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| Alhambra Palace and the Sierra Nevada |
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| geeps or shoats? |
1st November. A gorgeous start to the month with clear blue skies and the temperature forecast to reach high 20's. Cycling conditions don't come much better so as today was the first day of Glynn's Cycling Down Dementia challenge we set off in the direction of Torre-Pacheco via the canal path. We hit a bit of a traffic jam on the canal when we were faced with a huge flock of sheep that were being herded to a new grazing area. When we first came across them last month we initially weren't sure if they were sheep as they look more like an English goat so we had jokingly been referring to them as geeps or shoats. With the aid of google we had determined that they were sheep (I think) . With such lovely conditions we just kept going and after a coffee break in Torre-Pacheco we carried on round to La Palma before heading towards the Mar Menor via the roads that criss-crossed the agricultural land that dominates this area. We eventually reached the coast at Bahia Bella and carried on round to Los Alcazares for another well-earned coffee break. We then decided to head back inland towards the canal and as we were so close to doing a 100km ride we carried on past our turn off on the canal and cycled a bit further so that when we eventually arrived home we had achieved the 100kms. An excellent start to Glynn's challenge and only another 1500kms to go!!
2nd November. We got off to a late start for our cycle ride today as Glynn wanted to watch England lose to South Africa in the rugby World Cup final. After lunch we took the canal path in the opposite direction to yesterday and headed towards San Miguel de Salinas before following the roads to Los Montesinos. It was a really lovely scenic ride and the temperature rose to over 30° which was much hotter than the forecast had predicted. We did a very nice 66kms to add to our total so decided to chill for the rest of the day and make the most of the sun before it set.
4th November. Yesterday we enjoyed a quiet day and went for a lovely walk to explore the nature reserve at El Mojón and see the pink flamingoes and then practiced our jive moves ready for the next class on Wednesday. Today I had to wait in for a parcel to be delivered so Glynn went out and added another 50kms to his total while I made some thumbprint cookies and lemon curd. With the parcel safely arrived and lunch over Glynn suggested an easy flat ride along the coast. He clearly didn't realise that the coastal routes north of Torre de la Horadada are anything but flat so we did a very hilly ride to Cabo Roig exploring the area and notched up another 25kms.
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| Ouch!! |
5th November. Not a good start to the day!! We went to badminton as I was keen to see if my coaching lessons were paying off. I had some good games and some bad games and then suddenly, about 90 minutes in to the two hour session, I felt an immense pain in my calf muscle and initially thought my partner had accidentally hit me with his racquet. The pain immediately disappeared until I tried to walk and realised I couldn't. It then sunk in that I had done some damage of some kind so hobbled to the nearest bench to sit down. As I was in agony every time I tried to take a step Glynn had to fetch the car from the car park and get it as close as possible to the courts so that I could hold on to him and hobble to the car. After resting it and applying ice we decided it might be a good idea to get it checked out so a visit to the medical centre was next on the agenda. The local medical centre advised me to go to the bigger centre in Pilar in case I needed to be referred for x-rays. As I was clearly in pain they insisted on pushing me back to our car in a wheelchair which for some reason Glynn found hilarious and promptly produced his phone to take a photo. After seeing a doctor I was told I had damaged my calf and should rest, ice and elevate it. As I couldn't really do anything other than rest Glynn had to wait on me for the rest of the day and I must say he makes a very good nursemaid.
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| A misty Mar Menor |
10th November. The last 5 days I have been unable to do anything other than rest as any attempt to walk causes me immense pain. Poor Glynn has had to go out cycling on his own and has added another 200kms to his total. He has then come back and waited on me as I can do little more than hop to the bathroom. As I was going stir crazy Glynn suggested we drive to La Manga on the far side of the Mar Menor today. It had been quite windy the last few days and today was no exception. When we tried to get out of the car at La Manga we struggled to get the doors open and then we were blasted so painfully by sand that we had to immediately give up and get back in the car. The usually blue water of the Mar Menor was grey and foaming today. We headed back round to Lo Pagan and found a lovely sheltered spot outside a bar where we were served a free paella tapas while we waited for our lunch order. It was just nice to be out and get some fresh air and out of the wind it was a really lovely sunny day. As we drove home later we had to steer around huge balls of tumbleweed that were everywhere. I had never seen anything like it so Glynn stopped the car so I could take some photos.
