Muro is a quaint little town of 9000 people in the foothills of Sierra Mariola mountain.  We took a small tour group to Muro to explore the unique little town.  Our first stop in Muro was at a local family company called “Pericana de Muro”. The family business which is dedicated to the enhancement and elaboration of “home canning” has been established for generations. We were greeted by the owner and his brother and provided multiple samples to try.

The owner “Miguel” is pictured in the original image of the business when he was a small child.

Miguel treated us to a very warm and enjoyable experience at the Pericana. We sampled many different canned products with only locally grown organic produce. The different samples were extremely tasty. Miguel also made sure everyone was treated to a sampling of local wine. There is a tradition of sharing wine using a neat wine decanter with a large spout. Miguel demonstrated how the decanter worked.

Some of the people enjoyed the wine using the decanter while others drank the wine in a glass.

We sampled about six different types of canned items.

We tried all the samples, using bread and enjoyed them immensely. There were different products such as tomato jam, cod, and peppers even aromatic herbs with virgin oil and tomatoes. All of the products were locally grown and without any preservatives.  Miguel was very proud of the products and was a very gracious host to the group.

After tasting the different products Miguel insisted that he take us for a tour of his hometown of Muro.  We headed out for a walk of the downtown area of Muro.

Muro was celebrating their annual medieval festival and the entire downtown area was converted to a medieval theme.

We walked through the narrow streets looking at the various merchandise on display.

We walked along the streets and we came across a group of people playing music.

They were part of the parade which was going to start shortly. We were greeted by a counselor who was part of the group leading the parade. We were invited to participate and walk with her in the lead of the parade. We walked with her to the main square as part of the head of the parade. It was considered an honor to be in the lead of the parade.

After the parade, we headed to a very old Bodega in town, called “Celler La Muntanya”. We toured part of the Bodega and went into the original cellar of the Bodega.

It was very interesting walking through the Cellar of a Bodega which was established for centuries. We then headed back to the courtyard of the Bodega for a rest before heading out to see the remainder of the town.

We then continued our walk into the center of town. There were numerous displays and shops along the way. One which we stopped at was very unique. The shop contained some great antiques and the owners were celebrating the festival and providing free drinks and snacks.

Some of the interesting antiques included a Roman scale, old phone,  tools and other old household items.

The owner was very friendly and welcomed us into the back of the store to show us his favorite antique. In the back of the store, he had an antique street music box which played music when you crank the handle.

He gave us a demonstration of the music box which played a traditional Spanish tune.

We had a great time with lots of laughs at the store. He treated us like a family guest which was very humbling. We then headed to the main square and checked out the Medieval festival.

The entire town of Muro seemed to be very pleased to have us visiting their town. In fact, the local television station came and did an interview. I was trying to stay out of the media spotlight but they asked me and after only one year in Spain, I was on television again.

Muro is a very beautiful town and we enjoyed our visit immensely.  It felt like we had a nice visit with close friends.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”