A Hermitage

 

In our travels along the main route to and from Priego de Cordoba where we stayed in Spain in September I kept seeing this sign.  One day as we set out for another small town and I knew we would pass this turn off, I told Dan let's investigate.

It was a very winding road up to a mountain top.

The site dates from 1260.

There were only two cars up there.  One from another visitor and the other belonging to Jose, the groundskeeper.  He spoke no English but with Dan's Spanish we learned that the  statue of the Virgin of the Sierra was in the town of Cabra for the month of September. The hermitage where the Virgin is kept for the other 11 months was not open for visiting.  The grounds were.

The scene below is one of the few vistas where olive groves were not the prominent sight.  Jose told us we were looking at horse country.

Below is a small version of the Virgin in a grotto.  Notice the half moon and star.  All the various versions we saw of the Virgin Mary had that symbol.

Jose said we were looking down here on Roman ruins.  Looks like an old bull ring to me.

I imagine the hermitage is maintained by all the leases it has with cell phone companies. The highest point was well sprouted with towers.

We enjoyed our unofficial tour with Jose.

Rain, Rain

 Go away. Come again another day.

Remember that ditty?

I think too many people have been reciting it this year and now the rain just can't go away anymore. Not that it really worked all summer.  For the year we are 7 inches above average.

Here's our rain gauge.

Another Small Spanish Town

Carcabuey was a very short drive from where we were staying in Priego do Cordoba.  In fact when we drove west for other day trips we'd see the fortress or castle at Carcabuey high on its hill.

On this day we found street parking and headed up to check out the castle.

Below is looking back down to the main square.

We passed this tile picture of the Virgin Mary.  It was above a water fountain.

The pathway continued to climb.

This fortress is not in good repair we could tell as we approached.

A mosaic of stones in the pathway.

The only way in was through this gateway.

A sign showed what it must have been like.

Now there is a church dedicated to the Virgin inside the fort. It wasn't open and probably only opens on celebrations.

Looking back down to the gate.

Much of the area was roped off.

Interesting background on how the fort was built, but even more mysterious was why the English translations on all the signage were crossed out.

The town below.

Going back out through gate Dan spied this face above the gate.

We also spied this bull ring.

Back into the town the door to this church was open so we went in.

When we came back out we realized that a christening was going to be happening shortly as the baby dressed in white in the arms of a parent was waiting for the rest of the family to gather.

 

Bridge of Flowers

 I've seen the sign countless times as we've traveled north and south on Interstate 91, but have never taken the time to explore and see the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. Last week we spent three nights in the Berkshires with friends from Maryland and took the time to see it since we were so close by.

The bridge was built in 1908 for trolley cars to cross the Deerfield River between Buckland and Shelburne Falls.  It was abandoned after 20 years and then a couple had the vision of making it into a flower bridge.  The first year's operating budget was $1000 but now it costs much more to maintain it.

Multiple varieties of dahlias were in full bloom.

Come walk with me.

This fall the Bridge is closing while a water main is constructed across it.  All the flowers and trees will be dug up, farmed out for safe keeping or sold.  The Bridge of Flowers will reopen in 2025. 

We were glad we stopped to see it.