We were ready for another day out and as the weather was beautiful with bright blue sky and sunshine, we consulted the Reception outings suggestions board and decided on Peniscola, an interesting town with a citadel about 45 mins up the coast. It was an easy drive and we arrived at "The City in the Sea", a fortified seaport with a lighthouse, built on a rocky headland and joined to the mainland by a narrow strip of land.

We'd read that the castle was built by the Knights Templar in the late 1200s and had also been the home of the Pope Benedict XIII, Pedro de Luna, whose name is commemorated in the name of the medieval castle, Castell del Papa Luna. As we approached, we realised that it was his statue we could see, set high on the wall on the entrance ramp.



Having paid the entrance fee, we walked up the steep slope into the castle and emerged into the courtyard; there were many rooms and steps off it so we started our explorations in the chapel, where we were very surprised to find a plaque on the wall from the alumni of St Andrew’s University in Scotland. Apparently the university was granted 6 bulls in 1413 by Papa Luna for its founding, and the plaque commemorated the gift’s 600^th anniversary. There’s a fact to store away for quiz night!

Re-emerging into the sunlight, we explored the towers and staircases all around the courtyard, all ending in vantage points with magnificent views over the town. It was very clear that the castle was set on a peninsula with a narrow isthmus and it was this situation that attracted the producers of the film El Cid to film there in the late 1950s - I could just imagine Charlton Heston racing up the steps and fighting his enemies on the battlements. We also read that it was currently the location for filming Game Of Thrones although there was no sign of a film crew whilst we were there.



The views over the town & promenade were magnificent, especially as everywhere was fringed with palm trees, my favourite icon. Below the castle was a palm garden and we headed off there to have a look before it closed for lunch; on the way we encountered some familiar faces – Bonterra Park had also run a coach trip to Peniscola, and perched on a wall eating their sandwiches were our French boules friends, Nicole and Emile.

The palm garden itself was lovely, very shady on a hot day with hilly winding paths among the trees and again with great views to the north over the beach and promenade. We met some more fellow campers there too but after a brief chat it was time to find some lunch.

The promenade at Peniscola is very wide and runs the full length of the beach; it has several very large Gaudi-style mosaic sculptures, an interesting looking children’s playground (although it was devoid of children) plus a magnificent sand sculpture of a castle. The maker had even put a pond in, and it looked very impressive with the real citadel behind it.

Lunch was at a nice restaurant overlooking the promenade and citadel and it was so nice to be able to sit outside and take in the view. Having satisfied our stomachs, it was time to move on to visit the couple who had recently been our neighbours at Bonterra Park, Janet & David. They had decided to relocate to Camping Playa Tropicana at Alcossebre for a few days, and as it was just down the coast we had arranged to call and see them.

The site was in a lovely situation outside the town, right on the beach and with a superb swimming pool area where we found them waiting for us. They gave us a guided tour of Playa Tropicana, a very upmarket-looking site with classical statues and palm trees fringing the roadways, and extremely posh sanitary blocks. Dave & Nina had also made the trip and we all sat under the awning enjoying sangria & home made cake – thank you Janet & David!




We eventually made our way home via the coast and then over the edge of the Desert de les Palmes – minor roads in varying states of repair crossing the mountain chain and ending up at Marina D’Or where we took the speedier route back. That evening I enjoyed a glass of caramel vodka, a great-tasting (to me, anyway!) spirit which Janet had introduced me to – I must try & find some more when I get home.