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Andalucia, Spain

January - March 2024
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
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  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    Day 22

    Deia, Valdemossa and a Bike Race

    January 24 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Soller, Deia, and Valldemossa are three of the most beautiful towns in the area and because of that many rich and famous people have secondary houses in them.

    Just a short twenty minutes drive from Sóller, on a winding road with great views, and directly at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains, is the small, dreamy village of Deiá. Narrow, picturesque streets wind their way up between olive groves, bougainvilleas, and palm trees. The beauty of this town was probably why the bohemians settled here in the early 20th century. Among them many famous painters, poets, and actors.

    In 1929, the British poet Robert Graves moved to Deià with his American wife and writer Laura Riding. But Graves wasn’t by far the only notable person paying Deià a visit. Famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso also enjoyed staying in Deià and so did actor Sir Peter Ustinov.

    Musicians such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mike Oldfield, Bob Geldof, Pierce Brosnan, and Eric Clapton came here to relax and find inspiration. Finally, Hollywood star Michael Douglas bought Finca S‘Estaca where once Empress Sissi used to stay.

    It is such a pretty place. We sat on a terrace with a beautiful view and ate our Serrano ham, cheese and vegetable bocadillos (sandwiches) while drinking the best coffee that we have had in Spain. A nearby waterfall provided us with relaxing background music.

    Another 20 minutes down the scenic road and we were in Valdemossa. The Mallorcan Kings favoured this place for its pleasantly mild climate.

    As we entered the town of Valdemossa, we noticed that there seemed to be a big police presence. It looked liked they were closing down the road. And we eventually learned why - the Challenge Mallorca Bicycle Race 2024 was on! There were going to be five days of racing for the men, a series of one-day races with 24 teams. The organisation brought in eight WorldTour teams. What a great opportunity for us to park the car and join in the excitement as the cyclists sped by us. Fun! Once again we were in the right place at the right time. Lucky us.

    Once the road cleared and we could head back into town, we walked to the centre of town to find the place that really put Valdemossa on the map. It became truly famous after a pair of lovers spent the winter of 1838/39 at Valldemossa’s Charterhouse, a monastery. Those two lovebirds were Polish-born composer Fréderic Chopin and his partner, French writer George Sand. More about them and where they lived in the next footprint.

    Valldemossa is also the birthplace of Catalina Thomás, the island’s only saint, who was born in 1531. Almost every house in the village has a tile with motifs from the life of the saint next to the entrance. The house she was born in was converted into a small chapel. Her body, however, is laid out in a glass coffin in the Church of Santa Maria Magdalena in Palma.

    We felt very lucky today for 4 reasons.
    1. Chris’ back had been sore for 2 days and miraculously it got better.
    2. We parked in a pay for parking area, didn’t pay anything and didn’t get a ticket.
    3. We noticed a big dent in the rental car but after awhile realized that it had been there when we picked it up (photo).
    4. We caught the exciting bicycle race.
    We have learned to count our blessings.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    2
    Day 22

    Robert Graves’ House in Deia

    January 24 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Robert Graves is one of the great literary figures of the 20th Century. In 1929, he came to Mallorca, built a house in Deia and lived there until his death in 1985. He is buried under a great cypress tree in the lovely churchyard next to the church.

    He is the author of close to 100 books: novels, history, mythology, religion, short stories and essays. “ But above all, he is a love poet, with over 1200 poems.” In 1961, he was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford. In 1968, he received the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. He is best known for two of his works; the novel, I Claudius and The White Goddess, a tribute to his poetic testament.

    His house was right on the main road into Deia and it was open for tours, so we stopped in to have a look. There was only 1 other couple there at the same time.

    We got our seniors’ tickets and were sent to a small auditorium with an excellent, short video introduction of the life of Robert Graves. It was told in the first person, using BBC interviews, and local footage. His life seemed to be very full especially of loves, found and lost.

    On one wall of the auditorium is a spectacular “time-line” which covers the poet’s life, and is illustrated with personal photographs, book covers, and international events. On the other walls were several large photographs taken in 1953.

    Going outside we walked through the garden to get to the house. The main paths remain essentially as they were when the house was built. The olive, carob, and almond trees growing on the land were left in place. Graves added an orange grove, a tangerine grove, and some lemon trees, local varieties of fruit trees, and bitter orange trees for his marmalade. The sunny end of the garden he kept for a kitchen garden that is still being planted. On the side of the house is a large covered water reservoir filled from the village spring but it also takes the overflow from the rain water cistern in the house. It was used for watering in the hot summer months.

