Day 17 * Parque-Jardín Historico del Monasterio de Piedra

Sunday, October 9, 2022

Morning: Nuévalos* Evening: Jaraba (Cañon del Rio Mesa)

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We spent the night in the village of Nuévalos. Now we are driving up the small serpentine road to the monastery. 

Today we officially enter the Parque-Jardín Historico del Monasterio de Piedra and dutifully pay our admission. First, we visit the impressive monastery with its beautiful courtyard and many confusing buildings. In the huge former monastery kitchen there is an exhibition about chocolate: here, chocolate was prepared for the first time in Europe. In the former wine cellar - of course, also huge - there is an exhibition about the history of winemaking here in the Calatayud region. So it is the European monasteries and the monks to whom we owe this noble drink in its present form ... Our tour ends at the ruins of the monastery church. Even in its half-ruined state, it is still very impressive.

After a snack in the shady monastery cellar, we start the second part of our visit. Now the park is on the program. And if we thought yesterday that the waterfall at Baño de Diana was impressive, then we were very mistaken. In the park, there are countless beautiful waterfalls and caves. The path leads up and down steps and walkways. There are long tunnels that lead deep into the red, coarse-structured rocks. Even behind the highest waterfall, we can go deep into the cave. We are speechless ... A long tunnel leads out on the other side of the mountain. We find ourselves again at a peaceful green lake, at the bottom of a magnificent gorge. In the Spanish midday heat, we walk back to the camper, exhausted and filled with overwhelming sensory impressions.

But we are not done yet. The next destination is the Cañon del Rio Mesa. In Jaraba, we make a short stop and visit the thermal baths at the Hotel Balneario de la Virgen. They are located directly under the steep cliffs here in the Rio Mesa gorge.  

And then we go straight into the 7-kilometer long Cañon del Rio Mesa. The road is very narrow, the road surface is bumpy. The rock walls rise steeply to infinity right next to the road. The river is small and inconspicuous. There are well-tended vegetable gardens on its banks. At the end of the gorge - it almost seems like the end of the world - we visit the small pretty village of Calmazar.

Actually, we wanted to stay here overnight, but there is no suitable place. So we drive back to Jaraba. On the way, we discover the hermitage Santuario Nuestra Señora de La Virgen de Jaraba in the gorge. Tomorrow we want to go for a short hike here. 

The eventful day comes to an end and we sleep deeply and well on the motorhome parking lot in Jaraba.