After our trip to see the rock art (and soak in the silence and fresh air) we returned to town for an afternoon of exploration. We refueled first with a shared bocadillo (sandwich) of tortilla and bacon. (Tortilla here is a 1 inch thick “omelet” of potato with just enough egg to hold it together. Carb on carb–R very happy.)

Then, yes, up the stairs to the climb all the way to the top of the walls. Incredible views, impressive construction, and a few sketchy steep paths that had me retracing my steps while R continued exploring.

Down again to the river walk. Beautiful, but yet more sketchy paths. Enjoyed my time on a sunny rock while R continued on, around the base of the town, then up and over from the other side.

Back up again to a guided tour of the coldest cathedral I’ve ever visited. The guide noted the unusual closed cloister–this was done a few hundred years ago by a bishop who hated having to walk outdoors in the cold on his way to mass. Can’t believe it made that much of a difference given how utterly chilly the cathedral was.

It was only possible to enter the cathedral with a guide. She led the tour in Spanish and we managed to understand a lot of it. That said, we both realized that our brains time out after a few concentrated minutes and we lose the thread.

(R here. After a few minutes I thanked her for being so clear and explained that though it was fast for me I was getting ochenta por ciento – 80%. That was probably optimistic, and 10 minutes later it was varying from 50% to 5%.)

I was most interested in the guide’s description of their renovation work. She said the challenge is in deciding which era to restore to. The cathedral is no doubt built upon the remains of the Grand Mosque – although they haven’t found direct evidence of this, everywhere else in Spain the first thing the returning Christians did was build a cathedral on the site of the main mosque in newly conquered towns. Worth noting here is that this town wasn’t conquered but gifted–we both caught part of a line about a Christian having done a favor for the Arab ruler of the castle, who gave him the castle in thanks.

In any event, the cathedral was built over several hundred years, and remodeled and restored a few times.  In the current restoration work, they’re trying to keep evidence of each layer, while restoring to the most salvagable or most coherent layer they can.

Finished the tour, walked shivering into a patch of sunlight, then headed back down the hill. Out the other side of the gorge for a quick late afternoon clamber to get views from the other side. 

Back to the hotel, then up the hill for an unusual and tasty meal. Sadly, many of the menu offerings included either nuts I shouldn’t eat or meat bits R really wouldn’t like, but what we did eat was full of flavors and combinations that were new to us and unexpectedly delicious.

The pale, innocent-looking thing that looks like a small pat of butter, top right among the cheeses, was actually a sensationally powerful and delicious blue cheese.

Stars out when we left–Orion and Sirius standing guard above the castle. Back down the hill–getting very chilly–to our nice warm room and bed.

R here again with a few bonus pics: