Granada and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada

We are currently on an Aire at Cabo de Gata (N36.81639 W2.14918), within a natural park.  Cost is a very reasonable, €7 with all the service facilities for us and our little home on wheels - fresh water tap by your pitch, spotless showers/loos, washing machine, restaurant/bar, free Wi-Fi and SUN - lots and lots of it!

Beer and wine o'clock and barbeque at the ready!

Before coming here, we had four fab days/nights on a campsite – Camping Suspiro del Moro, about 15kms south of Granada (N37°4’6” W3°39’9”).

View across the Sierra Nevada from the campsite

It’s a great campsite - massive plots, clean ablution areas, restaurant/bar and mini-market, free Wi-Fi and a table tennis table – yeh!  With our Camping ACSI Card it’s only €17 a night. Downside, the pool doesn’t open until early June. Okay, so the campsite is at 860 metres and although hot, it is a bit breezy but temperatures have been reaching 28°C during the day, so a dip in the pool would have been nice.  That said, the temperature slowly drops to nearly 12° during the night, so no sitting outside after about 9pm!  We spent a couple of days just chilling and going out on the scooter, exploring the little towns around the Sierra Nevada.

Then it was time to enjoy a day in Granada. There is a bus stop 50m down the road from the campsite that takes you in to Granada, only €3.40 for a 30km round trip – bargain!  So, we enjoyed a full day in Granada - 9am bus there, 9pm bus back exploring the town and Alhambra. Lots and lots of walking!  First stop, the Cathedral, where we enjoyed a delicious coffee and breakfast in the plazza outside. 

Cathedral

We thought we were back in Morocco when we stumbled across this street selling Moroccan leatherware, clothing, and ceramics and a Moroccan tea room – we avoided the mint tea, as we had had our fair share in Morocco. There wasn't a Moroccan in sight though - or a donkey!

Morrocan tea room and street selling Morrocan 'knock-offs'!

The campsite had pre-booked tickets for us to get into the Alhambra, which was a good job as we noticed people were turning up only to be disappointed as all tickets had been sold.

The Alhambra and Generalife were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

The Palacio de Carlos V, which also has a museum that houses a fine collection of Nasrid art.

Palacio de Carlos V

Puerta de la Justica - built in 1348, this horseshoe arch makes use of Arab defensive techniques.

Puerta de la Justica

Puerta del Vino - The ‘Wine Gate’ so called because it was used as a wine cellar in the 16^th century and marks the main entrance to what was once the Medina (market).

Puerta del Vino

The Alcazaba below - some great views to be had across Granada and the Sierra Nevada from the Towers.

A walk around the gardens - with lovely fountains, water features and goldfish!

Then to the area called Generalife - considered to be taken from the Arab Phrase Djinat al-Arif, translated as 'the Architect's Garden".  It was used as a summer palace, where the Moorish leaders could escape the political life of the palace and the bustling city below and relax in the beautiful landscaped gardens.

Palacios Nazaries - You get a timed slot for this area, as parts of it are quite small and they try and restrict the throughput of people.  Our time slot was 7pm – great we thought it should be quieter then – how wrong we were!  It was chock-a-block, and as usual the Japanese/Chinese tour groups were in taking 100's of pictures of every square inch! 

Admiring the architecture!

Palacio de los Leones below - dating from the late 1300s and was used as a Harem.

The fountain of 12 lions are thought to either represent the 12 signs of the zodiac, the 12 hours of the clock or 12 tribes of Israel.

Palacio de los Leones

Statue of Washington Irving below – After centuries of neglect and attempts by Napoleon’s army to blow up the palace, the Moorish structures were preserved in the early 19^th century after the American writer visited Granada in 1829 and inspired the world with his travel journal -  “Tales of the Alhambra”

The day we visited Granada (3 May), turned out to be a holiday. The streets and squares of Granada were scattered with red crosses made of flowers, and dances and partying in the streets were going on to celebrate the Dia de la Cruz (Day of the Cross), apparently it is one of the most popular festivals in Andalucía.  People come from all over Spain to join in the celebrations and women and children wear the traditional dresses.

View of the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada from Mirador de San Nicolas.  Can you spot our new buys?   We bought some glasses straps off a local street trader - so when we take them off we don't loose them!

From Granada, we headed south to Motril and took the coastal route through Almeria and on to Cabo de Gata. It was a lovely scenic route, skirting the Sierra Nevada and then sea all the way. The coastal route is potentially a lovely scenic route – sea on one side and the Sierra de Gádor on the other; however, it is marred by rows and rows of plastic greenhouses for about 25 miles.  This area is the biggest growing area for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and zucchinis, over 50% of it is exported around Europe. There is a lot of controversy around the staffing of the greenhouses as they are mainly staffed by legal and illegal immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe – providing cheap labour and poor conditions for the workers.  On top of that, plastic sheeting and rubbish are being washed up on Spain’s south coast and unfortunately, they seem to be spreading and swamping this beautiful landscape.

Rows of plastic greenhouses on the hillside

Rows  and rows of plastic greenhouses in the valley and up the mountainside

A short trip on the scooter from Cabo de Gata Aire takes you to the village and fishing port of San José, village and lovely beach, where we enjoyed a nice paddle in the sea!

Can never resist a selfie!

So, where shall we head to next?  Hmm, not really sure yet, we're just enjoying chilling for a few days but will probably just go a few miles up around the coast!

Sally x