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Another wonderful experience in my beloved Spain. Driven by it so many times eventually several years back decided to come in and it has been a stop ever since. Jaca in the heart of Aragon! This is an update and on my black and white series as plenty written and pictures abound on it in my blog. Hope you enjoy this introduction to Jaca!

I like to shift gear into my beloved Spain, and especially the wonderful old kingdom of Aragon now an autonomous region of the kingdom of Spain!  We came actually from France when we were base in Pau, the trip by car is easy over the mountains and Jaca is just there after Somport.  Jaca was wonderful , and we also took advantage to see the wonderful Monastery of San Juan de la Peña nearby.

Jaca is in the province of Huesca in the autonomous region of Aragon, On the axe Pau-Zaragoza passing by the Somport tunnel (or as when I started coming here in 1990  just pushing 2^nd gear over the mountain trails with a VW Golf of my dear late wife Martine!). It is in the heart of the Pyrénées in the valley of Aragon, parallel valley to the axis of the Pyrenees, at the foot of Mount Oroel. The city is on a depression of the Canal of Berdùn 818 meters below sea level. It is part of the metro area of the north of Aragon in the Jacetania.

By road as we do, we take it from France under Somport tunnel with the N134 France and then come out with the N330 Spain to direction Huesca, Zaragoza taken the panels for Jaca.   We later tested the new A21 linking all the major towns in Aragon, Navarra, and beyond. There is bus service between main towns such as Castiello, Villanûa , Canfranc, and the ski resorts towns of Candanchu and Astun. The train takes you to Huesca, Zaragoza, and Madrid, as well as the closest airport is Huesca at 80 km, Pau in France at 130 km.

A bit of history I like

Jaca was inhabited by the Jacetani people from pre Roman times, the Roman consul Caton the old conquered it in 196 BC. It was the first capital of the kingdom of Aragon and a point of departure for the Conquering of the New World. The city was from early 11C a fortified military camp as it had an strategic location by the foot of the peak of Somport and on the Aragonese road to St James (Santiago de Compostela). Ramiro I of Aragon , son of king Sancho III the Great of Navarra inherited the county of Jaca and later the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorce and takes the title of king of Aragon in 1038. He obtained from the Pope to name Jaca the seat of the bishops of Aragon and gives the city title or fuero of Jaca in 1077 , as well as ordered built the Cathedral of St Peter. Once Huesca is taken from the Moors in 1096 ,Jaca loses its role as capital but stayed a strong commercial center and controlling the road from Zaragoza to France as well as holding resting place of pilgrims on the road to St James.

During the war of successions of Spain ,Jaca takes side with the Bourbons (France) , winners the king Felipe V (born at Versailles) puts a flower of lily on the coat of arms of the city. . During the Napoleonic period in the war of independence of Spain ,Jaca falls to the French in 1809 and will stayed French until 1814. The 1868 revolution (aka La Gloriosa the glorious) against the queen Isabel II the seminary was cancelled, volunteers of Liberty were formed ,civilians organized to protect the public order against the followers of Isabel and against the absolutists in favor of a constitution of 1856, the non nata as it was never put into law.  In December 1930, the Jaca uprising, a mutiny whose leaders demanded abolition of the monarchy, was suppressed with some difficulty. It was an early event that preceded the  Spanish Civil War. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, in August 1936 many of the protagonists in the uprising were executed by firing squad.

Things to see in Jaca

The wonderful St Peter’s Cathedral (Catedral de San Pedro), the superb Citadel aka St Peter’s castle or Castillo de San Pedro until the 19C , ordered built in 1592 by king Felipe II; the San Miguel de Jaca bridge, the museum of military miniatures, Done with lead the material used to make the 32,000 figures, each under 20 mm , in 32 glass enclosures. Recreating periods such as the first great armies, “From the Crusades to the 18th century” “Towards Great War (WW1)”, “The Spanish Civil War and Second World War” and “Towards peace”. The final scale model rises directly from the floor and is the biggest and most attractive of the museum. It recreates the range of tanks and vehicles in the First Brunete Armored Division. The display is made up of nearly 5,500 pieces which commemorate the greatest combat unit in the Spanish army. the Clock tower of Jaca ,gothic style built in 1445 on the same spot as the palace of the Aragonese kings, that was destroyed by fire in 1395. Later uses as king’s representative in the city , prison and since 1986, the HQ of the European Council Pyrenean Work Community.   A cultural heritage kept at the Municipal Archives building, the Libro de la Cadena or the book of chains, a manuscript containing the statues , rights , privileges of the city fuero of Jaca, a copy from the 13C with 101 parchment pages covering the period from 931 to 1324.

I like to mentioned briefly on the Monasterio San Juan de la Peña very near Jaca (see post). Only 23 km in the village of Santa Cruz de la Séros, in the Sierra de la Peña mountain at about 1200 meters altitude and a spectacular view up to it.  From Jaca take the road N240 direction Pamplona, you follow the signs for Santa Cruz de la Seros and a mountain road A1603 takes you to the old monastery and from there 1,5 km to the new monastery. Better as they said park in the new monastery and take the navette bus to the old; the road is really narrow and steep and hard to park along it if impossible.

