Wednesday 25 April 2012  - Granada’s great Alhambra.

Day 13 and 145 to go

7am already! Where did the night go? We haven’t seen this early in a long while. But with exploring to do there would be no complaints just a quick change, breakfast and the 15min stroll into town to wait for the bus that arrived 5min later.

We joined the worker ants on the early morning commute. Arriving in the centre of town at 8.30am. From there it was a bit of a guess. We found a sign pointing to the Alhambra so we began walking the main street before stumbling across the red bus we were told to catch by the campground staff. Thank goodness we found it, as it was another 20min trip up very narrow and steep streets, made more for travelling on a donkey and not a small bus.  However the bus driver delivered us safely at the doors of the Alhambra.

We found the ticket office easily and bought our tickets quickly, as there was no line, due to our early start WOOH HOO!

We entered the ground and walked through the manicured gardens toward the bathes of the mosque. Though not a working bathe house you could imagine how it would have soothed the many bodies before prayer.

We continued on to the Alcazaba. This is the oldest part of the Alhambra and is the military area. We walked through and up into the Round tower. There were great views over the local area as well as back into the Alhambra. We then continued to the garden walk with orange trees and myrtles. Was very peaceful.

We wandered into the central circle of the Palacio de Carlos V. This now contains museums and halls. 

The next area to explore was the Generalife. This was built as a recreation area for the Granada royalty and contains a palace, gardens and water stairs. We wandered between the growing number of tour groups of all nationalities, squeezing in photos between the people. Sometimes I needed to be very patient at other times it was a case of take the picture as quick as you could as you wouldn’t get another clear opportunity. 

We wandered back towards the Alcazaba as the other two areas to see were accessed through here, though we couldn’t go in until 12.30pm. With an hour to kill we found a place to buy a drink and sandwich and then sat enjoying the view and the sunshine. It was a beautiful spot to soak it all in.

After waiting for our turn we entered the third area; Nasrid Palaces. This area contains three palaces. All of them are intricately designed with a typical Islamic flair. It really was quite beautiful. Surrounded by gardens and water features. They were built between 1314- 1391. The Alhambra itself was stared in 1237 by Muhammad l al-Ahmar. I found my head spinning in all directions, as there was so much to see. Following through the palaces we entered the final area: Partal. This contained the portico of the palace, garden and the promenade tower. I was still stunned at how large the area was. It is understandable why this was the last Islamic strong hold in Spain with it sheer size and position on the hill. Though it was surrendered to the Catholic monarchs in 1492 and extensive alterations were completed. In 1984 it was world heritage listed. 

With all the corners covered we made a hasty exit. It was not surprising just how busy it had become.

We made it on to the little red bus yet again, but this time it was so much busier. We alighted in Granada; finding a bar with wifi where I could do a check for campgrounds, check email and facebook. It was a funky little café full of American students.

Now caught up on the goings on at home we walked the main street Gran Via, back to our bus stop and home to Peligros. It was again packed with teenagers going home after school. Rowdy it was. Arriving in the town we had the final long uphill leg to the van. PHEW!

Making it back into the van, opening up the windows, changing to summer clothing and opening a wine or in Paul’s case the next 2 beers on the list, Alhambra especial and premium. CHEERS.

We spent a lot of time sitting around and recouping after our day out. We enjoyed the wine and company before having dinner and starting to think about tomorrow. Cordoba and Malaga.

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Tuesday 24 April 2012  - The long drive to Granada. Hello Mother Hello Father here I am in Camp Granada… Everyone sing along now.

Day 12 and 146 to go – Wildcats loose grand final to NZ Breakers AGAIN!

What a day! We knew we would be in for a long haul when I set the GPS for Granada and it came up saying 550km and 5 hours on the road. With Paul still feeling crappy it would be hard going for him having to concentrate that long. Knowing it would be long we were up and running by 830am. It wasn’t the easiest of starts with us getting a couple of turns wrong on the GPS causing us to do extra km’s we didn’t need and causing extra stress Ahhhhh! The start of the trip was through some smaller towns which is slow going and taxing as the streets are often skinnier and full of parked cars, but we made it through and we were soon on the Autovia with all the trucks.

Once Paul was up and cruising it was generally easy going. There are always moments when the heart races when you get traffic cutting in or trucks swaying or taking up more of the road than they should, but all was good.