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| Me and David at Conesa Castle |
14th November. Our friends Teresa and David arrived two days ago so we had enjoyed a lovely time catching up. As I was able to get about a bit easier we had enjoyed a short walk along the promenade and then yesterday we decided to go to Conesa Castle to enjoy their menu del dia. This morning our friends Paul and Jan arrived so we drove to the airport to get them while Teresa and David went off to explore on their own. The last time the six of us were all together was in Goa so it was really good to catch up. We had a lovely relaxing evening playing Chronology and I did a big tapas spread with help from Jan and Teresa. We played girls against guys and allowed the men to beat us 2-1 as men are notoriously bad losers!!
15th November. As it was market day in Torrevieja we set off after breakfast and enjoyed a nice morning at the market before Teresa and David left to go home. We took Jan and Paul to the Nuthouse in San Miguel for a coffee on the way back and then relaxed the rest of the day catching up on all our news and enjoying the sun on the terrace.
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| Mud baths of Mar Menor |
18th November. We've enjoyed some nice walks the last two days and explored the famous mud baths at the Mar Menor. The men have been out on the bikes a couple of times so that Glynn can notch up a few more miles towards his cycling down dementia challenge. It's nice that Paul is a keen cyclist and is happy to take my place while I'm unable to cycle. Today we set of on a mini break to Granada. I was a bit worried at how my leg would cope with all the walking but as the trip had been booked since before I hurt my leg there was little option but to make the best of it. We were familiar with the first part of the route as it was the same road the four of us had taken in our Motorhomes back in May when we had met up with Karen and Sean at Lake Negratin. As we got closer to Granada the views were stunning as the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains were capped with snow and yet we were driving through glorious sunshine. The temperature had noticeably dropped the closer that we got to our destination but we had come equipped with padded jackets and long trousers.
It was amazing what a difference the short distance inland made to the temperature. We had booked a lovely 2 bedroom apartment through Airbnb which meant we had the whole place to ourselves for less than the cost of a hotel room. It was in a superb location, in walking distance to all the main sites, so after arriving in Granada and off-loading our luggage we set off to explore the local area with our tourist map to guide us. We walked over 12 kms following all the main attractions on the map and my poor leg was suffering from the effort. After the long drive to Granada and all the walking we decided to save Alhambra for tomorrow and settled on a local pizza restaurant to provide our evening meal before retiring back to the apartment. So far we were impressed with Granada, it seemed to be a very clean well kept city with some amazing buildings.
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| Granada |
19th November. Although the weather forecast had been for showers on and off during our stay we had so far enjoyed some lovely sunshine although it was chilly in the shade. Today we woke up to another bright but cold day. Alhambra palace was our destination for today so after breakfast we set off. My leg was still hurting from all the walking yesterday so I wasn't looking forward to the climb up to the Palace. We took it steady and followed much of the route we had covered yesterday before carrying on up through a beautiful wooded area and eventually reaching the palace complex. Starting its life as a small hilltop fortress in AD 889 built on the remains of Roman fortifications it had been left to ruin until it was renovated in the 13th century when the current palace and walls were built but it wasn't until 1333 that it was converted in to a royal palace. It underwent further changes in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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| Plaza de la Romanilla, Granada |
Although King Charles l commissioned a new Renaissance palace in 1526 the War of the Alpujarras between 1568-71 put a halt to this and it was never completed. It suffered further neglect and abuse over the coming centuries including being used as barracks by Napoleon's troops. In 1828 a extensive program of repair and renovation began which continued on and off right up to the 21st century. In 1870 it was declared a national monument and in 1984 it was declared an UNESCO World Heritage sight. In all the reviews I'd read I had not come across any warning of the importance of buying tickets in advance so we were shocked to discover that we could not gain entrance to the Palace as all the tours for the day had sold out. We were so disappointed but there was little we could do. We
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| Granada Cathedral |
could get tickets to explore the gardens but when I questioned one of the guards he admitted we'd get better photos of the Palace from outside. After a brief rest to allow my leg to recover a bit we decided to head to the San Pedro area in search of a better view of the palace. Walking downhill caused me much more pain than uphill had and I was struggling so much that Glynn and Paul had to support me on either side. When we made it to the area of San Pedro we found some stunning views of the Palace as we wandered the beautiful narrow streets and climbed back up towards the Albaicín area. I was in desperate need of a rest so after taking lots of photos we set off in search of a restaurant we had seen the day before that offered an 'all you can eat' tapas menu for only €10!
