This is the first one, the ruins of the village of Perillos which was deserted about a century ago. Recently work has begun to restore some of the houses such as the one just visible in the upper left corner of the picture, but the atmosphere was still somewhat strange.
Nearby is the ruin of the Chateau de Opoul, here seen from the car park below it. It is much less intact than the previous castle we visited.
Still, the toilet appears to be just as functional as it was hundreds of years ago. But that is probably partly because it is fairly low tech: a hole in a seat jutting out just past the castle wall.
The caste commanded a great view across the valley and towards the Mediterranean Sea. In the background the village of Opoul.
Around the castle I was glad to see Leuzea conifera (Asteraceae) starting to flower. The German name of this low-growing daisy is Zapfenkopf, or cone-head. At first sight it looks as if it might be an apomorphic segregate of Centaurea. Will have to look up if it is actually nested withing that genus.
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