the town of Peñiscola together with its spectacular castle was completely cut off from the mainland by the sea. I was looking forward to seeing this somewhat different setting, but was most disappointed when I found that there was a reasonably constructed asphalt road connecting the castle and the old town to the mainland. Even more so when being told that it had always been thus. Anyway this failing was soon forgotten as this particular fortress, allegedly constructed by the 'Knights Templers' did present a remarkable sight. Even more so in that it was the home of the last Spanish Pope, Benedicto VIII, know as 'Pope Papa Luna'. An

SATELLITE VIEW LOCAL TOURIST OFFICE (Only spanish) METEO NEXT 10 DAYS View of Sanctuary of the Balma "Santuario de la Balma"  My first visit to Zorita, another disappearing village of some 147 inhabitants, took place on the recommendation of our man at the Hostal Elias  (now closed), Morella . It was a winter's day whe we drove there a distance of some 20 kilometres. Plenty of snow about but reasonably clear roads. According to the map we were driving alongside the river Bergamonte but could see no sign of it due to the high banking snow etc. Passing the village of Zorita on our right hand side we came to a bridge over the river and there in front of us high on the side of a vertical cliff we saw the 'Sanctuario de la virgen de la Balma' or 'Sanctuary of the Virgen of the Balma'. Absolutely impressive it captured a persons curiosity immediately. After climbing up rather rickety cobble steps we found ourselves in a huge cave a

SATELLITE VIEW TOURIST OFFICE METEO NEXT 10 DAYS   View of Villarluengo    ‘BRADBURY, WILKINSON Y Cª GRABADOS, NEW MALDEN, SURREY, INGLATERRA’ I am not really into collecting foreign monetary notes but I do have in my possession a five peseta and a ten peseta note, both printed in England by the above company in 1935. To me this was fascinating as I lived in that area of Surrey for some years.   Most of us know that the invention of paper was attributed to the Chinese and one in particular. Teacher Ts’ai Lun who, having grown fed up carrying his teaching material around inscribed on wood in carts, decided that there just had to be something easier. So out of necessity paper came into being. From then on the art of paper making gradually spread across the world via Bagdad over the following hundred or so years and on one fine day the first paper mill in Europe was constructed by Arabs, in the town of Jativa, South of Valencia. Now what was interesting is

SATELLITE VIEW HOTEL BALFAGON:(+34) 96 418 50 76             METEO NEXT 10 DAYS   Spectacular view of Cantavieja If there is any one town in the Maestrazgo that could be termed the historical heart of the region, that town just has to be Cantavieja. Not surprisingly, it is one of the only three places in the Maestrazgo with a population exceeding 500 inhabitants, having lost nearly four times that amount in the last 100 years. It was some years ago that I had the idea of visiting this extraordinary town that had a strong connection with one of my local golf clubs back in England. Wentworth golf club Wentworth golf club So I checked accommodation and fixed a date at the Casa Sara. We arrived by driving from Mirambel along a very pot holed road. The first view of Cantavieja itself was most impressive. Built on an almost vertical outcrop over a thousand metres in height, it could definitely be termed a classical example of a fortification. With its

TELEPHONE OF INTEREST SATELLITE VIEW LOCAL TOURIST OFFICE METEO NEXT 10 DAYS View of Allepuz Population: 137.  Almost a quarter of what it was at the beginning of the last century. Allepuz is a name of Arabic origen which signifies ‘Shell’. The village is perched on the side of a hill near to the river Sollavientos. On my first visit I was travelling from Alcala de la Selva towards Fontanete and Cantavieja. Along this picturesque highway I stopped in a rather dreary looking village for what is known in Spain as an Almuerzo or mid morning break. I cannot remember what I had although it was probably a ham and cheese Bocadillo that is half a crispy bread roll with the two ingredients. However what I do very much remember was that the normal small plate of olives placed on the table were the small black type of olive. And they were absolutely delicious! So much so I ordered a small quantity to take away in a plastic bag for later use. These particular olives are no

SATELLITE VIEW LOCAL TOURIST OFFICE METEO NEXT 10 DAYS Valedelinares is a small village and is on record as being the highest,( 1.700 metres), municipality in Spain. Municipality signifies that it has its own Town Hall. Another example of depopulation is that at the beginning of the last century it had a population figure of 825 and was firmly dedicated to agriculture. Today the 87 inhabitants, apart from some agricultural activities, are mainly involved in the nearby skiing resort. I, personally, have passed through many times on my way to Fortanete and Cantavieja but have had little enthusiasm for exploring this rather sad locality. Oficial Page (Spanish) Oficial Page (Goog.Trans.) Local Tourist Info 1 Local Tourist Info 2 Local Tourist Info 3 Valdelinares (wiki)

SATELLITE VIEW LOCAL TOURIST OFFICE( not aviable) METEO NEXT 10 DAYS General View of Tronchon.    Some years ago my Danish friend, Axsel and me were out to see for ourselves what my friend Antonio Benedicto of Linares de Mora had related to me about the Maestrazgo. I do not know who was responsible for whispering in my ear, 'Visit Tronchon and La Casa de Matilde!' Sometimes now I believe that the 'Whisperer' might well have been some sort of divine intervention. For what a surprise was in store for us both.    We had visited the 'Organos de Montoro' and returning to Villarluengo drove past and then followed a turning to the left and followed a rather difficult road to Tronchon some 17 kilometres distance. The village lay in a valley so that we had a pretty good view of it although from what we could gather there was very little of it to see. Around 1 kilometre before the village we came across a sign which read 'Fabrica de Queso