    Robert Graves, and his then companion Laura Riding, built the house in 1932, and called it Ca n’Alluny, which in Catalan means “The Far House” It is a five minute walk from the picturesque village of Deià. The mountains rise up behind it and it looks out to the Mediterranean.

    We enjoyed reading the English posters explaining what was in the rooms and any changes that had to be made for public viewing.

    It had three writing rooms - one for him, one for his wife and one for any visiting guest. Books, paper, pens were on the writing desks ready to be used.

    All the furniture, wall hangings, and even the light fittings are original. When we were in the house it felt like the Graves’ family still lived in it.

    Where possible, the house has been restored to how Graves found it when he returned to Mallorca in 1946 with his new family. It was lovingly cared for and we enjoyed the visit.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    1
    Day 22–25

    Chopin and George Sand in Valdemossa

    January 24 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Valldemossa is a popular tourist destination in Mallorca. One of its main attractions is the 13th century monastery, where the musician Frederic Chopin spent a winter (1838–39) with his lover George Sand and her two teenage children. The monastery was originally built as a royal palace however, in 1399 it was converted into a monastery.

    The monks adapted easily to the royal residence but when Chopin and Sand arrived in Mallorca, they didn’t adapt so easily. They were not prepared for the coldness of the winter days, high in the mountains on the island. Chopin suffered while he was there as he already had a lung disease (tuberculosis?). His health deteriorated over the three months of his stay in Mallorca.

    We were very curious about what Chopin’s life must have been like while he lived in a cell so went into the monastery for a look.

    The hallway leading to the cell in the old cloister was dark and not very pleasant. But I did spot two interesting giant puppets in a corner. They were Gigantes or mojigangas! Great big puppets. I think they are called cabagrossas here.

    So down the hallway, we found Cell #4, Chopin and Sand’s accommodation for
    The Carthusian cell was a suite of three spacious rooms, all with windows and doors looking out on to the terrace. They also had a beautiful garden terrace with a view of the valley.

    There are facsimiles of Chopin's manuscript for the Preludes and some original letters concerning the procurement and delivery of his Pleyel piano from France. This piano is on display in the bedroom along with another small piano. It had taken 2 months for his piano to arrive so until then Chopin allegedly played and composed on a specially constructed Mallorcan pianino.

    It was here that Georg Sand wrote the novel A Winter on Majorca while Chopin composed the well-known Raindrop Prelude in D Flat Major and several other pieces.

    When they left, Sand paid to have most of the furniture (not the piano) burned as the townspeople were afraid to catch whatever it was that Chopin was sick with.

    Once again, I found it very interesting to read more about poor sick Chopin who died at 39 and George Sand who was definitely an early feminist in the mid 1800s. What lives they lived...

    When we get home, I will look for this book -
    Chopin's Piano: In Search of the Instrument That Transformed Music," by Paul Kildea. W.W. Norton, 368 pages. $27.95.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    Day 23

    Hams Caves - Porto Cristo

    January 25 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    And today, we did something completely different. We drove to the east side of the island to a cute little port town called Santo Cristo to visit a cave.

    The drive was easy. We left the mountains and drove for an hour and a half through flat farmland with windmills to get to the other coast.

    The Hams Caves are renowned throughout the world for their peculiar fishhook-shaped formations. (Hams means fishhooks in Mallorquine). Discovered by Pedro Caldentey in 1905, they were the first caves in Spain to be opened to the public. In 1910, these caves already had electricity that was very advanced for its time.

    We started out by going down into the Round Cave, an immense botanical garden with local fauna. The roof of the cave had collapsed year ago so the cave was open to the sky.

    In the Blue Cave, we watched a documentary called Discovering the Past. It introduced us to the history of Majorca, its first inhabitants, the formation of the Caves and their extraordinary discovery. A very good introduction.

    Then we walked up and down stairs to see various formations like “Samson’s Pillars”, the “Plains of Fra Mauro”, and the “Pit of Hell”, where we saw a time lapsed audiovisual called GENESIS -the History of Life. It started out with the Big Bang and went through time right to the present day and was projected onto the rock-face of the cave. Very cool watching a film in a cave!