We stopped about halfway at a rest stop for a stretch of the legs and then back on the road. The landscape before us was a mix of rugged rocky outcrops, spinifex like grasses and farming lots. It became quite mountainous and we could see snow capped peaks before us. We were passing many homes carved into the rock faces. It was quite incredible.

We made another stop to fuel up before facing the last 100km into Granada and the campsite I had plugged in. Well that was the plan only trouble was there was no camp ground so we scrambled to locate another.

We made our way out of the built up area following the GPS again. This time it was more promising as at least there were campground signs. However it took us a few goes to find the right street, more u turns and stress before we drove into the grounds of Camping Granada.

The receptionist was welcoming and spoke good English and before we knew it we had parked. Thank goodness. 

We set up the van before I went to do some washing while Paul had a well earned beer.

We had a wander around the park. It wasn’t anything special, was quite isolated and nowhere near Grenada, but it had a spectacular view to the snow covered mountains.

I got started on dinner as I figured we needed an early night not only because today was so hellish, but because we would need to be up and on the bus to Grenada by 8am tomorrow.

After the make do spaghetti bog we walked into the town of Peligros about 15 min back down the hill. This allowed us to determine how long we would need in the morning to get to the bus stop, find the bus stop and also pick up some drinks at the supermarket. Read 2 more of the beers to tick off the list.

With all things sorted it was back up the hill for a not so quick ascent. Paul was really struggling, as it was quite steep, his cold hampering his breathing. When we made it back inside the van he had to sit and rest. Is not much fun.

Early bed for once. 

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Monday 23 April 2012  - following the seaside tourist hot spots.

Day 11 and 147 to go – RIP Buzz

Paul woke me at 7.30am today to see the sun rising over the Mediterranean. It was beautiful and worth getting up for but I retreated back to the warm bed soon after not surfacing again until 9am. 

Our night by the beach had been relaxing with Paul having a good night’s sleep thanks to the medication. We drove back into town, played with a gorgeous huskie pup and then walked to the local supermarket to replenish our supplies before heading on down the road to Castellon. Our intention was to stop but it was so busy that we made a beeline for the exit and the quick road to Valencia. We figured if it wasn’t listed in the lonely planet we were not missing much.

The road we took had us meandering through many orchards of oranges what this region is best known for. They are everywhere along with artichokes.

Valencia was only an hour down the road. Instead of heading into the city centre we found the main beach and parked up before heading to HJ’s to use their free wifi. After checking in with the rest of the world including all those poor teachers that returned to work today, we went back to the van for a quick bite. 

Paul is still not 100% and as such our ability to get out and about is somewhat hampered. We did walk along the main beachfront where there are expensive hotels and restaurants. We saw a couple of sand sculptures being created, one in particular was awesome. The beaches were busy with tourists I imagine. There were cute blue and white tents set up and palm trees everywhere. The beach was a fair walk from the main path, something like Scarborough.

After our walk in the sun we returned to the van to decide on what next. With Paul under the weather we decided not to head into the main town centre of Valencia but rather head on to our campsite in Cullera about 30min further south.

Cullera is a summer getaway. The beachfront is lined with multistorey complexes just waiting for tourist season. We found a parking spot on the front and set up camp. Paul and I walked a small distance before returning to the van. 

I left Paul to recoup while I wandered up the beach. There were a few brave souls in the water. I paddled my feet but it was like an icebox. The sun however was warm and I enjoyed sitting on the beach for some time.

After returning to check on Paul. I read up on the next few places we would visit putting together an itinerary of sorts for the next 2 weeks. We then walked the main beach strip. We watched the old boy play Petanca (boules) checked out the restaurants, which don’t open til 8 and some 10pm. We reached the end of the strip locating so more campers and we decided to up stumps and join the others so we walked back to the van and made the move to a spot off the beach front and a little more secluded. 

By now it was 715pm. We had a drink before thinking about finding something to eat.

We had to walk a fair distance before finding an open restaurant. All the seafront ones were closed so we headed into the backstreets and found a quiet place to enjoy dinner and that we did. Afters tumbling through the menu with the Spanish waiter we ordered seafood paella. While waiting the 30min for it to cook I enjoyed a glass of wine. It was perfect but the paella was even better when it arrived at 915pm. 

