Birthday Campout!

A birthday campout like no other - we "camped out" in a 14th century castle now serving as a 4-star hotel! The Parador of Cardona is housed in the old castle of the Dukes of Cardona, on the top of a hill which commands both the valley and the great Mountain of Salt of Cardona, the source of the Dukes' wealth and power.

We reserved a room a couple of weeks ago, but were wondering if we should really take the time to go. Elder and Sister Mask were with us on Tuesday and Wednesday and made it very clear that not only was it permissible to go, it was the strong, consistent counsel of the Brethren that we take an occasional retreat.

So Thursday morning we drove out of the city and within half and hour were out in beautiful countryside. The drive to Cardona was just over an hour, but is was worlds away from Barcelona -like driving out of Boston into the New England countryside. The leaves were a brilliant gold along the river, the pines were green, and the towns were charming - but you knew you weren't in New England!

The Castle from the Town

Cardona is a small town of about 1,000 people on the edge of a small valley with a patchwork of farms. The great castle sits on a hill across from the Mountain of Salt. The large tower in the center is 11-12th century; much of the structure is 14th century.

The town from the ramparts

In the hallway outside our room

We spent the afternoon and evening wandering around the castle and then the town, eventually having dinner at a small restaurant on a cobblestone pedestrian alley in the medieval town center.

In the village

Friday morning we had a wonderful buffet breakfast (in the great tradition of Spanish hotels): selections of hams, meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, breads, pastries; eggs and cereal to accommodate foreign guests; and, of course, thick dark Spanish hot chocolate with fresh churros.

Following breakfast we sat out on a patio on the upper ramparts, read weekly letters, and called missionaries. After checking out of the hotel, we went to the Moutain of Salt where we took the tour - complete with hardhats - and walked through some of the abandoned mine shafts.


And yes, I paid way too much for a rock at the gift shop.

"I bought the rock in Spanish Catalonia, in the rundown hillside mining town of Cardona. An irregular pink trapezoid with elongated, curved indentations etched on its surface by raindrops, it had an odd translucence and appeared to be a cross between rose quartz and soap. I paid too much for it - nearly fifteen dollars - but it was, after all, despite a rosy blush of magnesium, almost pure salt, a piece of the famous salt mountain of Cardona. The various families that had occupied the castle atop the next mountain had garnered centuries of wealth from such rock... Those who think a fascination with salt is a bizarre obsession have simply never owned a rock like this."
- Mark Kurlansky, Salt