This was actually a trip to visit friends that I hadn’t seen for a while. The first was Phil Thorne who’s letter to me and a photograph I have included in my Yachtmaster Training - Sail section. Phil was living then on his boat at Torrevieja which is a few miles south of Alicante on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The second was Gerard Verdino who was cruising in his catamaran and staying at that time in a marina just south of Barcelona, there is also a photograph of Gerard and a letter from him in my sailing section. Leaving the Algarve on my motorbike my route took me past Seville, then Granada with wonderful views of the Sierra Nevada to the south east.

My first destination was Alicante airport where I picked up a friend and then we travelled 15 miles south to Torrevieja where we stayed in a flat for a few days.  Seeing Phil while we were there having not seen him for about six years was wonderful. The next person to visit was Gerard, we had several days in which to get there and so decided to explore inland a little on the way.

Initially we rode along the coast past Alicante and Valencia and then just before Castello de la Plana we turned on to the CV10, which took us in a northerly direction up into the Serra de Vallivana. Higher and higher we climbed, red and white posts on the side of the road combined with the fact that a majority of the local vehicles were four wheel drive gave us a clue that in winter one could expect a lot of snow on this road. After about an hour and a half we turned left onto the N 232 and still going up and up but now in a north west by west direction the views becoming more and more spectacular every minute as we went along the winding road that took us through the Querol mountain pass at an altitude of over 1000 metres. As we negotiated a long right hand corner, Morella appeared in front of us. We pulled over onto the side of the road to photograph this spectacular view of a medieval fortified town perched on a high rock with the most wonderful views all around of the surrounding countryside. Above the town is the magnificent castle built on a massive rock with sheer sides giving it a naturally fortified position.

We rode on and into the city passing through the impressive St Michael’s Gate which was built in 1360. We soon realized that the only way to explore the town was on foot so parked the bike and walked finding eventually a small pension just inside the castle walls where we stayed the night. The next day we explored the town and took some of the photographs that you see above.

Morella was first established as a stronghold by the Romans who called it Bisgargis, when they left in the fifth century they were soon replaced by Visigoths who invaded the Iberian Penninsular from northern Europe. They were replaced by the Moors who arrived in the 7th and 8th centuries and who remained there until defeated by the army of El Cid in 1091. However the Moors re-established themselves in Morella several times during the following 140 years until finally they were thrown out on January 7th 1232 when Morella came under the direct control of the kings of Aragon. Whilst Morella may not be as well known as Cadiz, Valladolid, Seville, Granada, Toledo and Madrid, the town has played an important role in the history of Spain.

In 1317 the King of Aragon designated Morella as the center of operations against The Knights Templar, whose persecution had been initiated by the Pope and The King of France in 1307.  In 1414 The King of Aragon, Ferdinand of Antequera, the antipope Benedict 13th and Saint Vincent Ferrer met here for several weeks to discuss the Great Schism which was dividing the Western Church. In 1710 Morella was conquered by the Carolingian forces during the war of the Spanish Succession and a year later by the army of Philip 5th. Napoleon’s invasion of the Iberian Peninsular brought war again to Morella when the city was taken by the French in 1810 but recaptured by the Spanish in 1813. Civil war again involved Morella between 1820 and 1840 and 100 years later Morella was taken by the army of general Franco.

The castle, which sits high above the town on a gigantic rock, has never been captured by force, only by trickery or betrayal. It’s deterioration as we saw it last year is due more to the explosion of a powder house when it was hit by lightening during a storm in 1709 than to the battles that have taken place there. There is however enough left of the castle to see the Governor’s Palace, a church, the parade ground, store rooms, a prison and powder houses. All surrounded by three walls, the outer of which is set on the very edge of this steep rock.

Immediately below the castle is The Royal Convent of San Francisco, which was founded in 1272. This was the first Christian building to be built at Morella and was inhabited by Fransiscan monks who played an important role in the community in both the town and the surrounding countryside until the wars of the 19th century when they abandoned the monastery and have never returned. Today some of the convent is in ruins but the gothic cloister is still partly intact and gives one an idea of how beautiful the convent must have been. Many of its rooms are still intact and used for concerts and exhibitions. A programme of restoration has been started in recent years to prevent any further deteriation with a long-term plan to restore the convent to its former glory.

Just below the convent and still therefore close to the castle is The Basilica of Santa Maria La Mayor, known in the region of Valencia as being the most beautiful Gothic church in the region.

Construction began in 1265 shortly after the re-conquest; it replaced the Mosque that occupied part of the same site, remains of which could be seen until quite recently. The church was completed in 1317, it combines the Gothic with the Romanesque styles and unusually it has its only two doors both facing in the same direction owing to the fact that the church only has access into the town from one side. The church is 64 meters long by 34 meters wide. It is well known for the beauty of its choir staircase, its high altar and wonderful organ.

Walking through the city amongst the multitude of medieval buildings you will find three 13th century parish churches, a pre inquisition Jewish quarter, the Gothic Palace of the Marquis of Cruilles, a 13th century market place containing 50 workshops constructed in 1257; many of these workshops are used by weavers who are still using the same techniques that were used in the 14th century. The extremely large town hall, which replaced an earlier building destroyed by fire, was completed in 1414 and contains the council offices, the courts of justice and the goal. Morella’s bullring must be one of the oldest in Spain, it is within the outer city wall and there is a wonderful view of it from the castle as can be seen from the photograph above.

Outside the city there are two spectacular 14th century aqueducts which continued to bring water to the city until the end of the 19th century. They were both completed in 1359 and at more than 600 years of age are in remarkably good condition. Their graceful arches and their buttress supports are an impressive example of Gothic civil engineering.

The surrounding countryside is made up of small sheep farms with their fields bordered by dry stonewalls. The attractive stone farmhouses with terracotta tiled roofs are scattered across the countryside and sadly only one third of them are inhabited, the remaining two thirds have been deserted and lie there in various states of decay.

We left Morella after a full day there and rode north on the N232 towards Alcaniz, a winding road with frequent hairpin bends, always fun on a motorbike, and with breathtaking views of the most beautiful countryside with the occasional deserted farmhouse, a tiny isolated church, a deserted convent and in one place an entire village that had been abandoned.

15 kilometers south east of Alcaniz we turned onto the N420, which took us back towards the coast and then finally to La Ginesta where Gerard Verdino was staying on board his catamaran. Gerard kindly had us to stay for the night, it was good to see him again. The next day my friend flew from Barcelona airport and I rode back to the Algarve over the next day and a half via Valencia, Albacete, Cordoba and Seville.