Day Five continued - Monasterio de Piedra

May 7, 2002

At the request of King Alfonso II of Aragon and his wife Sancha, thirteen monks from the Abbey of Poblet, arrived at teh former castle of Piedra Vieja to found the Monasterio de Piedra. In addition to the historic structure, there is a natural park. Until the 12th Century, it was a Moorish Castle, conquered by Alfonso, the second King of Aragon, it was given to the Cistercian Monks. The monks built the monastery in twenty-three years, using old stones from the Moorish castle. The monks lived here for seven hundred years, surviving several wars. In 1835 the "law" closed all the monasteries and in 1840 the monastery was sold by auction. The family who purchased it, conserved it as private property. We stayed at the Monasterio de Piedra Hotel.

The natural park is quite large, I think they recommend a 2 hour walking tour. we jogged it an about an hour in the morning mist. There are eight water falls, an old trout farm (apparently the oldest in Europe), lots of bridges, some grottos or caves, a forest area, a wet area, a canyon area. Very nice, would have been nicer in sunny and warmer weather!	The Monasterio de Piedra's coat of arms. The old moorish tower in the center, with 3 stones, signifies the origin and name. The river adjacent has a lot of calcium in it, signifying everything it touches turns to stone.

This place is known for it's water falls.	Here are two of the falls, there are six others of various types and sizes.

Early on the monks cooked in the middle of the room, and the smoke from the fires darkened the walls and ceiling. They added a chimney and bread oven some years later. This was the first kitchen in Europe where chocolate was prepared, brought from America by a monk, it was made with spices and was more bitter than modern chocolate.	They made wine and the cellar was in use up to 1989, and still has two barrels full of wine. The press in the cellar is from 1751, one the best preserved around we are told.
The monks at here in silence, listening to a single monk read from the bible. Their diet was vegetarian: cereals, veggies, fruits. They could eat fish and white meat at certain times, or when they were quite sick. They never ate red meat because it represents the instincts, the passions. They washed their hands before and after each meal outside the front door in a lavatorium font.	About the cloister are the chapter house, baroque altars, romanesque tombs, abbey, crypt, cellar, wine museum, kitchen, refectory and calefactory.

Day Six - We are off to the mountain town of Arties

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