A lot of tripe

 We are heading into Castelseras. It is one of those places that the Streetviewers, admirable in so many ways, hav e fallen down and, alas, not been through a lot of it since 2013.  Castelseras exists because humanity abhors spaces by rivers that demand to have towns.  



Stuff can be found from the Sedetani Iberians, who were hanging around the place from about 1000BC.  The usual Romans and Visigoths and Muslims turned up and ruled the place.  It was an independent town until, in 1402, it was forced, through increasing debts,to join with Alcaniz. It developed a livestock farming centre and had an oil mill.  During the Carlist Wars it seems to have been occupied, passed through or used for attacks on Alcaniz. Currently the population is about 800. It had peaked at 2200 in 1857 and began to decline after 1920, stablizing after 2001.







This is a place with some decent fiestas:

  • The Fiestas Mayores (Major Festivals) takes place on January 19, 20, and 21, in honor of San Sebastián and San Antón . Poplar trees are planted in the Plaza del Puente and Plaza de España, around which tons of firewood are piled. At night, they are set alight, while people dance around the bonfires to the tune of "El Rodat."

  • The feast of Saint Agatha is celebrated on February 5 with a procession and blessed bread.

  • During Holy Week, the processions of "El Encuentro" on Holy Tuesday and "El Cristo de la Soledad" on Good Friday are particularly noteworthy.

  • On the Monday after Pentecost Sunday, the pilgrimage to the Hermitage of Santa Bárbara takes place, with a picnic lunch.

  • The Summer Festival, held the first weekend in August, is in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe ; it is enlivened with bullfights, street parties, and various musical performances.

  • At the "Cow's Dinner", which takes place on August 14, the town council invites people to dine on meat and potatoes



We will pass the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.  The parish church was built in the early  18th century to replace a smaller church . It has  three naves , a dome in the transept , and a tower at the foot. Its interior has suffered two partial destructions, during the Carlist Wars and the Civil War. The wooden altarpieces succumbed in the Carlist Wars. It currently houses a main plaster altarpiece with three sections, the central one depicting the Ascension of the Virgin and the side ones the four evangelists.




On to the Bar La Nevera. It gets 4.5 stars from 121 reviews.  Lorenzo was happy six months ago. ‘We stopped by chance on a motorcycle route and I was pleasantly surprised. We ordered some skewers that they only make on Sundays but you can order more things like tripe, etc.’  More recently Laura reckoned ‘The tapas are spectacular, I recommend ear, tripe and cane tripetas. For the main course, entrecôte, duck or quail.’




We are wandering along the river as we head out of town.  The Terranklinker   https://gresterraklinker.com/es/  Should you wish a terrace these people may be the ones for you.




We are following the Rio Guadalope and walk under the shadow of the Ermita Santa Barbara and the end of today.
























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