Day 21 - Granada to Mojacar
This morning there’s a chance to visit Granada’s Alhambra. I don’t particularly like tourist attractions, I never really have. I don’t like crowds (Come to think of it I don’t like people either, unless they’re bringing beer, in which case they’re OK)
Anyhow, in the case of the Alhambra, well…It is quite superb. The gardens, the palace, the views.. something very special.
The slight hiccup is there’s a wait to get into the palace and that’s not explained to us until we look at the ticket - there’s an hour to kill with a 10.30 admission. With a midday checkout at the hotel we expect things to be a little tight but there you have it, with the conkers now invested we might has well get on with it.
It’s a fair old size. Sheesh. Us tubby tossers aren’t used to all this shuffling about, you know..
We get a chance to explore the Alcazaba citadel whilst waiting for our palace slot.
Great views back down to the city..
We roll up at just gone 10.30; it takes a little while to get in to the palace but we have a really good wander around and the beauty of the timeslot meant it wasn’t very crowded.
Spot the tourist..
Poncing around in the catacombs..
Splendid.
The gardens are quite beautiful.
What an amazing place. Definitely up there with Istanbul’s Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque as the very best places to visit in my books.
The hotel being close by turned out to be a really good decision. An 11.40 return for a midday checkout and we’re packed miraculously and down into reception in fifteen minutes flat which is an excellent effort. A bocadillo and a café con leche from the bar and we’re up up and away.
We’re circling the Sierra Nevada, heading south down the A44 Autovia for half an hour and then its very east at the first opportunity on to the A348. It is winding and a fun, slow-ish ride. A few bikes around today..
Later and after a drink break we continue east along the foot of the Sierra Nevada park. The road opens up and we get fast flowing riding.
We just skirt around the dodgy weather too, which is nice and in not so long we’ve blue skies again..
Later we stop for a comfort break and another coffee at a place called Fondon. I park up and we’re around a corner to the bar. I return to get something forgotten from the tank bag and there’s a fella there, hands in pockets, grinning at the bike. He’s a local RT owner and speaks very good English so we get a good chat in. He’s never been outside of Spain on his RT, and we mutually agree there isn’t really any need. He asks where we’re going, and we talk of the cost. He recommends the town of San Jose de Nijar, in the Cabo de Gata National park. A nice beach, good views and good food so he says. I’d posted a thread on the site here about recommendations, and that fits in with what the thinking there was, so I think I’ll bank that one for later
Some more great riding is done before we drop down to the A7 and out to the coast. We head through Garrucha, and then to the Playa of Mojacar, but the town up in the hill has caught my eye and is really grabbing me, so first gear and up we go.
In the lower part of the town we find the Hotel Simon with its incredibly friendly George Clooney-a-like owner. He speaks virtually no English, but whilst checking in I’m given a beer and a piece of fruit. Promising. He sorts parking for the bike, hidden away under a lemon tree, and we're given a room with a balcony where we have a view of the deep blue sea in the distance.
The immediate area of the Hotel Simon is pleasant but nothing special. A few shops and a couple of bars on a hillside road. I decide that we need to find out if this is the long and the short of it, so we need to climb to the centre. There are plenty of complaints as we work our way up the winding periphery. "I don’t like this/ there's nothing here / I'm bored / Are we there yet" sort of drivel, not for the first time
At the top we’re treated to some great views. It was well worth the huff and puff.
..with views back towards the Sierra Nevada and Sierra de Baza off in the distance.
We wander through at the top down the narrow streets. It’s a great little hilltop place. For some reason I didn't take many photos and lost some of them somehow or other, so you’ll jolly well have to take my word for it.
A spot is found for dinner along a steep street for heavy duty tapas
..the crowning glory of which being a metre long sausage (!), but I can’t find the photo of that little gem. Bother
Thankfully its all downhill back to Hotel Simon, George Clooney and Estrella Levante.