TravelswithCharie

Puting Bato Cave The Battle of Balisong Hills (Ang Away sa Balisong) was fought between Capiznon Revolucionarios and Spanish soldiers in Pilar in 1887. The local fighters bravely defended their town's freedom against the Spanish troops whom they routed. Notice the white limestone surface of the karst formation. Pilar has a trove of karsts begging to be explored. Hinulugan Falls It's a challenging ride through rough roads to Hinulugan Falls. And then some. Hinulugan is a short hike through rainforest where the sound of rushing water is motivation enough to trudge on despite the humidity. There's another waterfall in the higher elevation which can be seen from the main road. Determined souls will love the challenge of scaling the mountain. "Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations." Pilar What's not to love about this land? We drove past sugar cane fields, streams, rice fields and small villages to Hinulugan Falls. It...

Sunrise Waking up to this. Street Cleaners "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well'." -  Martin Luther King, Jr. Tuna "My big fish must be somewhere." Ernest Hemingway, the Old Man and the Sea Vitamin Sea   Keep calm and eat lunch. Fisherfolk “Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for.” - Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Poetry in Motion "If all politicians fished instead of spoke publicly, we would be at peace with the world." Will Rogers Sunset "The day is done  and the darkness falls  from the wings of night." Henry W. Longfellow  ***** Ima...

Ronda "Ronda is the place to go if you are planning to travel to Spain for a honeymoon or for being with a girlfriend. The whole city and its surroundings are a romantic set." Ernest Hemingway Ronda is the first stop along the route of the pueblos blancos in Andalusia. Framed by blue skies and the green valley below, it lives up to its title as the City of Dreams. Puente Nuevo The Puente Nuevo or the New Bridge crosses El Tajo canyon. It is 120 feet in height and took over four decades to build. It connects both the old (La Ciudad) and modern towns. Jose Martín de Aldehuela, the architect of the Puente Nuevo, also designed the Ronda bullring. In the background is the Parador Hotel of Ronda, with commanding views of the canyon and the Sierra de Grazalema in the distance. El Tajo Canyon on the Río Guadelevín El Tajo gorge was carved by the Guadalevín River which is fed by melting snow and rushing streams from the Sierra de las Nieves nearby. It is nar...

"My soul can find no staircase to heaven unless it be through earth's loveliness." Michelangelo  Plaza de España in Grazalema In the valley of the Sierra del Endrinal sits a peaceful town of a few thousand residents. Grazalema was our first stop along the pueblos blancos route. We had heard of their "cabello del angel" pastry and were curious about this "angel's head". We picked up some at a bakery off the plaza. They were sweet, as sweet as little angels who lovingly keep us out of harm's way. Zahara de la Sierra It's a hairy drive to Zahara de la Sierra through winding mountain roads offering spectacular views of the Embalse de Zahara, a reservoir surrounded by green peaks and valleys. In the center of Zahara is a mirador, a large terrace with a sweeping view of red rooftops spilling down the hill to the blue waters of the man-made lake below. Setenil de las Bodegas Setenil de las Bodegas stands apart from ot...

Puerto Rico Restaurant We were lucky to have found a really good restaurant in the center of Madrid. So many other people concur by the queue that forms outside the restaurant on most days.

Assumption of Mary I keep going back to Madrid. I like it so much I was there twice this year. On the second visit, I decided to check out some of the places I hadn't yet seen like the Templo de Debod and the CaixaForum. I wanted to see the statue of Julia in July but didn't have much time then so it was great to see her last November. I was made aware of the crypt of the Almudena Cathedral by local friends. The entrance to the crypt is on Calle Mayor, at the back of the cathedral. A chapel runs the length of the crypt and it is flanked by side altars separated from the apse by a row of columns supporting a vaulted ceiling.  At the back of the crypt and across the central nave from the main altar is this beautiful painting of Mary, Queen of Heaven. There were many people inside the crypt on the feast of the Almudena and the tombs were decorated with beautiful flowers, just like on All Soul's Day. A choir was singing the Almudena hymn which has a beautiful refrain: ...

Offerings The statue of Our Lady of the Almudena was brought to Spain by St. James, the apostle. It was hidden for centuries to keep it from being desecrated and destroyed by the arrival of the Moors in Spain in the 8th century. The search for the statue commenced after Spain was reconquered from the Moors in the 11th century.  It was miraculously found on November 9, 1085 during a novena and procession held for the purpose of finding her image. Since then Madrid has celebrated annually the feast of Our Lady of the Almudena, the patron saint of the city, on November 9.

"To Cordoba belong all the beauty and ornaments that delight the eye or dazzle the sight. Her long line of Sultans form her crown of glory; her necklace is strung with the pearls which her poets have gathered from the ocean of language; her dress is of the banners of learning, well-knit together by her men of science; and the masters of every art and industry are the hem of her garments." Stanley Lane Poole, The Moors in Spain: Introduction   Mezquita One of the most amazing places I've visited in the world is the Mezquita. The Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba was built on the site of the Church of San Vicente from the Visigothic occupation of Córdoba in the 6th century. It has changed ownership a few times since then. Muslims ruled Córdoba from the 8th century through 1236 when Córdoba fell to Christian Spain. The Mesquita which was completed in 976 was left intact until King Ferdinand III converted the mosque to a cathedral within a mosque in the 13th century. ...

Happy Travels!