Day 16 Parador Alcaniz October 22nd:

The day dawned a bit cloudy with the promise of rain later. We have been here before so not sure how we will fill the day but the first order of the day is breakfast. As with most of these historic Paradors, the buildings are so old. Our superior room is delightful, with a lovely 3 piece suite in front of the 4 poster canopy bed! Large, comfortable and delightful! We are on the 2^nd floor and Paul opts for the elevator but I bound down the wide green carpeted staircase past the dining room where they are laying out the tables for a wedding later today. Flowers are being delivered and everyone is scurrying around getting ready.

Alfonso II granted this castle to the Military order of Calatreva in 1179. Obviously it has been remodeled several times and it is most impressive. There is a Romanesque cloister, Gothic keep and Baroque façade which blend together very well unless you are an expert in these things, in which case it may come across as a bit schizophrenic but I am not an expert and I think it is delightful.

Down the stairs across the terrace and gardens and up the stone stairs to the breakfast room. Excellent buffet as usual with a selection of cold and cured meats, cheeses, tortillas, eggs to order and some of the best local bread ever! Orange juice was a bit tart but coming from Florida where we have awesome oranges I am a bit of a critic!

Wedding guests are arriving dressed to the nines, flowers are being placed on display stands and on the stairs. I know photos will be taken on that grand sweeping staircase with the huge tile mural in the background. We are off into town to try and find a mouse for Paul’s computer. He has not got the hang of this touch screen thing! We will find one o these ubiquitous Chinese Bazaars that have sprung up all over Spain. They smell strangely of plastic but always have what you are looking for 5.90€ and mission accomplished!

Carmen Garmin came to the rescue when we were looking for something to do, Las Grutas de Cristal are only 42 miles away!  Off we go across kind of flat plains into the middle of nowhere. We find the Gruta and after looking at the stairs up to our destination, Paul said “no way!”  Uneven stone steps seemed to go on forever!  I am ever up for a challenge so Paul snagged a beer and a table. It is a guided tour and is only supposed to take about ½ hour. It was hysterical climbing the stairs, I think I was the oldest one there but these two ladies kept me laughing all the way up with their huffing, puffing and desperation to reach the top.

You know, I have said many times in these blogs that Spain is a big rock and never has it been truer. These caves were discovered in 1961 by some people in a ski club. The guide was speaking so fast and indistinctly that I was really struggling to keep up, and what they found is truly remarkable. It is different from the usual stalagmite/stalactite stuff though they were there too, let’s face it water dripping down is going to grow pillars; it was the crystal formations that were amazing. There were animal bones and a human mandible whose age I am uncertain about as it got lost in translation! Now, he also mentioned Bats and other caves but again translation is sketchy as I was trying to keep my balance and not touch anything! I think if Paul had gone he might have dislodged something as space was tight with “mind your head”  said to short me!

Back to the surface and down those countless steps where it was starting to rain and Paul had the car warmed up for a quick getaway! We had planned to go into the town of Molinos where there are museums and all sorts of interesting stuff but by this time it was really chucking it down and after an abortive attempt though very narrow streets and no parking we decided to cut our losses and head to the nearest hamlet to find a late lunch. We found somewhere and had an okay lunch, the best part of which was the asparagus and ham I had for a starter. Paul enjoyed his macaronis but personally I think his are better!

Back to the Parador through the driving rain in hopes of finding a parking space amongst the wedding guests, luckily they had cordoned off an area for hotel guests, problem solved. After a rest and checking email and reading, time was marching on and you guessed it, it is time to forage for food! Actually this is more of an exploratory exercise than looking for food, there is much more involved! What , where and when?? Shall we drive? Will there be parking? Is it still raining? All very important questions when you have a steep, one lane access road with towering walls on each side and visibility is bad. We ventured forth, checked out a couple of places on the outskirts of town and opted for just below the castle in the town center. Bar Guadalupe had tapas and combination plates. Afterwards we trooped back to the small parking to retrieve our car for the journey up the narrow pathway to the Pardor where as the parking fairy pointed out the last remaining slot had the Beskow name below the reserved flag. In for a night cap and a sound sleep as the DJ and wedding guests continue to partydown somewhere in the depths of the Pardor ballroom.