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| Royal Chapel of Granada |
After enjoying an excellent variety of tapas and a glass of wine we decided to head back. My leg was too painful to consider walking up to the area of Sacramento and we had pretty much explored the rest of Granada over the last two days. We stopped at a supermarket to pick up a bottle of wine and some snacks for the evening and headed back. It was a relief to be able to finally rest when we got back to the apartment and I sat with a hot water bottle under my calf to ease the pain. Doing a tour of Granada with a torn calf muscle wasn't ideal but everything had been booked before I hurt my leg so I was loathe to cancel it and we had actually managed to see just about everything there was to see. It had been a fantastic trip and the apartment was lovely and so much better than booking hotel rooms.
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| Statue of Christ, Totana |
21st November. When we left Granada yesterday we detoured to the Sierra Espuna mountains to show Paul and Jan the Statue of Christ that sits on one of the highest points above Totana and offers amazing views over the surrounding countryside. There is also the stunning sanctuary of Santa Eulalia as you descend the winding road back towards Totana, a beautiful collection of buildings surrounded by forest. It was well worth the detour to show them. Today we decided to see if I could ride my bike. As we use combination pedals with a flat side it meant I could wear trainers and not have to clip in as twisting my calf to unclip was a definite no go. Much to my delight I could cycle easier than I could walk, probably because all the pressure was off my calf, and we ended up cycling to Santiago de la Ribera on the Mar Menor. It was a beautiful sunny day so on the way back we stopped at Lo Pagan for coffee and tapas. I managed a pain free 21kms so I was really pleased. To cap off a perfect day myself and Jan beat the men playing a game of Tension although they were sore losers and tried to claim it was a draw!!
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| Flamenco dancers |
24th November. Yesterday was the big Christmas light switch on at La Zenia boulevard so we enjoyed a couple of hours shopping before the show started. Unfortunately it was so well attended that we couldn't see the children performing on the stage so we left before the lights were actually switched on but we had still enjoyed the trip. Today we had heard of a flamenco festival that was taking place at La Union, near Cartagena, so we set off early to make sure we could get a good position to watch the dancers. It was a lovely show and after we got back we decided to head out on the bikes again. We did a short 21km ride along the canal path and again I managed fine so I was delighted. As it was a beautiful sunny day we decided to chill for the rest of the afternoon on the terrace and read our books.
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| Canal path ride |
25th November. No visit to Spain would be complete without trying their famous churros and chocolate sauce so this morning we went to San Pedro del Pinatar market so that Jan and Paul could try them. Although that kind of sugar overload is something we would normally avoid we couldn't resist joining in so after exploring the market we sat outside the churros stall with a big bag full of churros and a tub of chocolate sauce to dip them in. Well worth the treat!! After lunch we decided to go for another ride and this time we took the canal path to San Miguel de Salinas and had coffee at the Nuthouse. Jan was delighted that she easily managed a 45km ride and I was delighted that I was able to cycle without aggravating my calf.
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| Lovely view in the castle grounds |
28th November. The weather has been unbelievably hot the last two days with temperatures hitting around 27°. We enjoyed a lovely meal at the castle at San Miguel and did a nice walk around Torre and along the promenade. We've also taken advantage of the unexpectedly good weather to just chill on the terrace and relax. Sadly today it was time to take Paul and Jan back to the airport. We have enjoyed a fabulous two weeks with them, the highlight of which has been our trip to Granada, and we are sad to see then leave. As I am still struggling with a lot of pain in my leg I have phoned our travel insurance company and they have agreed to pay for some physio so after we got back from the airport I went for my first session. Hopefully this will help speed up my recovery.
