So I woke up from snoozing in the car to discover we were lost way out in the middle of nowhere! There wasn't a car for miles and buildings were scarce..but we got back on track after a long drive on a very windy road and hey, how many tourists would've seen the dry desert hills of Spain? :P
After a couple of close calls of the driver not giving way and not realising a light was red we made it to granada safe and sound..was about a 5 hour trip all up..Michael said the Spanish girl was keen to get food (she actually lived there) so we walked around in the 37C heat for ages, me lugging along my big bag, and finally she stopped somewhere! So we chatted (kind of, language barrier) and the girl bought us all a beer..and in granada when you but a drink you get free tapa/s! So we had hummus on bread :) we parted ways and as Michael hadn't booked anywhere he planned to check out my hostel..met a couple of nice Australian girls who tried to help us find the hostel..eventually located the hostel, which was really nice with an outdoor courtyard area...had a nap as I was so exhausted from the heat and then headed out to explore at about 7..checked out the lovely cathedral, walked along the paved streets and cobblestone alleyways with markets..I'd decided to pay 5e to have dinner at the hostel as it was a traditional dish 'paella' with rice and seafood..met a couple of American girls staying in my room, Mo and Shira, whom I hit it off with and we decided we'd attempt Alhambra in the morning..even though I didn't know what it was, it was granada's main tourist attraction! Because all online tickets were sold out, we had to get there at at least 7.30am to get tickets :S
So we woke at 5.30am, got ready, and climbed the steep hill/stairs to Alhambra..I was buggered and it was only just past 7am! Waited in line about an hour (and it was randomly really cold!), met a nice Asian lady from America, bought cheaper tickets that allowed us to go in straight away but we were just unable to go in to the main palace..the grounds were really beautiful, with awesome views of the city..we strolled through the ancient palaces which Muslims had originally built and ruled..had a look in the impressive palace gardens..then headed back down to granada..got some food and decided to try find the waterfalls ourselves (we found on a blog that it was possible without a guide)..caught the bus to a small town and then walked in thongs and dress for over an hour in the hot hot sun (like, 37C at least..), mostly up hill! We met some pretty cool Spanish ladies who pointed us in the right direction and eventually we found a waterfall! Wasn't as big as I'd expected but still very cool..and the landscape and sway bridges made it all the more interesting..the craziest thing was that we were watching some rock climbers and one of them came over and asked was I emily?! Turned out to be niklas' friend who lived in granada that I'd been talking to on whatsapp, and he recognized me from my picture..very weird! So then we trekked all the way back, and after our morning at Alhambra we were super exhausted by the time we made it to the hostel..we'd planned to meet that guy for drinks but instead just made dinner and crashed!
Up and at it again, another day of adventure..went on the historic walking tour which was really cool, all up through the old Muslim area called the albaycin..the history is pretty sad, with the conquering Christians even building a church over a Muslim graveyard..but the Muslim area is greatly unchanged and beautiful with meandering (and very steep) cobblestone streets, white buildings, awesome views of the city/Alhambra and no cars really (as most streets are so narrow)..we met a nice girl from Moldova and all had some tapas (2euro for a beer and 2 tapas!)..although we were tired from the morning tour we manned up and did the cave tour in the afternoon..it was so hot and such a big walk to the hills surrounding the city but we did it! The caves have been there for a very long time and most aren't owned, people can just rock up and live in them..ie the guide knew people from nimbin who'd stayed in them lol very appropriate, especially with the huge weed trees out front! It's cool we got to see them as it surely won't be long until they're demolished for safety concerns (as they're literally just holes in the hills) or so that a 5star resort with million dollar views can be built..never seen anything quite like them! Got an Alhambra beer and watched the sun set on the Alhambra..met some Aussies and an American at the hostel..we went out planning to meet niklas' friend but just ended up having one drink and then Shira and I headed back..we were so buggered!
