Ascent to Morella

I meant to go to Tarragona on the train this morning, but didn't have enough energy to make an early start, so I did some shopping and cooking, then finally broke out my my lethargy mid-afternoon with a drive up the N232, all the way over the Querol pass (1080m) to visit Morella. I stopped at the Carlos VII hotel and restaurant at the top. It was closed, but the gates were open so I went in and took some photos.

Above the restaurant on a rock platform 30 metre above is a statue of Christo Rey looking East. It was inaccessible, part of a grazing enclosure. The reason the domain had its statue of Christ was obvious, as one of the buildings had once been a chapel, now converted into an attractive dining room, with glass doors looking eastwards. No longer an Ermita, but still active in the hospitality business. 

From the escarpment behind the restaurant I got my first glimpse of Morella, illuminated by afternoon sun on the western horizon.

The town is wrapped around a mountain sitting in a confluence of valleys. It's in a strategic position in relation to two mountain passes on the route between the Ebro river valley and Valencia. At a distance the mountain looks conical, flat topped like a volcanic table mountain. This flat top is part of the huge fortress, built by El Cid in the eleventh century, commanding  heights so steep there's no need for a protective crenellated perimeter wall to shoot from. As you approach the town from the south below, the view is reminiscent of old bible engravings of the 'New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God'.

Mediaeval walls in pale golden limestone 150 metres below the fortress summit are intact and in good condition. The town buildings sit comfortably within them. I say comfortably because the streets are just that bit wider than other hill towns, it doesn't feel as cramped. It's home to just 2,800 people, but gets lots of visitors. Views of town and countryside on all sides are breathtaking. I was fortunate to find a parking place near the Torres de Sant Miquel - the north gate, one of seven.  From there I walked up as far as I could. In a cul de sac above the town's Basilica de Santa Maria la Major, is a old franciscan convent now being converted into a Parador hotel. You can access the fortress grounds from here for a few euros, but I resisted the temptation to climb the last hundred metres, as closing time was near, and this is a place to be savoured, not rushed!

The convent buildings and huge chapel will be renovated and converted to offer hospitality, modern style, as a business like the Hotel Restaurant Carols VII down on the Querol pass. There was another old church building in the town, and it has been converted into  health centre. How appropriate. I'd wager there was a time when the church authorities and town council would have worried over these buildings, no longer sustainable in use by a population which has more than halved in a century - especially as they began to show signs of neglect. It's good to see their re-purposing reflects their original values and use. There's a large empty 18-19th century school or college building on the hillside adjacent to the basilica. I wonder what use will eventually be found for it?

 

The basilica, named after one of the main Curial churches in Rome, is big enough to serve the town's present population, and is interesting in its own right, with a huge stone choir loft supported by gothic vaulting in the western penultimate bay of the nave.

It has a decorated spiral staircase, perfect for processions up and down. In the next bay along on the north side at loft level is a remarkable organ case. The organ console is in the choir loft. I couldn't find out anything about the church's music programme, but such a superb environment must be an inspiration to musicians. The apsidal sanctuary is covered in gold baroque ornamentation from floor to ceiling, in contrast to the thirteenth century gothic of the rest of the building. The church isn't well served for natural light, but its tranquility makes it more numinous than gloomy. I noticed rice underfoot in the plaza outside. There'd been a wedding earlier in the day.

Humans have occupied this mountain since the bronze age. Greek, Romans, Visigoths and Moors in turn occupied this mountain and built on it. On the north side are the remains of an aqueduct. In its present form it's a fourteenth century construction, but who first had the idea and built the prototype? It appears the Moors named the town Maurela, after conquering it in 714. There's so much to understand and absorb about this place, it really merits a stopover visit. Perhaps we can do that when the Parador opens.

You'll find more photos here

Vallibona Vallivana

After yesterday's wind and rain last night was the coolest since I've been here, and the day started under an overcast sky. The beach nearest home was completely empty when I drove past mid-morning, without a single hardy survivor in sight. It's not just the change in weather, however, end of the holiday season is upon us, and schools re-start in the coming week, if they haven't already.

After doing some shopping and cleaning I drove west across country to visit the hill town of Rossell that  sits beneath the limestone massif of the Benifassà mountains. After a brief look around, I followed the road toward Vallibona along a steep sided valley through which the riverbed of the upper reaches of the  riu Cervol runs. It's a single track road which climbs up and runs along contours hundreds of metres above the valley floor. Thankfully its surface is in an excellent state of repair, which is just as well given the dizzying panoramas and steep drops presented at many points along the route. The valley appears to have few occupied properties, but extensive terraced olive groves lining the valley's steep slopes looked well cared for. I imagine this is a productive area for olive growing. Having a decent road must help with harvesting.

 

The speed limit was just 30kph, and for the most part it was impossible to drive any faster. In the hour it took me to drive the 24 km from Rossell to Vallibona only two cars passed me. The village sits on a promontory above the river, and the road descends steeply in the last kilometre to enter it. The views of it from all sides are spectacularly beautiful. The present population is less than a hundred, a tenth of what it was a century ago, and goodness knows what it was in the middle ages, when it was important enough to have its own charter. There was one signpost in the village square indicating the way to Morella, and this pointed the only way out, other than the way I came.

The road descended steeply to the level of the Cervol riverbed, and then criss-crossed it several times on very low bridges or fords before starting the long slow climb up the south side of the valley, an ascent of about 800m (by my reckoning) to a plateau beyond the ridge, covered with small stunted pine trees that resembled bushes, with grazing long horned cattle serenading the wind with their cowbells. It was just like being up at 1100m in the Swiss Jura. There were even considerate road signs warning of the possibilty of icy conditions, but there was no grass, just brown earth and low shrubs. Fascinating. The N232 main road from Morella to Vinaros was visible from the plateau, just a couple of kilometres away, providing a much easier quicker return route home. It is also a very beautiful journey. 

There's just so much to see and investigate in the mountains as well as the plain in this region. Half way down the descent to the plain is a place called Vallivana. It has a rather decrepit looking Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary, with an inn next door (closed), a new looking forestry centre opposite, and several derelict buildings. An information panel about the site and the surrounding region, and suggests it is a work in progress by describing it as 'our future patrimony'. A few kilometres further uphill I'd noticed a small roadside building with an information board announcing that it was a place of refuge for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella. Underlying the new modern highway is an historic route many centuries old, and so many stories to tell.