Sunday Evening at Portal de Santa Maria, Peñíscola

After watching the sunset and having dinner on the South Beach, I returned to the fortress walls. It was already dark and the Christmas lights were on in the streets.

The Plaza de Bous at St. Mary's Gate usually sells souvenirs, but in December it has a Christmas flavor.

Here they sell costume jewelry and textiles, ceramics, there is even a counter with books.

In the Portuguese tavern, stylized as a fortress tower, there is a full range of Portuguese drinks: coffee, wine, port, beer.

Some vendors portray Arab merchants, and in the middle of the square, "wandering artists" give a medieval-style performance.

Such Sunday performances are common in Spanish towns. At this time of year, there are almost no tourists in Peñiscola, the public is mostly local.

The show then moved to Plaza de la Escaseres, sometimes also known as Santa Maria Square.

In one of the artillery casemates, local Bonsai lovers - the art of growing miniature copies of real trees-opened an exhibition.

To get a better view of the show, I went up to the Santa Maria Battery, which is surrounded by a battlemented parapet.

Meanwhile, night had fallen, and from the height of the bastion I could see the last colors of the sunset and the panorama of the night port.