Andalusian Hill Country

Olive Groves

After Granada, the adventure kicked into high gear!  The drive to my next stop was absolutely amazing!  I was delighted by the scenery and found the landscape to be very much like home.  There were olive groves as far as the eye could see and every turn of the road seemed to peak my enthusiasm and excitement for the region.  

View from pool

Thankfully, I spent several hours in Granada translating the directions that the hostess, Esther, had given me to Cottages of The Algarrobales. I had paid 2X the price of the car for a Tom Tom GPS which was utterly useless.  I have had bad experiences with Tom Toms in Europe before and this was no different.  I had my backup Google Maps which turned out to be all I really needed.  Still, I can’t believe where I had to drive to my next location!  As it turned out, the directions from the owner were spot on. 

When I took the right hand turn toward the cottages, I was met by a very handsome Spanish man who spoke exactly zero English.  He drove a Land Rover Santana 109 Series and I tried to convey that I understood what that was!  I was eternally thankful to get his go-ahead to continue on this dirt road toward my cottage.  It was only 2-3K from there, but I swear it took me a good 30 minutes!  

This was a single track dirt road with 3 treacherous switch backs and no way to pull aside for another vehicle!  Jeff said and I agree, it would only have been worse if he was driving and I had the ability to look around other than at the road ahead! These pictures were taken on my second or third ascent when I had the nerve to stop and document the scene.  The pictures don't relay the white knuckle experience as well as they should!

View from my Casita

I arrived to find a most amazing little casita with a large shower, bed, den and kitchen area.  The only thing that was missing was food of any sort!!!  I just didn’t expect to be so isolated since I thought that I had booked this little cottage near one of the quaint hill towns that were to be a highlight of the trip.  Instead, it seemed that I was far far away from anything other than the neighbor casitas (which were all booked full but probably didn't bring food to share). This became a fasting day for me with little issues.  I planned for a day trip to a lovely hill town the next day. 

Tapas y vino blanco

I traveled (twice) to this great little hill town called Zahara.  I traveled twice because once I braved it to the town the first time, I realized that I had forgotten my wallet.  It was about 45 minutes one way, but I had no other choice.  The second time that I arrived was most amazing.  I had a fantastic dish of tapas with a couple of glasses of white wine.  They tend to drink their wine on ice, which I am now accustomed to doing.  While is Spain, I learned that tapas are often served gratis with your wine, sort of like peanuts with beer at a bar.  Since I got an entire plate at this location, I did pay for it, but it was a great way to break the fast.

I arrived in Zahara just after the Corpus Christi celebrations. Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Holy Blood of Christ, is also known as The Day of Wreaths.  This must explain why the entire town was blanketed in cut greenery.  They were also having a party just adjacent to the church.  If was a fun scene and worth the hike to the top of town.

The Day of Wreaths

I think it is often true that the little things that seemingly go 'wrong' on a trip (like wasting 1.5 hours driving to retrieve a forgotten wallet) are usually the most memorable.  The Cottages of The Algarrobales (which now I understand was the family name of the people who must have owned a palatial estate inclusive of 4-5 VRBO rentals) was a memorable stay because it was such a challenge for me.  I never met Esther, but would definitely recommend her casita to anyone looking for a relaxing stay in Andalusia.

My artistic rendering of the much enjoyed pool.