We devoured the dish scraping up every last morsel. I want the recipe, as I will try to recreate it when we get home.

Our walk back to the van was welcomed encouraging digestion before bed. The large fortress like building on the hill was all lit up and looked stunning. Our van was now surrounded by other campers, it seems to be the way. Safety in numbers I guess.

Time for sleep.

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Sunday 22 April 2012  - Following the Mediterranean

Day 10 and 148 to go -  Glory robbed in grand final against Brisbane. BUGGER.

So tonight’s accommodation sees us holed up at Platja de Capi Corb. The van is parked only 5m from the pebble lined beach. I can hear the gentle waves crashing rhythmically. Million dollar views and it is all for free. Oh the joys of campervanning. We are not the only ones here enjoying this spot there are 4 other vans cashing in. Why wouldn’t you?

Last night we did venture out to one of the local bars and watched the second half of the Barcelona v Real Madrid soccer game. Had we realised earlier it was being played in Barcelona we would have tried to get tickets but oh well the pub would have to do and it was entertaining. I was told by Paul to keep any support for Real Madrid to myself for fear of being attacked by the locals. Paul was in his element as he supports Barcelona. The locals were obviously passionate and broke out into song regularly. The most entertaining was the one local going for Real who was obviously giving the crowd much grief seeing his team was winning. I just wished we had subtitles so we could understand what was going on. It was still a laugh and a great way to spend out last night. Barcelona 1 – Real Madrid 2.

This morning we packed up the van in readiness for heading out. I skipped off to the showers when I realised that Paul had found a problem with the van’s porta loo. On our first night he didn’t think it was working properly and today he found out he was right. He went to empty the canister only to discover that there was shit everywhere. Literally. So while he was dry reaching sticking his head in the hole cleaning out the muck into a plastic bag I had a shower, escaping any possibility of having to clean up that problem. GROSS!

With a clean van we made our move out onto the highway again, heading south for Tarragona. Following the backstreets through small villages until arriving at 11.30am. Tarragona is right on the coast winding around the hillside. As you come into the town you pass many Roman ruins including an amphitheatre. We found somewhere to park the van. I think because it is Sunday the streets are somewhat empty which is great for us.
I made lunch while Paul sought out the cold and flu tabs and antibiotics. He has been struggling with a cough which has left him with a very sore throat and today he was feeling achy.

We walked along the port area and beach front before heading to the amphitheatre. It is a large open aired arena right on the coastal strip. Very impressive as so much of it is still in tact.

We then went up the hill to the Roman Circus Praetorium. This was built in 69 – 79. It was terrific to be able to wander around and see all the old Roman artefacts and to climb to the top of the tower for the magnificent view along the coast. 

With Paul beginning to fade we made our way back through the town finding a pharmacy for cough syrup and then a small café for a ham and cheese croissant. The GPS got us back to the van and after sorting out where we were heading we plugged in the GPS and followed it to our next destination 120km further down the coast.

The roads were fairly quiet and it was a relatively gentle drive thankfully as Paul was not completely with it. We did however see many girls sitting in plastic chairs at the numerous laybys. They were there looking for customers to entertain. I couldn’t believe how obvious and brazen it was. It would be like seeing them on the trip to Busselton! All the lonely truckers would have someone to cuddle up to.

We finally found ourselves arriving in the seaside town of Alcossebre at 4.20pm. We drove straight to the waterfront and parked before getting out and walking along the coastline. It is obvious this place is a summer getaway and would be overrun by tourists in the summer, but right now most things are shut. We did not mind this at all as it allowed us to get around easily both walking and with the van. We looked for places we could stop the van for the night, there were plenty.

After a return trip of about 5kms, (I am so glad I bought new sneakers but I am sure they will have no tread by the time we get home) we got back in the van and drove further south to a spot right by the beach. Beautiful.

I cooked up dinner. A wog sausage, egg and salad roll, with a fresh baguette picked up from the café earlier yum! To improve digestion we completed a quick reconnaissance of the area around us before returning to the van. Paul called it a night at 7.45pm while I was happy to sit up and listen to the waves and take stock. Hey we’re in SPAIN!
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Sorry pictures  to come as it is taking way too long to load and I have a whole week to catch up on!! I am posting photos on Facebook so you can check them out there.
I have now added everything and it is all up to date again. PHEW