    The Classic Cave, which is made up of 12 galleries, led us through thousands and thousands of tiny (12”) stalagmites and stalactites. We have never seen a cave with so many of these little formations that had taken 10,000 years to form. Sadly, people had broken off bits of them to take home as souvenirs. In one spot, a fence was put in front of us to stop this behaviour.

    Thee last cave we visited was at sea level and there was an underground Lake, the Sea of Venice. A short musical show was presented featuring Mozart’s music and visuals on the cave walls.

    The Hams Caves are one of Majorca’s main tourist attractions and we definitely enjoyed our hour underground. It is off season now and we enjoyed being with only 2 other couples and the guide. We could ask her lots of questions and she had time to tell us some fun facts about the cave. She said that in the summer, the tour would run every 15 minutes with 30 people in a group. In low season, it runs once and hour.

    From the caves we went to have a leisurely mussel, shrimp and salad lunch with sangria,in Porto Cristo.

    A super visit to another lovely place.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    1
    Day 24

    And Now on to Malaga

    January 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Our focus while visiting the island of Mallorca was to enjoy nature and island living. We ate local food, walked to nearby villages, did road trips to see interesting landforms (Mallorca is full of them) and learned a little of the island’s history. We were there during the off season so we didn’t have to fight any huge tourist crowds. You could stay there for a month and not see everything the island has to offer. It’s a great place for sports enthusiasts.

    Now on to the warmer city of Malaga. Weq drove from Soller to where we had to return our Wiber car rental in Palma. The car rental was a good experience for $50 Cdn for 6 days! We didn’t have any accidents but something big did! Check the photo.

    The 1 1/2 hour flight was good. The plane was full of teenagers, mostly a girls’ hockey team, so there was a lot of teenage excitement and chatter. Lol. Reminded us of school field trips.

    We landed at 4 and picked up another Wiber rental car. We have this car for 20 days.

    The owner of the apartment that we are staying in, suggested a car parking lot that is only a 3 minute walk away from where we are staying. It’s called las Delicias and is secure and safe. We don’t plan on using the car for the 3 nights we are in Malaga, but we will use it to go to Granada afterwards. To rent the car was cheaper than taking a taxi and then a bus and taxi.

    Our apartment is perfect. The location is amazing, right where all the action is, but it is very quiet and close to anything we would need. It’s called Fresh, Relax and Sun Centre on booking.com.

    After a short grocery visit for basics, we came back and had a good night’s sleep.

    The next morning, after doing our laundry, we walked around the neighbourhood, starting with the very big and active Central Market with its fresh seafood, vegetables and fruits, along with ham, olives, olive oil, figs, almonds, sardines, jams and Manchego cheese. We bought a few more items and just strolled on the pedestrian shopping streets. Even at 10 a.m., the streets were full of shoppers and eaters/drinkers. We joined the crowd by buying a coffee, then sat down and people and dog watched. There are a lot of dogs on leashes here.

    We booked a free walking tour of the Alcazada, the fortress, that started at 4 p.m. through GetYourGuide. You pay what you want to pay at the end of the tour. More about the Alcazada in the next footprint.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    Day 25

    The Alcazada - a bit of Malaga’s History

    January 27 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today we went to see the big fortress, Alcazada, that overlooks the city. At one time this fortress was at the base of a mountain and right on the sea shore but now it is about 1 km away from the water. The city has quite the history with many different cultures living in it over the years.

    It’s history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe. It’s was founded about 770 BC by the Phoenicians and called Malaka, or the “‘fish salting place”. On the street, there is a glass pyramid that you can look into and see the tanks/basins that were used to make a fish sauce called garum.

    The Greeks followed, establishing a colony in the city in the 6th century BC, which lasted for several centuries. In the 3rd century BC, the Carthaginians took control of Malaga, followed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. The Romans expanded the city, building an aqueduct, amphitheatre, and other impressive structures. During this time, Malaga became an important port and commercial centre.

    The Visigoths (Germans) took control of Malaga in the 5th century AD, followed by the Moors. The Moors greatly influenced the city, introducing new architectural styles, such as the famous Alcazaba Fortress that we were visiting and the Gibralfaro Castle. The city also became an important cultural centre, with scholars and poets flocking to Malaga.

