JAZ Adventures

Visiting Granada and the Alhambra with a Campervan and a Dog

We finally made it to Granada. After several failed attempts last week at parking at Areas de Caravanas near Granada, we decided to change tack and just drive and park in Granada. We usually find driving into and parking in a city with a campervan loaded with 3 bikes a nerve wracking affair. But after some careful research into parking near Alhambra, we decided to go for it, and had an excellent experience. We drove into the city early and snagged a plum corner spot in the parking lot closest to the Alhambra. This gave us time to wander down to a churerria in town for breakfast before the first booking we had for the Alhambra.

The other important consideration we had was juggling visiting the Alhambra and Zeus care. We decided to take turns. James had a 10 a.m. slot to visit the Alhambra, and Aileen had a 1 p.m. slot. This gave us 3 hours each, which seems a lot, but there is so much to see at the Alhambra.

We were both quite moved at how beautiful the Alhambra (a Muslim palace and fortress) is. It was built in the 1200’s by the first Nasrid emir and was home to 23 successive emirs, until the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492. It’s quite hard to believe it was left to fall into disrepair for hundreds of years, housing beggars and squatters and being partially destroyed by Napoleon’s army, before restoration began in 1828. It was first brought to the world’s attention by the writings of Washington Irving in 1832.

Palacio Nazaries is the main draw at Alhambra, and for good reason. It is quite simply, a work of art – with intricately carved stone walls and wood ceilings, elaborate honeycomb vaulting and framed windows with sweeping vistas of Granada, beautiful tiling, delicate fountains, each room unique. We were particularly impressed by the Haren, with its large patio surrounded by 124 delicate marble columns, and the serene sounds of water emanating from a central fountain of 12 stone lions.

Aside from Palacio Nazaries, we each visited Alcazaba, the main fortress and ramparts. Red, square, foreboding and utilitarian, it sits in stark contrast to the beauty and serenity of Nazaries.

Palacio Carlos V is a Renaissance-era palace that was never completed, and now houses the 2 museums of Alhambra – the Museo de la Alhambra which has a collection of Muslim artefacts from the Alhambra, Granada and Cordoba, and the Museo de Bellas Artes. We were most interested in the former, which unfortunately was closed the day we visited.

The Generalife, the summer palace and gardens were probably less dramatic a site than it would have been in spring or summer with full bloom and foliage, but visiting in winter did let one appreciate the design of the gardens and palace, and views of the city. After visiting the other areas of the Alhambra, the Generalife felt more relaxing and playful, a good way to end and wind down from the visit.

While James was visiting the Alhambra, Aileen and Zeus explored a bit of Granada – more particularly went in search of remnants of Muslim rule in the city. They enjoyed most wandering through the narrow streets and alleys of Albaicin, Granada’s old Muslim quarter, up to Mirador San Nicolas which had great views of the Alhambra and Granada.

Malaga

From Granada we headed to Malaga, which we hadn’t really considered stopping at, but had to because of our appointment at the VW Service Centre in Malaga. After dropping the van off for service in the morning, we took a short train ride into the city for a bit of touristing which mostly involved eating. Our first stop after coffee and breakfast was the Mercado Central, the city’s main market. It was nice to see it was a proper functioning market with lots of locals buying their supplies for the day. We love exploring a market to see what fish, meat, cheese and vegetables are on offer in the area. We spotted lots of small local prawns – which was a sign we needed to try some. So we snagged a table at Mercado de Atarazanas, one of the bars at the mercado, and had a deeeeelicious lunch of mixed fried fish, fried prawns and grilled razor clams, washed down with white wine.

After lunch we meandered through the centre of Malaga, stopping for some very tasty gelato at Casa Mira, and to let Zeus’ many admirers pet him. We headed to the Alcazaba, remnants of a moorish palace to check it out. Unfortunately it didn’t allow dogs. We then head towards the port and gawked at the amazing trees we saw along our walk. Malaga is a good place for tree spotting – we saw some really old looking gnarled rubber trees, the kind you’d expect to see in old quarters of Delhi or Mumbai, some floss silk trees, natives of South America, with their massive swollen bottoms and spiney branches, and lots of grand and clearly old palm trees.

We were pleasantly surprised by Malaga. There’s a lot to see. It has a lot of museums – 2 Picassos, and outposts for the Pompidou, Thyseen, and many points of interest outside of high culture. Unfortunately many sites aren’t possible to visit with a dog. Malaga also has a feeling of uncomplicated and unadorned pleasures – the sun was shining brightly, the food was simple, fresh and delicious, and there was a positive vibe as locals went about their business.

Aileen’s Food Poisoning Incident

It had to happen at some point. James had spent the morning at a climbing wall in Malaga, whilst Aileen and Zeus chilled in the campervan. We then started our journey to El Chorro without first stopping for lunch. Aileen does not cope well with driving through squiggly roads on an empty stomach, so we stopped for a bite at a roadside restaurant in Alora, just south of El Chorro. It was almost 4 in the afternoon. Aileen ordered the fish. That was the likely culprit. She then felt even sicker the rest of the way. The following day she was completely wiped out, and it took a couple of days to feel normal again. The lesson here is don’t order fish in a mountain restaurant.

