In spite of the rain

Yesterday, the weather was horrible. Apparently, on the mountain pass road to Jaca there was a multiple car crash in the morning, caused by snow and fog. We heard about it on our way from Zaragoza to Matarraña. Much further south and much lower down, it wasn't snowing, although it was cold, wet and windy all day. Matarraña, in the north-east of the province of Teruel had been in our minds for some time, and we decided to go there in spite of the nasty weather.
Even though we got cold and wet, and couldn't see the views as well as we had hoped, it was worth the effort. Any other time it wouldn't have been so pretty the almond trees, which in Huesca are only just starting to come out, were in full bloom there. Moreover, the arrangement of the trees was unusually pretty. They were alternated with the olive trees for which the region is famous.

I took a few seconds of video to record the rushing wind blowing the trees.

The first destination was the biggest town in the area, Calaceite, where we stopped for a cup of coffee. We were surprised by the monumental character of the buildings.

The next stop, in the now pouring rain was Valderrobres. Cold and wet by now, we decided to eat a good meal in a restaurant. While we were waiting for it to be served we were given a dish of tiny, bitter green olives. Once we'd eaten, the rain had lessened and we could explore. 

Valderrobres castle

View looking away from the castle

Vaderrobres castle from the bridge

Castle wall

Leaving Matarraña, rightly known as the Aragonese Tuscanny, our final visit was Alcañíz. Although we had been there before, we particularly wanted to enter the castle for the first time. Built by the Knights of the Order of Calatrava, it is now a national Parador. There is a bar in the old stables. It was very comfortable there, but the lemon tea we ordered cost us €3.50 apiece (about 3 times the average). We also had to pay for the guided tour, but that was only to be expected, and really was worth it to see the medieval frescoes on the walls and arches.

both carved and painted

Romanesque capitels

Decorated arches in the "torre del homenaje"

He looks like the Green Man

Knights in Aragonese livery

Alcañíz is about an hour from Zaragoza, mainly on roads with one lane in each direction.

This is the whole of Aragón, and Matarraña in red