It was founded in the year 920 in a very secluded site that was previously occupied by the monks that came here hiding from the Moors invasion in 720. In the 11C it took the Clunician reform against the vices that suffered the Church.  In the 16C another monastery was build in the baroque style a bit further up, the road been very narrow and steep parking was very difficult and still is;;;; the cars were park near the newer monastery and a navette bus takes you to the old included in the admission price.

All I can say see it , its a must and a wonderful jewel of my beloved Spain. Do come to Jaca and why not the Monastery!

Some webpages to help you plan your trip here, it is a must in the north old Spain:

The city of Jaca on things to see: https://www.jaca.es/turismo/monumentosymuseos.html

A good unofficial tourist site on Jaca and else: http://www.jaca.com/turismo.htm

The metro area Jacetania of Jaca on history/heritage: https://www.turismojacetania.com/lugares.php?idio=en&Id=120

The Aragon region tourist board on Jaca: https://www.turismodearagon.com/ficha/jaca/#.WxzbWu6FPIV

The official monastery of San Juan de la Peña: http://www.monasteriosanjuan.com/real-monasterio.php

The metro area Jacetania on the Monastery San Juan de la Peña: https://www.turismojacetania.com/lugares.php?idio=en&Id=139

A wonderful, terrific, no words combination to see something real of  Jaca, and the Monasterio San Juan de la Peña are unreal.  And remember, happy travels, good health and many cheers to all!!!

And I am going back to a wonderful far away land in my beloved Spain. This is going to the autonomous region of Extremadura and the historical town of Trujillo! I have written on it before and this was my introductory post on it; and will be on my black and white series as pictures elsewhere in other posts. Hope you enjoy as I.

A few years back, I had gone to many not all places of my beloved Spain, and someone was to meet me for business. I was open to suggestions and as the person was from the area ,I was taken to Trujillo; and what a find it was. I have already know the city from my Spanish history, but never been to the town.  Trujillo  is in the Province of Caceres on the west of Spain. The town contains many medieval and renaissance buildings and on many of them were built or enriched by conquerors of the new world. These include, Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru as well as his brothers Francisco de Orellana, and Hernando de Alarcon.

A bit of history I like

Since Roman times the town was known as Turgalium  and became a prefecture stipendiary of the Lusitanian capital, Emerita Augusta (today Mérida).  With the Muslim invasion and conquest in 711, it became one of the main towns in the region renamed Turjalah, governed by the Taifa based in Madrid. This taifa was subject to the Umayyad Emirate and the subsequent Caliphate ruled until the middle of the 11C. Five centuries of Muslim occupation and control finally ended when an army formed by forces of the Military orders and the Bishop of Plasencia laid siege to the city of Trujillo with the support and blessing of King and Saint Fernando III.

The town was finally captured in 1232. During the final assault, according to the local legend, the Christian forces were faltering just short of victory when many reported seeing the Virgin Mary (known as Virgen de la Victoria or the Virgin Mary of Victory) between the two towers, or Arco del Triunfo, in the castle. Sufficiently inspired, Christian troops pressed on and achieved victory defeating the Muslims who were inside.  King Juan II of Castile gave the town the title of city in 1430.  During the War of Independence (from Napoleon’s France), one of the first authorities that responded to the call of the Junta of Mostoles in May 1808 was the mayor of Trujillo, Antonio Martin Rivas who prepared enlistments of volunteers, with food and arms, plus the mobilization of troops, to go to the aid of the Junta. Trujillo was captured by the French in 1811 and held until 1812.

Some things to see in Trujillo are

The Castle (Alcazaba), the Church of Santiago, the Church of Santa María la Mayor, the Church of San Francisco, the Church of San Martín, the Plaza Mayor, and renaissance palaces such as the palace of the Marquis of the Conquest, the palace of the Orellana-Pizarro family, the palace of the Duques de San Carlos, Marquesado de Piedras Albas, the house of the  Palace Chaves , and of course the walled old town. The Palacio de Piedras Albas was built circa 1530 ,formely owned by the Marquis de Orellana and later by the Marquis de San Juan de Piedras Albas. It has several museums: Museum of Coria (Javier Salas Foundation), Pizzaro’s House, Enrique Elías Museum (local designer), Museum of Cheese and Wine. Overall, all is around the Plaza Mayor, and very nice indeed, as main squares in Spain goes it can rank up there, and the historical building around it are just worth at least a day here. The nice parador is the former convent of Santa Clara at Calle Santa Beatriz de Silva, 1

Some webpages to help you trip planning are:

The Trujillo tourist office: https://trujilloturismo.org/planea-tu-visita/qu%C3%A9-ver

The city of Trujillo on heritage: http://www.trujillo.es/patrimonio

The Extremadura region tourist board on Trujillo: https://www.turismoextremadura.com/es/explora/Trujillo/

There you go not bad after all, and the needs as usual to come back to these beautiful places of my beloved Spain. Trujillo is on the list to return again when possible. Hope you enjoy the post and give you something to come for a visit. It is worth it.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

This is a very memorable post going way back, that I did came back to the city for the pictures and the rememberance. First, the title is an old song very popular in Spain , a copla written in 1891 by José Feliú y Codina, and since in many plays, cinema, songs etc. Remember, Si vas a Calatayud you ask for Dolores…

It was sang by my mother to me when a young boy! Always memories of my Spain. As the years went by was lucky enough to lived in Madrid and finally visited Calatayud. Many years later took my girlfriend and eventually wife to it too. My dear late wife Martine love it. We arrive once when there was a wedding going on in the hotel, the hotel is no longer there as we passed by to see what was left of it. We did put gas/petrol in the station next to it on the NII road.  Things change, but the memories lingered forever. We ,ourselves ,need to come back again ,when possible.

