Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Once upon a time there was a castle on a little hill in Spain pretty much out in the middle of nowhere which is quite typical for many of these castle-on-a-hill types in Spain. I drove by it only about a zillion and one times before finally taking the exit one day and visiting it in the blistering hot with three little girls who would have much rather vegged in the car under the icy cold A/C. After this morning's credit card craziness at the dorms, the fact was that I would have like to just driven home as well, but felt that it was better to make proper use of the drive. And that, sadly for my three sweltering girls, meant a hike up a hill. Chalk it up to mean mom moment #11, 578.Thankfully, there is a nice open ring of parking at the northern base of this old hill, so that I could drive directly to it and park without stress. In this land of medieval towns, hills, and bicycle width roads, easy parking is a rarity and a luxury because as pathetic as it is, the task of finding a parking spot and actually parking the car can be the most stressful part of any trip.
A little pedestrian only road spirals up the hill from there past short homes all stuck together with a variety of painted doors and shutters being the only decoration. The entrance to the castle is through another small building where you enter, buy tickets, then climb the stairs inside the building to come out on the second floor where there is access out the back to the stone steps up to the castle.
The swallows are going crazy this time of year. Flocks swarm around Almansa's castle like daytime bats tucking into small holes in the outside castle walls. They are pretty and fun to watch, but hundreds of birds means babies and a few fatalities. We saw several dead baby birds here including one cradled on the back of the stone swan below.
The castle was built by the Moors in the 12th century, then taken by the Christians in the 13th. It grew, changed, and passed hands a lot through the years as Almansa stands at the crux of several regions, but even now almost 900 years from its beginning, large portions of the castle still stand.
Part of its success and may be the most interesting thing for me is that the Moors didn't just haul endless stones up the hill, they minimized the materials used by utilizing the existing stone on the hill itself. Entire walls standing now are solid natural rock. It's really beautiful. The keyhole windows are unique to this castle as well and very pretty.
We took the stony stairs up the side of the tower to the first level, then wound round the spiral stone staircase to the very top of the tower for a view of the surrounding area, hills lined with windmills almost faded completely in the distance, brownish green fields, more hills. Almansa is an oasis in a land of windmills. It's another Spanish bargain at 3 euros/adult and only 2/child.
After exhausting ourselves in the sun, we headed down towards the church were we found a little cafe. The girls had granizado and I had a my usual cafe solo con hielo. Locals wandered in and out, grabbing a quick beer and a plate of anchovies and olives, chatting a bit with the bartender, then leaving. I watched the news while talking to the girls. Devastating flooding in the Ukraine and Romania. A mortal dog attack in Madrid. We returned to our car a different route wandering by a fountain, the church, and another old pedestrian road. All roads contain a view of the castle, but the best views are from just outside of town. Sadly, I was on the highway before I realized that and didn't get the shot. Another nice town and a castle that I can check off my list.
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