We took a trip to the state capital of Jaen, about an hour from here. They had a marvelous castle there, and we able to look out over the great countryside! We were even able to recognize the great smoke stacks from the olive processing factories outside of Baeza. The castle has a great history of occupation, from the Moors, the French, and the Spanish. We met fellow-CAMers the Saxes there, and had a great picnic in the woods. The hill was real steep, and there was something dizzying about the whole thing. Turns out the trees grew perpendicular to the ground, not vertically like most trees. So, as we walked along, everything was “cattywompussed!” reminded me of the “spirit beings” in the C.S. Lewis science fiction books, that were never quite vertical with our world because they were oriented with a different other-worldly axis.

The town of Jaen down below had a fairy tale cathedral. Looks like a post card, but it’s the real thing! We wound our way down the twisty roads and streets of town, and stopped for a coke in the shadow of the great building. Warm day, cool coke! Great combination!

Had to take a shot of Jan for the record. Looks as good as ever. Right? I think life in Spain agrees with us.

Ben has been visiting for a few months, and enjoyed being a tourist in Spain.