Aileen is very grateful we had booked to park/stay at Casa La Paz El Chorro, a casa rurales in a stunning setting, owned and run by a lovely couple from the UK, Julie and Glynn. They have space for two campervans, and a dedicated bathroom for the campers. So we had ready access to bathroom facilities 😅

El Chorro: Hiking in El Chorro

El Chorro, a small village in Malaga province was founded to house workers for the construction of hydroelectric plants by the Chorro gorge in the early 1900s.

The most famous sight in El Chorro is the Caminito del Rey, a walkway with bridges and tunnels, some of it built into the vertical cliff walls of the El Chorro gorge. It was constructed as a means for transporting workers and materials for building the hydroelectric dams.

The original walkway has fallen into serious disrepair over the years and has sections missing. Dangerous to scale, until 2015 it was only used by climbers to access routes. James hadn’t climbed here but had heard stories from friends about their accessing routes via the train tracks and the walkway, and how scary the experience had been. It was named the deadliest walk as a number of climbers unfortunately died over the years at the site.

A “new” path was built in 2015 directly over the original path which is still visible, and allows tourists to visit the path safely. Having said that, a recent rockfall destroyed a section on the northern half of the path. On the day we visited we could only complete the southern end of the walk, which included the sections along the side of the gorge and the suspension bridge. The northern half continues into the valley behind the gorge. We had seen some of the northern half on a good walk we did the the previous day. (Our) Words can’t really describe how dramatic the setting of the walkway is, so we’re sharing pictures!

We also did a hike in Parc Natural Desfiladero de los Gaitanes, that took in 3 miradors (viewpoints) – Mirador de las Buitreras, Pico del Convento and Mirador del Embalse – and ran above the Caminito del Rey. It was a relatively short but rewarding hike with amazing views of the Gaitanes canyon, rivers and dams. It was also excellent for wildlife spotting – we same some wild deer, wild goats, and lots of eagles soaring overhead and sweeping through the canyon beneath us.

We suspect there was a lot more good hiking to be done in the area, but we had to take it relatively easy while Aileen was recovering from her bout of food poisoning.

El Chorro: MTB

James also did a couple of mountain bike rides around El Chorro. It wasn’t somewhere he was aware of for off-road riding, but it turned out to have an interesting selection of trails. His first ride was the shorter of the two, and on the same side of the valley as our camping site. It did an ascent up a winding road to some pretty good views of the valley. There was choice of two mountain bike trails heading down after the climb. He took Slippery when Wet, but with hindsight should have taken Fast and Loose which he rode the end of and was a fast hand built flow trail. He was planning to go back to ride it, except the trails on the second ride / other side of the valley were so good.

His second ride was a longer workout. James explored the other side of the valley and found three downhill trails of very different characters. The first was called El Moab and like it’s namesake Moab, Utah, it took in several sections of exposed rock, at times with steep drops that needed to be either ridden or avoided. The second was a fast flow trail following the course of a dry stream incorporating the river banks and gulley. The third headed down from La Mesa which is a table top mountain overlooking El Chorro. As well as stunning views in all directions, the peak also had a big reservoir which is part of the surrounding hydroelectric infrastructure and made navigation around security fences difficult. This trail followed a more natural path and was very rocky and physical to ride cleanly.

It also looks like there would also be some good road riding in El Chorro, but the mountain bike takes precedence.

What next?

We plan to head to Cordoba and Sevilla to explore of more of Spain’s fascinating Muslim history, and maybe head down to the sherry towns on the coast. We’re also inching closer to Portugal!

For the first week of 2023 we headed to Spain’s highest mountain range – the Sierra Nevada, James did some epic road cycling, we had to adjust to several failed plans, and spent some time chilling on the south coast.

Road cycling in the Sierra Nevada

We’ve watched television coverage of the Vuelta and have been awestruck as riders battle each other on super steep climbs that look like walls of tarmac. After a couple of tough road rides in this week James can confirm it is every bit as brutal as the TV screen makes it look – “It’s a good reminder that you are a mortal and middle aged”.

His first ride was from Pinos Genil in the heart of the Sierra Nevada and was plotted as a moderate morning ride. Unbeknownst to him it took in a significant part of the main climb from the 2022 Vuelta Queen Stage – “I saw a sign at the foot indicating an average gradient of 12%, and 22% for the immediate section, similar signs repeated up the climb”. In spite of the fierce climb the ride was survived and even enjoyed.

His next ride was into the mountains from the coast where we stayed at Castell de Ferro. This time it fulfilled expectations and had stunning views back to the sea, although James’ planned mid-climb break in a village had to be deferred as he was cheered on by some guys in their eighties, so it felt disrespectful to stop a few meters further up the road.

No room at the inn

This week we had several instances of having to change our plans because we could not stay where we planned to, or do what we planned to. In all cases it seems to work out for the better (we think). Though we can’t seem to make it to Granada.

