EUROQUEST SideTracks

Most visitors to Catalonia hardly make it past Barcelona - unless they are package-deal beach tourists along the Costa Brava further North. Few if any tend to venture inland to explore the local charms of small-town Catalonia - it is here, however, where visitors would stand their best chance of savoring true Catalan hospitality and enjoying a first-hand introduction to local Catalan living. Among the most scenic communities in this part of Catalonia we find the small town of CARDONA, gateway to the Catalan Pyrenee mountains - located about half-way between Barcelona and the tiny nation state of Andorra. Towering above the small town of 6000 is Cardona's Castle and Church, significant as a symbol  of the RECONQUISTA from Moorish domination. This ranks among the best preserved PARADORS in Northern Spain along the historic religious pilgrimage route of St. James' Way towards Santiago de Compostela. From the very early origins of pilgrimage to Santiage we find here Cardo

Most visitors to Spain would not envision the Iberian Peninsula as a lush green and mountainous place. Yet the Northern part of Spain rivals Austria and Switzerland in terms of alpine-like scenic beauty, boasting rich pastures and forests on lower elevations as well as mountain peaks reaching almost 10000 feet inside the "Picos de Europa" National Park. Here in the Autonomous Communities of Cantabria and Asturias visitors are surprised to find landscapes unlike anywhere else in Spain along with relatively low numers of visitors compared to the tourist areas along the Mediteranean. See the full gallery on Posterous Among the most enchanting villages in Nortern Spain we find the town of Santillana del Mar, just outside Cantabria's attractive capital, Santander. A quaint and picturesque community of 1500 inhabitants, Santillana has become a boom town in recent years attracting mostly local Spanish visitors on weekends and during holidays. The town's name, in