    In 1487, the city was conquered by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella during the Reconquista. Malaga became an important centre of the Inquisition, which saw many non-Christians persecuted and killed. The city experienced a period of decline during the 16th and 17th centuries.

    But during the 19th and 20th centuries, Malaga experienced a resurgence, with new industries such as textiles and agriculture. In the 20th century, the city also became a popular tourist destination, with its sunny climate, beaches, and rich cultural heritage attracting visitors from around the world.

    The Alcazada is a fortress palace built between 1057 and 1063 by the Muslims. They used building materials from the ancient Roman theatre, only discovered in 1951, that sits at the foot of the palace. From there they lugged marble sculptures, columns and statues up the hill to adorn the fortress. The guide had us look for the old Roman columns that decorated the gates.

    On the top floor were the beautiful rooms of the palace with three attractive courtyards. The views were lovely and we could see clearly Antonio Banderas penthouse suite. He was born in Malaga.

    The fortress was maintained in good conditions until the seventeenth century when two events contributed to its deterioration: a big earthquake in 1680, and the damage caused by an attack by French ships in 1693 during the Nine Years’ War. From then the fortress was used for several purposes including a prison, hospital and even homes were built from its stones on the lower part, until the thirties when rehabilitation work began and the fortress palace was declared a Historical Heritage of Spain.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    Day 26

    Museum Sunday in Malaga

    January 28 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    On Sundays, museums are free so we went to a museum - the Museo de Malaga. This huge museum in the beautiful old customs building actually houses two museums - the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes (Provincial Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museo Arqueológico Provincial.

    There are over 30 interesting museums (wine, glass and crystal, fine art, Picasso’s house, etc) in this city so it was hard to pick one but we finally decided to go to the one that housed a good variety of objects, mainly archaeological finds as well as fine art, including paintings by Picasso.

    Three hours later and after viewing and reading about many of the 17,000 exhibits, we were hungry and pooped out! We went in search of a tapas restaurant that wasn’t filled to the gills with people. Not as easy as it seems as Malaga has over 2000 of them , all hopping. One restaurant has a sign on it that says that they don’t provide service. What does that mean? Well, we found out. You just try to find a seat, or not, and push your way to the front to grab any tapas that come out. Or at least that’s the way it seemed to me! Check the video. Not what we wanted to do after 3 hours in a museum!

    Finally, we found an outside seat in a restaurant that specialized in tapas and the food was really good. So was the wine and beer. Lol. Added to that, we had some interesting entertainment - a group of street break dancers. Loud and energetic but fun to watch.

    Not far from where we are, In the heart of Malaga, there is a large bullring that opened in 1876 called La Malagueta. Several very famous matadors have performed in this ring. The bullring still hosts bullfights but only once a year at the Malaga Fair. Since it can hold up to 14,000 spectators, it is now mainly used for concerts and conferences.

    Tomorrow, we will leave this little oasis in hectic Malaga and go to Granada. Our goal is to visit the Alhambra, one of Spain’s top historical sites..

    Note - Jeans, running shoes, hoodies, scarves and black puffers or vests are the norm here. So…we fit in!    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    1111
    Day 27

    Gibralfaro Castle

    January 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today, before driving to Granada, we had time to do a good, steep walk up the mountain the castle, Gibralfaro, and its small museum. The castle was originally built in 929 a.d. and then enlarged during the 14th century to protect the Alcazada citadel. The two buildings are connected by the exterior wall. Gibralfaro means rock of the lighthouse in Arabic and Greek.

    The Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, had a three month siege on the castle. Hunger forced the Malaguenos who were living there to surrender. Afterwards Ferdinand lived on the site and Isabella lived in a residence in town. An interesting historic fact is that this was the first conflict in which gunpowder was used by both sides.

    The views from the castle are the best in Malaga as you’ll see in the photos. You can even see the big La Malagueta bullring where stages are being set up for the Carnaval festivities will be held next weekend.

    At 2 pm, we stopped at a tapas place and ate a good lunch with a beer and Cortada that is a small coffee with steamed milk.

    By 3 pm, we were on the road to Granada. The drive was an easy one as the roads are excellent and there were very few drivers on them. We drove through a huge valley filled with olive orchards that we could see for miles.

    We started to see the snow capped-mountains that overlook Granada before we entered the city.

