1 July 2012 • Salobreña y Alhambra
After the train and bus day to Salobreña, we relaxed. We went to the beach and the water was lovely for two days; however, the third day we went to the beach, the waves were up and the flag was red and it has been now for a few days. We still go to the beach and love it.
We hired a car and Shawn is getting used to driving the windy, steep and narrow streets--yikes! I do NOT want to drive. It is an adventure.
Yesterday we drove to Granada and visited the Alhambra--tickets are . . .complicated. We reserved online and printed our tickets at an ATM. Our schedule visit to Nasrid was 14:30--we arrived early. As we waited, Shawn said, “I hope we don’t get sent back.” We observed people making it to the front of the line only to be sent away. Finally, we were at the front and . . .we were sent back--ack! After sorting out the issue and with some helpful security and other people, we made it in.
The Alhambra is a dream of patterns, stucco, gardens, water, and shapes. We whipped through quickly and even though the fountain of lions was had no water due to restorations, it was worth it. I would visit again more slowly. The kids were on their last legs after waiting so long.
Speaking of the kids: we have had some challenges traveling--to be expected--an we re-visit and discuss (maybe too much) how to travel, savor, and just roll with it. Last night Cyrus was wondering when we were going back to 5419 SE Lincoln. He and I walked to the castle here in Salobreña and talked. We discovered some parts of the village up here we hadn’t yet found--two restaurants tucked on the other side of the castle.
Today we drove up through part of the Alpujarras and stopped in a little town called Lanjarón and shopped and ate helado, which we all love. I had dark chocolate-- “rica.” And we found little speakers to connect to my phone for music. We drove through the Sierra Nevada--amazing--and I want to come back and hike--wow!
Tomorrow we are driving to Gibraltar--after much debate, we decided we just gotta do it! We have the car and it will be a long day, but then we’ll have a few more to jut hang out here.
Tonight is the Eurocup final between Spain and Italy, so we’ll spend the evening watching soccer, which has been really fun, especially with Spain in it. UPDATE: They won--cheering town, enormous fireworks, and much rejoicing.
4 July 2012 • Gibraltar y mas Salobreña
Day before yesterday we went to Gibraltar. First, we had to stop in Málaga to get the train from Madrid to Lisbon sorted out--hooray, we did that and got our sleeper to Lisbon--the train is still blocked coming back and we think we’ll take a bus back to Madrid. Getting onto the highway out of Málaga was a cluster--BLEEP! Holy bats! We made it though and encountered three tollbooths--the road was fast though. There is no signage to Gibraltar--a sign of contention about those 2.5 miles of UK territory. The British have had Gibraltar for nearly 300 years--since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713--something like that.
We decided to explore Gibraltar rather than ferry t Morocco for a myriad of reasons--just, frankly, felt right -- time was the biggest issue. We took the tram up to the top of the rock and saw the Macaque monkeys. They are used to people, but the place is filled with warning signs to hid all plastic, food, drinks, and to enter at your own risk--the park takes no responsibility for Macaque attacks.
Ok, so we also rented electric bikes and let’s just say, I was grateful we escaped death and injury. The amount of traffic in that 2.5 sq. mi. area is staggering and watching Roman ahead of mean as cars and scooters zipped by him nearly gave me a heart attack. His bike a bit big for him, which makes safety an issue. He was a trooper.
When we entered through customs into Gibraltar, we all waited behind a gate because to enter the territory, you have to cross a runway. We saw 2 fighter jets take off--loud, fast, daunting, and fiery--wow, it was worth it to see that alone. They can be heard throughout the day, too--yes, even over the traffic.
We got lost in Gibraltar, lost on the way back and that was added to being lost in Málaga. I wondered about the significance of being lost--one of those 50-50 experiences that’s volatile and can go a really good place or well, a really bad place.
At the end of the day, after we found where to return the bikes, we go in the car and decided to get the fuck out of Gibraltar. We would not have traded that travel day for a million bucks, though. We hopped in the car, hit the freeway, and stopped at a roadside convenience store for snacks and drinks--we were all starving and thirsty. It was a smooth drive back to Salobreña.
We ate at Pesetas Bar Patio on the top of the hill. Fred and Susan took us there our first night.The owner is a stout, old, Spanish man in his 70’s. He talks like the godfather and is sort of a waiter emeritus at the place--a warm, sweet guy. The moon was reflecting on the sea--lovely evening.
We spend time waiting for the checks at places and it’s ok--no hurry, but we Americans are conditioned to a faster pace. in addition to occasional tapas, we have received these delicious, little, chilled after dinner drinks that are complementary. Man, they are tasty. Last night it was like a tiny Bailey’s-whisky smoothie and the night before it was a fizzy, red, strong, and again, chilled liquor--YUM! It’s just enough, too. See photos.
Today is our last full day in Salobreña and we have to prep for travels for the next two days. We will be in Lisbon day after tomorrow and we are not sure what adventures we’ll encounter there.
We know we are missing the 4th of July at home and I, too, like the kids, have been a little homesick for 5419 SE Lincoln, but vacation is as much about appreciating home as it is about seeing new places and resting. And for me, running through new territory. I ran in every direction here and discovered something new each time.
We are thankful for Shawn’s connection through his friend, Paula. She pointed us here to Fred and Susan. Their home was wonderful and they were generous with their time for us sharing their knowledge of the place and getting us set up. It was amazing to watch Susan parallel park the Renault Kangoo in the garage at the other house and to watch Fred load his Vespa with four giant bags of groceries to drive them up the hill.
We think of their hands working on all the planning and building of this extraordinary place. We are lucky and grateful as well as inspired. They truly went for it in building these places in a magical location. We hope to return . . .
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