Our two
nights at D'Emporda were completed, so it was time to roll
on. Our next destination was the town of Tortosa which was
quite a ways away from Emporda. The trip was easy as the
Spanish road system is excellent and when combined with our GPS,
we hit all our turns as planned. We rolled into Tortosa
around 1500 and both Steve and I were shocked by the
accommodations that Kathleen had booked for us.
The photos below are what we saw.
Our last
night at D'Emporda, Kathleen and I climbed to the top of the
observation tower and got this shot of the facility.
The
morning was clear and we could see the snow-capped Pyrenees in
the distance.
We drove
south of AP-7 on a route that generally paralleled the
coast. We turned toward the Costa Brava in a small town
"just because". After a short walk to the shore we were
treated to the scene above. The wind was blowing strong
and cold causing white caps on the ocean. Swimming was out
of the question.
Looking
south provided a nice view of the beach and beach-front walk.
There
was a pedestrian walk and a narrow road for cars.
South of
Barcelona from the AP-7 we spotted these cool sculptures.
From the
road, at speed, we were able to get a shot of the cathedral in
one of the small towns we passed.
Now here
is something you will likely never see in the U.S. on a freeway
overpass - sheep and goats being herded.
In
Spain, a selected number of old castles have been refurbished as
luxury hotels. These are known as "Paradors".
Kathleen booked us into the Parador Tortosa. When we
arrived at the castle, we had to drive up a very narrow road
through the castle gates to the upper parking where we spotted
the history of the castle.
This
parador is literally a castle. It has been augmented and
enhanced, but the basic structure is still the castle and
walls. And it was a BIG castle.
The
upper ramparts had a commanding view of the Ebro river valley
and town below.
This is
a stitched panorama of the Ebro Valley. Click on the photo
above to see the full-size panorama. Use the "back" button
when done to return to this page. Note the pronounced
volcanic outcropping near the left border of the image on the
mountain skyline.
Note the
stone arches from an old church or perhaps a mosque.
The
fortifications have been enhanced many times since the 1100s and
the walls are thick and tall. Note the windmills on the
far ridge.
Some of
the old stone work was on display. Note the enhanced rooms
on the left of the structure.
There
was a large wedding scheduled the day we arrived. A
portion of the party is on the balcony.
The
castle had plenty of old cannons and some were quite large.
I did
not count the cannons but there were quite a few. The gun
ports had commanding views of the valley below.
To the
north was another fortification. The original system had 6
redoubts. Note the turret and wall in the center of the
photo above.
On the
top of the castle walls, any place that could catch dust had
flowers of some form. Note the spines on this species.
On
another lookout point I spotted this flower.
To the
south we had a birds-eye view of a large cathedral at the foot
of the castle walls. Note the flying buttresses.
The Ebro
river is big enough to allow passage of small cargo boats and
the position of the castle was chosen to be able to monitor and
control traffic on the river.
Attacking
the tower from this side of the castle would be virtually
impossible.
Again,
my shadow is in the photo. These walls are huge.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.