Day 43 - 3400 km driven - 5 January 2023

After a few days in the desert, we made our way today to Granada. The further west we drove, the greener the landscape became. Still no lush vegetation, but the vegetation is perceptible now and so we are happy about a little green. To visit Granada, we had chosen a campsite in the east, far outside the city, namely the Camping Las Lomas in Güéjar Sierra. Especially for city visits, we like to leave our Dexter at a campsite. The dogs can stay in the camper and we humans can stroll around the city in peace.

There are regular buses from Güéjar Sierra directly into town and the bus stop is right by the campsite. The price for the journey is once again unbeatably cheap. We paid 1.55 € for a single ticket with a journey time of just under 35 minutes. And we met "old" acquaintances again. We were just driving to the campsite when we met Isabel and Steve again, whom we had said goodbye to only two days ago. So it was nice to see each other again, even if it was probably the last time for a long time.

City tour Granada

It's the beginning of January and the Spaniards are also celebrating their Epiphany on 6 January. So once again it was a public holiday and the city was pleasantly empty in the afternoon until, as is so often the case, Spanish cities fill up towards evening and life begins. We used the first day for a stroll around the city and a sangria in the Mítico Bar. Highly recommended is the district Albaicínthe so-called Arab Quarter.

It is the oldest quarter of Granada and is located on a ridge in the northwest of the city. Most of the buildings date from the time of Moorish settlement. Anyone who at some point after walking through the many winding alleys to the Mirador de San Nicolás comes, from there the Alhambra admire in the sunset. Every evening, many people gather at this spot for the beautiful spectacle. Depending on the season, the snow-covered Alhambra can be seen in the background. Sierra Nevada.

The Alhambra

The following day we went back to the city to visit the Alhambra. We quickly booked the tickets early in the morning and were looking forward to a nice tour. But unfortunately it turned out to be only Alhambra Light. Like many other tourists, we let ourselves be ripped off and booked the tickets with an unofficial provider, namely "www.alhambra-entradas.org" or the company MNPQ Gestores Turísticos SL. The tickets of this provider are very overpriced and some tickets do not include the Palacios Nazaríesas in our case. Booked too quickly, didn't read correctly, didn't see the most important thing, bad luck.

The provider operates legally, but advertises on Google with the slogan "official tickets", which is not true. So we paid 35 € for a ticket that probably only costs 16 € regularly. So our visit to the Alhambra was quite short, but no reason for anger or bad mood. We could even laugh about it a little. So we went back into town and visited our favourite place, the Mítico Bar, for a second time. We enjoyed our sangrias and ordered the most delicious tapas.

So our visit to Granada slowly came to an end. The relaxed atmosphere and the nice people of the city will remain in our memories. Of all the big cities, Granada is the most beautiful we have visited so far. Also the warm Syrian, who of course offered us the best and special price for every item in his shop. We chatted for quite a while and in the end enjoyed shopping there.

Surroundings of Granada

We spent the next few days hiking in the southwest of Granada in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The first tour started on Area Recreativa Los Llanoswhere you can spend the night in the pine forest. Here, a leisurely tour leads up to the viewpoint on the Rio Dílar. Here we already saw the first Almond blossom for the new year. For us, quite unusually, already at the beginning of January.

Los Cahorros Gorge

The second tour was a hike through the Los Cahorros Gorge. We are still in the immediate vicinity of Granada, in the small village of Monachil, twelve kilometres outside Granada. This is the start of one of the most spectacular hikes we have done in recent years. From the centre of the village we followed the small Monachil stream out of the village centre. The rain of the previous day made itself felt through a light mist in the stream valley - a beautiful atmosphere. Gradually the valley became narrower and the vegetation denser. You now have to crawl under, or over trees and you are already in front of the first Suspension bridgeof which there are five to overcome in the entire gorge.

Normally such a bridge is not a big challenge, but unfortunately we have a little scaredy-cat with us in Masou. He doesn't like heights, wobbling and loud noises (the waterfall below us). So the first suspension bridges were no problem, but the big one, estimated to be 100m long, became a challenge. In the middle of the bridge, when it became more and more wobbly and noisy because of the waterfall, Masou didn't want to move a metre. With a little persuasion, it worked out after all.

After this long bridge, the most adventurous part of the hike begins. The gorge has now become so narrow that there is only room for the stream and a small brick path directly on the high cliff. But it gets narrower and narrower, the rocks now hang diagonally above the path and there is no other way out than to crawl along on your knees, or sitting under the rocks. Smaller hanging sections from handhold to handhold also have to be mastered. A nice challenge. Finally, a small tunnel has to be passed. A rockfall caused several large boulders to fall, closing off the gorge to the top.

After these small challenges, the gorge widens again and you are surrounded by high mountains, beautiful rock formations and green meadows. Now it's time to turn back and the way back leads over the mountain side and small paths back to the village. A truly beautiful hike and a great experience for the four of us.

In the next post, we leave Granada and head for the Alpujarra.

The two hikes on Komoot