The first instance was on New Year’s day. We had hoped to stay in La Peza, a town at the foot of the north end of Sierra Nevada. We were tired from a hike we did in Sierra Cazorla, we’d been driving for 2 hours and it was getting late. As we got close to the town we saw a lot of what looked like abandoned vehicles at the roadside and we were met by the Guardia Civil, who blocked us from entering the town. We drove on and managed to snag the last spot in an Area de Autocaravanas in Beas de Granada. Turns out the police had been trying to disperse an illegal rave in La Peza for days. The next day we planned to head to Granada. While waiting at a bus stop, a stranger walking by kindly informed us it was a fete, and buses weren’t running. So we headed back to the campervan, put on our hiking boots and went for a nice walk directly from Beas de Granada instead. We enjoyed our first sighting of the snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada, and Granada nestled in the valley at the foot of the mountains.

In the second instance of a failed plan, we had planned to stay at another Area de Autocaravanas closer to Granada, the plan being we would take a bus into Granada the next day. We’d done a tiring hike in the mountains that day and it was getting late (a trend maybe?!). The campervan park was full. We decided to do an hour-long drive to another Area de Autocaravanas in Órgiva, the gateway to Las Alpujarras, and instead do a hike and/or explore the famous whitewashed mountain towns of the Poqueira valley the next day. Las Alpujarras is a region of deep dramatic valleys that form the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada. It has a fascinating history having been a centre of silk worm farming for the silk mills of Almeria during the reign of the Moors. After Reconquista, the region was given to the last emir Boabdil as his fiefdom. When he left for Fes shortly after, the Muslims who lived in the area either had to convert to Christianity, or be banished. A lot of the land was given over to northerners who changed the area’s economy to one of farming of livestock and grains that it is today.

It was a dreary rainy day when we visited that area, so we made the most of it by having a most excellent lunch of Pierna Choto Asado (roasted baby lamb shoulder) at El Asador, a restaurant in Capileira. And we managed to admire the beauty of the area as we drove through the squiggly misty mountain roads.

In the third case of a failed plan, we had to bin a hike in the Sierra Nevada. We had stayed in a parking lot in Monachil overnight, the plan being to do a hike to Los Cahorros the next morning. We woke up and while we were getting ready for the hike, we tried calling a VW service centre to make an appointment to sort out a potential coolant leak issue. With our very basic knowledge of Spanish (and a rather unhelpful person on the other end of the phone), we failed miserably to make an appointment. We decided the issue was important to resolve, so we drove 1.5 hours to a VW in Malaga to make an appointment with Google Translate in hand. We managed to make an appointment at the earliest slot they had available the following week.

The flexibility and freedom of living in a campervan is both a blessing a curse. A blessing in that you do have the freedom to roam and always have the comforts of a home with you. A curse in that you have to flexible and adjust to the inevitable uncertainty when things don’t go to plan.

Hiking in the Sierra Nevada

We did eventually manage to do that hike around Los Cahorros. Los Cahorros is a deep gorge that runs from the town of Monachil to the source of it’s eponymous river. It is a popular walk, particularly through the gorge where the path is linked by several suspension bridges. We elected to do a bigger, elevated loop around the surrounding area and were rewarded with some beautiful scenery and stunning views. We definitely just scratched the surface though, and no doubt there are many wonderful hikes we could do in the region. Alas we had the VW service appointment scheduled that required us to move west to Malaga. Sierra Nevada is definitely an area we need to explore more of at some point in the future.

Castell de Ferro

For our necessary and important days “off” to thaw and clean, we decided to head to Castell de Ferro on the coast south of Granada. It was nice not to have to wear a jacket, or thermals and socks to bed. The town itself had a long wide beach and clear water, great sunrises, nice cafes and restaurants, and a picturesque Muslim fort on top of a hill. The valley behind the town however, was lined chock-a-block with the polypro-covered tunnels for fruit and vegetable farms. It’s quite a remarkable site, but not in a good way.

Eagles eagles eagles

We forgot to mention in the last post – over the past number weeks we have seen a LOT of eagles on walks. They’ve been super impressive to watch and thankfully none have fancied Zeus for lunch, at least that we know of. Whilst driving through Parque Natural de las Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas we saw what must have been at least a hundred eagles circling as a group in a huge column. At one point about 5-10 eagles swooped into a tree right next to us on the road. We want to mention it here because the blog is our diary of our adventures, and in case anyone knows what that behaviour is related to? We’re guessing it could be related to mating, but the internet has let us down on a dependable explanation, so do let us know if you know what it’s all about!

What’s next?

We aim to visit Granada – our priority is to see the Alhambra. After a number of failed attempts, will we finally make it we wonder? (If you follow us on Instagram you may know the

Afterwards we need to head to Malaga to get the van’s coolant issue assessed and hopefully fixed.

From there we aim to head north towards Cordoba.

Thanks for reading this week’s instalment. We’d love to hear your questions or thoughts about our blog. Feel free to drop us a comment!