March 10th, 2022 - March 29th, 2022
March 10th - March 24th:
We had stayed in Murcia province prior to visiting Granada, but a huge Sahara desert storm and other types of bad weather disrupted many plans for excursions and hikes.
The Sahara desert storm turned the sky (and everything else) orange.
In between rain showers and sand storms, there were a few short possibilities for walks to the beach and to the dried up river where we had been on previous trips. The heavy rainfall had created many small pools and streams in the valley of the dried up river, which was a haven for hundreds upon thousands of tadpoles.
There was a sweet cat roaming around the path from the parking lot, his or her tail had clearly been broken at some time. It hurt to leave the cat behind. If I could shelter all the cats in the world, I would.
March 25th:
We had several things planned in and around Granada, some of which were also cancelled due to the weather.
We had rented an AirB&B located a bit away from the city. After checking in, we decided to go for a walk, the area looked really nice. The weather was still not great, but the vacation was nearing its end and we just had to do something.
As we walked down the path through the hills, a dog decided to follow us. We didn't walk for long, but it was nice to have a canine companion to accompany us.
Sleeping at the AirB&B was not so fun. Dogs barking and donkeys braying in the area kept us up. So we decided to leave a book a hotel in the city.
The owner of the AirB&B understood our reasoning.
March 26th:
The hotel was far from a good choice either. We had already asked for another room after the upstairs people were having a party.
This new room, however, .. to put is nicely, I think there was a lady of the night working there, all night long. I couldn't sleep as I was forced to listen to the moaning and the furniture creaking and shaking and bumping into the wall.
The alarm clock went off. Finally a reason to get out of bed.
We checked out of the hotel and drove to Alhambra.
The gardens leading leading up to the fortress were filled with lots of flowers.
The palace is filled with Islamic art, decorating the walls, the floors, the ceilings, the doors, ... everything. It was truly wonderful to see.
The views from the higher points of the Nasrid Palaces (comprised of several different palaces) and the Alcazaba were astonishing, both over the city of Granada and the hills further out.
Walking back towards the entrance there was now the option to go to the Generalife, the recreational palace of the Nasrid sultans. The gardens of the Generalife had so many beautiful flowers and floor mosaics.
After this amazing trip back in time exploring a different culture, we looked forward to a nice meal. Not far from Alhambra was El Piano, where food was served with passion. Truly great food!
We then returned to the Monachil area, outside Granada to hike. After parking the car we walked down the street and were greeted by another dog running loose. The hike provided us with many wow-moments as we looked at the mountains around us and saw several waterfalls. The dog kept on following us, which was nice. He or she even went over the suspension bridge over the Rio Monachil.
Continuing on the route meant crawling on all fours on a narrow ledge to pass under overhanging rocks right next to the Monachil river. The dog has no issue with this and even jumped in the river, but I got a bit scared for my camera so we turned back.
Crossing the suspension bridge again, we then turned right, which would take us back towards the car. The dog had turned back with us. Thank god, because I did feel somewhat responsible for him or her. This path took us higher than the first path and allowed us to see more stunning views.
When we came to a large open space, we came across a group of hikers. The dog suddenly decided to follow them instead.
We were back at where the dog first started following us, there was a cafe there. We wanted to get a drink. Turned out that there was a private birthday celebration going on, but we were welcome to have a drink anyway.
Almost back at the car, we were greeted by a tiny cat wanting many hugs and rubs.
We went back to the house and a few days later we returned back home.
