Don Quixote to Visit Rodenas, Spain

Every so often, if you are an ardent traveler like me, you come across a totally unexpected delight like Rodenas, a tiny municipality tucked away in the remote province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. I was following in the footsteps of my idol, the Knight with the woeful countenance Don Quixote. Miguel De Cervantes chose the Castilla La Mancha to set what is undoubtedly the most famous literary tale in Spanish literary history over 300 years ago. Adjoining the providence of Aragon, this is unquestionably one of the most picturesque regions in the world and it was here that I discovered Rodenas. Did I mention that Rodenas is also my wife's maiden name!

From the costal city of Valencia, take the A-23 north to the A-1511 (Santa Eulalia del Campo) for 17Km to Pozondon. At this point you will believe you have come to the end of the world - there is nothing in any direction? A road sign directs you to Rodenas, however after about 15 minutes driving we spotted this tiny village tucked away at the foot of the mountains ahead. It was truly like a journey back in time. This tiny village, whose population in 2008 was recorded at 88, is slowly disappearing. We attended mass in the village church, along with the priest (who spoke no English) and 4 parishioners. Please take the time to view all the pictures of this amazing little time capsule. We found a flyer advertising Rodenas Goat Cheese, the only business we could find in the village! At the only restaurant "Restaurante Rodenas" where we enjoyed some marvelous local cuisine, the sweet young lady offered to phone the Cheese manufacturer - her uncle I believe, and they opened the factory just for us! Needless to say we left with an ample supply of goat cheese! Though we spent over 5 hours exploring Rodenas we saw no more than 12 people in all.

We were about to leave the village when my wife noticed a sign saying Castle Rodenas? 10 minutes later we were entering this marvelous structure - surely the home of Don Quixote I thought.

We spent an hour exploring this ancient Spanish Castle which overlooks the town of Peracense, and as far as we knew, we were the only visitors that day.
For more information on this region visit
http://www.spanish-living.com/regional/indexR_Castilla_La_Mancha.php

Dr. Peter J. Shield PhD (http://pjshield@netzero.com)