Granada

Our next excursion was an overnight. We were on the road before 11:00am and after a bit of confusion getting out of Almuñécar,
drove to Granada with no problem, thanks to advance planning by Albert and Caroline. The land north of here is mostly dry, rugged, stony hills, many of which appear to have been terraced for centuries and planted in trees. The only ones we could identify were the almonds because they were in bloom. Many had the silvery grey look of olives. All must be rejoicing in the heavy rain that is falling everywhere now.
As we got close to Granada we could see ahead and to the right the high snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada.
Since I was last in Granada with Jim in 1979, much has changed, mostly because of the growth in tourism. An average of 6,000 people visit the Alhambra each day. For this reason we had to make hotel and tour reservations in advance. The roads in the central part of Granada are closed to all traffic, except taxis, buses and tourists with hotel reservations, in an effort to limit pollution. Albert was aware of this and drove us right up to where a bollard closed the road. There was a speaker beside it into which I spoke, giving our hotel name. The bollard magically lowered, and we drove into the old city. It was easy to find the hotel, but Albert had to do some difficult backing up and negotiating of three very sharp turns before our car was safely parked under our hotel. We didn't touch it again until we were about to leave.
Our hotel, Monjas del Carmen, was perfectly located. We walked to an Arab restaurant for a shwarma lunch and then walked around to reconnoiter our route to the Alhambra for the next day. We soon decided we would take a taxi to the Alhambra. We spent the rest of our day visiting the cathedral, shopping and buying tickets for a Flamenco show that night. The latter was terrific. It took place in a tiny theatre in a Flamenco school. The guitarist was tall, gorgeous and a great musician. The singer was short, round and sang as if obsessed by some throaty, moody, gypsy spirit. Together they looked like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The female dancer had solid legs, a very stern expression and arms that rose and fell in sharp erratic jerks that sometimes lifted her skirt with them. The male dancer was very tall and thin with a high water jacket and movements so strenuous that his long hair was dripping and clinging to his face after his first few moves. As I have never seen Flamenco before I can't rate the performance we saw, but I was thoroughly pleased with it.
Our tour to the Alhambra the next day went off like clockwork. We had a well informed but not pedantic guide who told us interesting stories. The flowers in the gardens were limited to pansies and daffodils and we couldn't get right up to some of the areas we had been able to in 1979, but it was well worth the visit.
After a delicious snack in the Parador de Granada, we returned to our hotel and drove home.

As it was February 28, Blake's Birthday, Mela was sad as we drove back to Almuñécar. She and Caroline and I toasted Blake before we drank our tequila that night. He and Margaux used to join us for tequila shots so it seemed fitting.











Our hotel in Granada











Casa del Arte Flamenco











Alhambra











Seville oranges in the Alhambra









The ceiling of the sultana's room taken as if for a selfie into a pool of water immediately under the ceiling. This was a point at which our guide had to hustle us through. I can imagine what it must be like in high season.








The hammams of the Alhambra. They made me think of some parts of the Blue Ocean Jimjilbong in Incheon.








The Arab quarter of Granada as seen from the Alhambra.








Mela, Caroline and me at the ruins of the salt plant in Almuñécar.