Woooah we’re going to Granada, woooah up in the mountains!

After a few days in the city, it was time to hit the beach again. This time I drove along the south coast till I found the (somewhat) hidden Playa de los Muertos, which is one of the beaches in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park. The beach is very long and there is enough space for everyone to have some privacy, nevertheless there is also a “cool” spot near the end, which is a small bay formed by a large rock near the end of the beach.

Next stop on the way to Granada was the small town of Gaudix. This town is the only town that has a cathedral, as only cities have cathedrals in Spain. But what it’s probably more famous for are it’s caves. People here started to dig caves in the rocky hills and use them as homes. So instead of building a house, they would dig themselves one. Today, you can visit the neighborhood of caves, where people still live today and you can see (usually white) chimneys coming out of the hills for air circulation.

Now driving on the highways in southern Spain is a real treat for the eyes with so many scenic and different landscapes, from tree forests, to rocky mountains to vibrant green orchards and deep blue sea. And if that’s not enough, they also add some funny billboards on the roads to remind you that you’re in Spain!

The drive to the hostel through the mountains was tricky but spectacular and the view from the hostel when I finally got there even better. I chose to stay at a Hostel in a small town outside of Granada, but close to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, making it easy to go hiking one day as well, and I have to say, it was a great choice!

After settling in, I hit the town to meet some people I had met in Valencia for some Tapas and a night out on the town. Now parking in Murcia was almost impossible near the city center, in Granada it’s not even allowed. Just driving through the main street in the city center was only allowed at certain times of the day, which I didn’t know about of course. They actually have cameras set up on the street to take photos of car license plates and only taxis or cars registered to guests staying at the hotels on that street are allowed to drive on that street all day. The rest, like me, had to follow a very strange schedule, which wasn’t even the same for the two street directions!! Anyways, of course I ended up driving along that street at the wrong time and I am awaiting to see if I will get a ticket sent to me by email via the car rental company. In case you’re wondering, I eventually managed to find a nice free area for parking about 1.5 km outside the center, which I used for the rest of my days in Granada.

One of the first thing I noticed about Granada was that there were a lot of Moroccans working and probably also living here. I was able to talk arabic with a lot of people working at the restaurants in town. This of course made the vibe very friendly for me, but even the non-arabic speaker locals were very friendly here. It was a strange thing to see in such a touristic city. Usually the people working in these cities are stressed and just want to end their shift and go home, but that was far from the case here. People were smiling, taking the time to explain things in simple Spanish, sharing their WiFi passwords even if you weren’t a customer. I have to say, I started to fall in love with the people of southern Spain.

Maybe that’s also why there are lots of students in Granada and I believe it’s even the number one destination for Erasmus students, which of course reflects on the night life and living expenses. It’s quite an affordable city and their Tapas culture fits perfectly with student life. That’s because you get a free plate of Tapas with every drink you order, so the more you drink, the more Tapas you will get, which tends to be how a lot of students finance their dinners. Another interesting thing here are the many Teterias. Basically they are tea houses or oriental cafes house, where you can drink and try different kinds of tea, especially from north african. It’s also where you can also sit on cushions and smoke shisha for example. The teterias were also a great place to escape from the rain, which surprised everyone on the Sacromonte walking tour that afternoon and was the only rain I saw in my three weeks on the road… to be continued.