Peniscola

The shell wizard house, Peniscola
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We are right on the coast now and keep getting little glimpses of the sea. Unfortunately any relatively flat land tends to be spoilt by those typical “costa” style buildings. Modern Peniscola is no exception. However it does have an extremely attractive castle surrounded by an old Moorish town, perched on a little outcrop of land. We park next to an attractive and almost empty beach at the base of the old town. To get to the castle we first have to pick our way up through the slippery cobbled streets. The houses are white washed and packed tightly in on top of each other. Between them are narrow little alleyways with shops shoehorned into every available space. One of the houses has been decorated from top to bottom with shells.

A glimpse of Peniscola
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The castle is very clean and has obviously undergone a lot of renovation recently. The top has been completely remodelled and looks more like a modern patio. It’s very hot, again – I think I’ll just mention when it’s cold, 30°C+ look like it’s the norm for this trip. As we enter the castle we pass a room containing a temporary exhibition relating to Mother Teresa. I wish I could speak Spanish and find out why it’s here. As a rather bizarre contrast, there is also a torture museum. This is publicised by a skeleton in a body shaped cage, hanging on the wall. In Britain this would probably be fake, but here it looks suspiciously real looking prop.

Halfway down I find some of our group sitting outside a café drinking the local speciality – Horchata.

Peniscola from the Castle
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The Australians within our group are whinging – “not another castle”! I take a deep breath. Surely if you’re visiting Europe, you know there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll be visiting castles, cathedrals and museums? I think, they are probably joking, but if not they are going to have a very trying couple of weeks.

From the castle we have magnificent views out to sea and back over the town. I slowly wander back down through the old town, looking for souvenirs. I find several fans, some practical, others purely ornamental. I’m also trying to find a hat (to replace the one I left at the airport). Sadly I don’t succeed with the latter.

The view from the Peniscola Castle
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Halfway down I find some of our group sitting outside a café drinking the local speciality – Horchata. Never one to miss an experience, I join them and order a glass. It has a really surprising and fresh taste of almonds. My first guess is that it’s a milkshake of some kind, but a young American couple, who speak Spanish, ask the café owner what it is. It’s simply made from very finely ground bitter almonds, water and sugar.

I drag myself away earlier than the others as I have an ulterior motive. We had parked the coach very close to a beach and I really can’t miss this opportunity for a paddle! The water is really warm, but the beach is actually part of the harbour and the sand feels more like mud under my feet. Still I happily paddle about, as more and more of my group arrive. One of the Americans’, Tony, comes over and offers to take my photo for me. He declines to join me though. The next problem is going to be drying my feet off. I can feel everyone thinking the same thing. But I have a cunning plan! According to Douglas Adams, you should always know where your towel is, but I think you can say the same about sarongs. They weigh nothing, tuck away into tiny spaces and come in useful for all sorts of things (including drying your feet). When I get back to the coach, I’m given a round of applause!

What happens to tourists who don't pay the entrance fee! Peniscola
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It’s hot on the coach whilst we wait for the air conditioning to kick in. I make good use of one of my new fans. I also realise for the first time that my water supply is running low.

Once we leave Peniscola, the country becomes mountainous and more attractive. There’s less obvious agriculture, but plenty of olives. At one point I spot a herd of sheep or goats, and to my surprise, an old fashioned shepherd. He’s an elderly man holding a vast umbrella above his head to protect himself from the sun. It reminds me of the adventurer and author Nicolas Crane, who borrowed the idea from just such a man.

Peniscola castle
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We stop for lunch at a motorway service station. What a choice, there are picnic tables outside in the heat or air conditioning inside. I order a plate of cold meat – chorizo, garlic sausage and Serrano ham, followed by fresh slices off pineapple. I meet up again with Yee and Susan and talk naturally turns to food again. We agree to go out on the town tonight, looking for paella along the Ramblas in Barcelona.