Calatayud is in the province of Zaragoza in the autonomous community of Aragon on the banks of the Jalon river. There are many roads crossing here such as the A2 and the N234 and old N II (which we still preferred to take more in town) ;  The regional roads or autonomous A 1504 to Cariñena , the A202  to Nuévalos and the local road CV 601 to Embid de la Ribera; there is the now wonderful A23 and still away the A24.

A bit of history I like, really started with Augusto, the Roman emperor that raise it to city as Municipium Augusta Bilbilis  and once Tiberio arrived the construction to the temple or forum began , the city even printed money and at this time was born Marcial. Next came the Arabs/Moors and the fortified castle complex is built that eventually gave the name to the town. The town was called Qal’at Ayyub which means Qal’a fortified town or citadel and Ayubb a common Arab name. In the 12C the Moors here were defeated by the king of Aragon, Alfonso I the Battler in 1120 the feast of St John the Baptist. And in the 15C the infante Fernando II is proclaimed heir to the throne of Aragon in the town in 1461. Here too, it is signed in 1481 the charter of Calatayud between the Catholic Kings (Fernando and Isabel) and Fernando de Guanarteme, the king (local name mencey)  of Gran Canarias (in the Canary islands) that will be incorporated into the kingdom of Castile.

Wonderful things to see in Calatayud are:

The fortified castle complex from the Arabs period (castles, ramparts wall and gates). It is from the 9C and the oldest in Spain of Arab/moors time. It has five points or castles, all connected by walls and ramparts that comes up and down canyons. At the highest elevation is the Mayor castle or Castillo Mayor and the Castle of the  Torre Mocha (shortened tower).  In the inferior plateau you have the castles or Castillo de Doña Martina, Castillo del Reloj, and  Castillo de la Peña (the most damaged).

The Castillo de Doña Martina is the oldest. The Castillo Mayor or of Ayyub  is the highest. It has two buildings one lower to the north side and other high on the south side. It also has two towers in a octagonal shape where there is still the tank well. There is a complex of  Recinto de la Longía  there are trees that makes it difficult the view and from the Castillo Mayor rampart walls go on towards the south and east, some remaining towers can be seen.  The Castillo Real or del Reloj (Royal or clock castle), you have a wall in the interior of the rampart towards the south that reaches this castle, there is just a section visible today.  There was a wall that connected it to the Castle of  Doña Martina by the canyon of the Barranco de la Rúa,and here it was open to the gate or Puerta de Valencia. The Torre Albarrana came from the Castillo Mayor to the orient with a rampart section with four towers in square shape. At about 150 meters there was the torre albarrana tower separated by a 7 meters but link to the complex, and it is the oldest section of the tower Albarrana. Another complex call the Recinto de la Torre Mocha or shortened tower, is closed, there was a cord chain reaching the castle of Doña Martina. At the center there is an octagonal tower that was used for water tank and the complex as storage.  The Castillo de la Peña, is today in ruins. The gate or Puerta with a horseshoe arc is the only part that has been restored following the model of the Mezquita of Cordoba.

Other wonderful monuments to see are  the collegiale Church of Santa Maria la Mayor, Royal collegiale Church of  Santo Sepulcro, Church of San Pedro de los Francos; Sanctuary or Santuario de la Virgen de la Peña; Church of San Andrés,  and Church of San Juan el Real. Also, the Museum of Calatayud (archeological museum on findings in the area) in the former convent of Carmelites, and the Museum of La Dolores, located in the tavern Meson de la Dolores ( the history of movies, songs of this famous personage of Calatayud) .

Wonderful Calatayud, full of nice memories needed to post in my blog stand alone, for the souvenirs of always. You too will love if like visiting Spain, and we will wait to be back when possible.

Some webpages to help you plan your trip here are:

The city of Calatayud on things to see: https://www.calatayud.es/turismo/visitar

The region of Calatayud tourist office on the city: http://comarcacalatayud.com/index.php/zonas-de-la-comarca/calatayud/

The province of Zaragoza on Calatayud: https://www.turismodezaragoza.es/provincia/pueblos/calatayud.html

The region of Aragon tourist board on Calatayud: https://www.turismodearagon.com/en/ficha/calatayud/

There you go another jewel in Zaragoza province, region of Aragon; the famous Calatayud, yes indeed. We shall meet again if you are going by Calatayud ,si vas por Calatayud!!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!