Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 19

We want to avoid the heat and possible crowds…given that we have been told there is a fiesta today. Ian has planned a walking route to cover the other side of the historic town that we did not see yesterday and a bit if the new town. It’s a small place anyway so have plenty of time to wander. As yesterday, the downhill trot to the old town gate is a breeze. Now it’s another steep climb up a cobbled street followed by another descent down a well made path. This takes us to the Arab Baths and then the Arab Bridge. We have great views across the expanse of open countryside. Now the inevitable steep climb via cobbled steps back up to the New Bridge. There’s only a scattering of people about so we have ... read more

We are moving on today. Our cases are packed, the room checked…we are ready to go. We have two points of interest on the way out of town that require a detour off the main road. First a viewpoint where we will be able to see the place we have been staying, and reportedly also as far as Malaga? And second, the Bobastra Ruins, which don’t look much on the internet but we may as well go since we will be passing! It’s 9am and we assume the guy will let us out through his barrier. I’d hoed to leave earlier to avoid any hassle but I’m guessing getting out will be easier than getting in! Ian drives gingerly down the rutted track…he knows where all the danger spots are now but, lovely as our pension ... read more

We are in El Chorro. People generally only come here to do one of three insane things…to rock climb, to ride horses or to go hiking. All three are scarey propositions in our book but for some strange reason we are here to do the latter. So, this morning we (I!) have tickets booked to walk the ‘El Caminito del Rey’ (The King's Little Path). Once labelled ‘the most dangerous walk in the world’, and a magnet for thrill seekers, this path has now been revamped and deemed semi-safe to walk. Numbers are restricted, hence the need to reserve tickets months in advance. The walkway, which is 1m wide and set along the face of a steep sided mountain with a gorge 100m below, was built for construction workers at the nearby hydro electric plants at ... read more

It’s a very early start today. We have planned a day trip to the twin towns of Úbeda and Baeza, but they are 150 km from Granada. We don’t want to drive in rush hour, but neither do we want to be too late as the Spanish have a horrible habit of shutting up shop to siesta for hours on end in the afternoons so we have to get cracking early! It’s still dark as we leave the hotel at 7am. There is no daylight saving here! Our rental car, way up the hill from our hotel is still in one piece, that’s a relief. We reluctantly vacate our position on the road fearing that it will be gone when we return. Seriously the ‘public parking in the street may be possible’ should be reported to ... read more

We’re up early again, though not quite as early as yesterday. Today is forecast to be 29 degrees so we want to attempt to beat the heat. We take our usual stroll down the steep hill that leads us in to town. It’s pleasantly cool and even more pleasantly tourist-free. I do love being the ‘only tourist in town’. To be honest there are a few other independent travellers milling around but not enough to ruin my photos. :-) We start off in the cathedral area…which was heaving yesterday, but also impossible to photograph in the bright sun. First there is a pretty fountain with a huge statue above. They haven’t turned the water on yet but I do get some decent shots of the statue. And then some interesting buildings opposite which I didn’t even ... read more