Growing up as a Southern Baptist, I was naturally speechless when I saw this video of a particular religious festival on Spanish TV last week. It's the celebration of Our Lady of the Dew (La Virgen del Rocio) which takes place in southern Spain - Andalucia. Everyone knows the Spanish really like to fiesta, and religious holidays are not the exception, but more the rule. As you can see, there is no shame in singing, dancing, and drinking to honor the Virgen Mary. I couldn't help but feel a tad envious for all the fun they were having. Being Southern Baptist is a much more sombre affair: there is singing, and at best, some handclapping...but there is no dancing and certainly no drinking (in public anyway). I still don't quite understand the significance of La Virgen del Rocio, I'd probably have to be Spanish Catholic for that. But I can tell you it is the largest celebration of it's kind in Spain, involving hundreds of thousands of people who go on a pilgrimage (many on horseback) to honour the Virgen once a year.
These two characteristic medieval clifftop towns of Spain's interior regions of Castilla-LaMancha & Aragon are just a two hour drive away from Valencia. What a nice change of scenery they offer from the flat seaside city of Valencia. We needed our comfortable walking shoes to ramble up & down their winding streets. We must have lost a couple of kilos each due to all the climbing & sweating, but were quick to put them right back on thanks to all the rich food...warm pate of wild game, manchego cheese, milk-fed lamb, and garlic mashed potatoes with bacalao!!! 