    Once again, we are staying in a hotel room for 3 nights before moving on. This hotel Casa de Reyes is located in an old house that is full of treasures. The owner has an interest in the history of this area. The room has been renovated and the bed is super comfortable. After our 8 km walk and the drive, we have to recharge for tomorrow - exploring the old city of Granada.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    4
    Day 27–30

    The Beautiful City of Granada

    January 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Before arriving in Granada, we saw snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains that rise up behind the city. People can ski here from November to June! And Grenada is only one hour away from sandy beaches. Amazing!

    There is way too much history in Granada for me to read and to try to put its history in a nutshell. Basically, it was once a Muslim kingdom. The Catholic monarchs captured the city in 1492 and ended the Islamic presence on the Iberian Peninsula after 800 years. From then on, a lot happened. Too much to write about but super interesting.

    The monarchs were ones that we know - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Also this was the place where the Catholic Kings signed an agreement in April 1492 and accepted Christopher Columbus’ terms to undertake his famous trip. The document granted Columbus the titles of Admiral, Viceroy and Governor-General of all the lands he would discover and set the condition that he would keep a tenth of all future profits.

    Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand chose to be buried here, in Granada’s Cathedral.

    In Spanish, Granada means pomegranate. According to the stories, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella chose the fruit as a symbol of their final victory over the Moors, and that fruit became the city’s symbol.

    Granada is a lovely university city full of young people, (over 50000 students), parks, fountains, restaurants, flat walking streets and historical buildings. Streets are narrow and wind through the city. It is a pleasure to stroll on its streets and try to take in all of its beautiful sights. On top of that, it is a safe and friendly place to be with a laid back vibe.

    When I was researching what places to visit or things we could do here, one website mentioned 183 places! What to choose? We are here for only 3 nights, 2 full days. Yikes! Of course, we had to see the Alhambra so that was easy, but what else? Cave houses? A Flamenco show, The Mystery Man exhibition? Churches? Monasteries? Arab market? Free tapa bars? Wow. Where to start?

    Our comfortable and quiet hotel, Casa de Reyes, is in a perfect spot for seeing whatever we can fit in to see. And it is decorated with beautiful stained glass fixtures and traditional decorated plates.

    Anyways, we do have a bit of a plan. The Alhambra had to be pre-booked, so that was done a couple of weeks ago, and the rest will fall in place.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampAndalucia, Spain
    3
    Day 27

    Sacromonte Cave Houses

    January 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    I read about a fascinating place to visit on the outskirts of Granada called Sacomonte with cave houses! Even though it is a very interesting place, not many tourists go there because there is only one narrow road up a very steep hill. A bus does go so far but you still have to do the walk up! It took us about 1/2 hour to get to road that goes up and there was a lot to see on the way.

    In the 15th Century, Spanish Gypsies, originally from India, sought refuge in these unique caves, also known as El Barranco de los Negros, which were carved out of the limestone hillside. Beyond providing shelter from the hot sun, the Sacromonte caves also offered protection from religious and ethnic persecution, making the caves a haven for those seeking peace.

    The gypsies there have a long-standing tradition with the flamenco, the typical Spanish dance and music, but they mixed the traditional Spanish flamenco with Arab belly dancing. Shows are held at night in some caves for tourists but I think that that’s what they are - shows for tourists. We’ll see a flamenco show later on on our trip.

    The fact that some of these caverns date back to the 16th century and have preserved centuries of history in their cool, natural surroundings is amazing.

    In 1963, six months of torrential rains destabilized the soil, and the entire hill was in danger of collapsing. The government forcefully evicted the residents of Sacromonte caves, ordering them never to return. And that was the end of the Gypsy history of Sacromonte caves.

    Though many of Sacromonte’s dappled white cave-dwellings are now available to rent, either as permanent residences or holiday homes, and and are fitted out with wifi, TV and fully functioning kitchens and bathrooms, you can see them as they would have been originally in the Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte.

    This fabulous museum is situated at the top of the hill and gave us the chance to look around ten caves that have been set up as they would have been when the Gypsies first settled in Sacromonte. There are lots of old photos on the walls and some wonderful short movies of the families who lived there. Most houses had only three rooms - a living area, a kitchen and a bedroom and a cave for their animals.

    Following our museum visit we wandered around the modern Sacromonte. I don’t think that life has changed much since then – and Sacromonte is all the more charming and beautiful because of it.

    Vale la peña . It was worth the effort!    Read more

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