Old Biddy on a Bike

Horrific weather news from Spain today as the flooding has devastated large areas and caused chaos and destruction. Pure good luck got me home before this hit and after two weeks of perfect sunshine. We were complaining about getting soaked boarding the plane and the bumpy turbulence on take off but had no idea this was arriving. My poor friend drove back to the green circle on Sunday night and is hunkered down until it clears.

Home!! I still have the Alhambra photos to post but luckily I had my Ryanair flight booked for Monday evening and I got home late last night.
Longer version: Sunday and Monday were about 13° there so as cold as here and when I work up yesterday the mountains round Granada were totally covered in snow. I was happy enough because it meant I didn’t look odd wearing so many clothes as they wouldn’t all fit in my wee case. Heaviest shirt, body warmer, raincoat and scarf and my pockets stuffed full. I still ended up with a 3kg overflow bag! Too many nice clothes shops. I flew to Spain with EasyJet and my usual wee backpack that fits under the seat but my flight home was with Ryanair. I went home before the half term break as flights triple in price when that starts. Luckily when I was checking in I noticed the Ryanair under seat bag size and it has shrunk! Only 40cm by 25cm by 20cm compared to EasyJet’s 45cm x 36cm x 20cm! Taking my backpack on board would have cost me over €60 but it was sold out or if I had just discovered it at the airport it was €75! So I had to pay another £23 to check it in. I see today that I was lucky to get home at all. Transport strikes on Monday, Malaga airport closed due to storms and worse to come. A lucky end to two lovely weeks away.

Granada. Next was a day split into two very different sides of the same coin. First Granada Cathedral, another one built on top of the city's main mosque after the reconquest of Granada. It was started in in 1518 in the centre of the old Muslim Medina so the narrow warren of streets around it are full of fascinating souks and bazaar like shops and tea shops. Ornate doesn’t cover its decor!
Second was the Inquisition exhibition advertised as having “ancient instruments of torture, and wonderful views of the Alhambra”. It was disturbing, gruesome and most horrific was how shockingly recent some of it is and how little has changed in many places. Human nature at its worst.

Granada. We stopped for refreshments (Tinto de Verano going down well) and realised we were only about 200m from the Museum of the Caves but it was directly up above us. It was threatening rain and we could hear thunder but still in the 20’s. We almost talked ourselves out of it but I’m so glad we went. A fascinating history of the origins of flamenco and the harshness and generations of discrimination against the gypsies and other minorities. Eleven very impressive caves and so like old houses in Ireland even with the lime whitewashed walls. Last occupied in the 1960’s until the last inhabitants were forcibly removed. Well worth a visit.

Granada. The plan for the day was to get the minibus up to the highest point on Sacromonte and work our way down taking in anything interesting on the way. First stop the Abadía del Sacromonte. Apparently the Abbey, together with the Alhambra and the Cathedral, “constitute the fundamental triangle to understand the reality of the city of Granada.” Good place to start anyway and interesting “holy” caves and walking down was much better than the other way round. Great views all round and lovely to be up in the mountains.

Granada. Alhambra. My wish list is now a to do list. Tick.

Granada. Ticket booked for the Alhambra in a few days but first a few hours wandering round the streets. The bazaars and Arabic areas yesterday and now a different world of narrow back streets and graffiti. Lots to explore and so much quieter than the tourist hot spots.

Next stop, Granada. So prepare yourself for photos of the Alhambra from every possible angle! At first I thought I had my geography wrong and had ended up in Turkey or Morocco. The narrow alleyways are like souks and the food wafting past was delicious. Moorish and moreish Turkish delights all round.

Nerja. You never know what will come down the street next! Stallions galore.

A day in Frigiliana. One of Los PUEBLOS más BONITOS
de España. A short 15 minute bus ride away and we were in the white hilltop village to explore. The €1 Sherry was a distraction but the place was well worth the wander through the steep streets. It was like an open air art gallery so I had fun with a few arty edits. More photos than usual but this place was stunning.

Nerja. We had great excitement when we came across a wedding in the piazza. Well, I say came across but we were sitting sweltered having afternoon drinkies in a bar in the shade and this wonderful stylish fashion show arrived. The younger men seem to like their suits a few sizes too small and with no socks and their bare ankles showing. Sadly we weren’t well dressed enough to blend in.

Still Nerja. I took the opportunity to have a nice downhill walk back to Nerja after the Caves and just hoped as I followed the increasingly narrow rough track down that Google was right and it would come out at the beach and I wouldn’t have to climb back up again. It did, and right at an Ice cream shop. Perfect.

Nerja. Lots on tips from friends about the caves so we headed that way yesterday. Full on tourists this time so we got the Little Red Train after a lot of searching for the new bus stop. Fascinating and the audio visual with the headsets had us squealing and ducking and diving.

Nerja. The list of things to do and see in Nerja doesn’t go much past the Caves, and the beaches, Frigiliana and the markets. You can take a long bus ride to Malaga, Granada or the Caminito del Rio but easier to have elsewhere as a base for that. So our Sunday morning’s entertainment was a trip to the local variety/antique market also known as a car boot sale. It was an enjoyable few hours exploring a treasure trove of junk, crystals, fur coats and dressing up items amongst the old clothes, manual typewriters, tools and toys.

Nerja. Loads of beautiful and varied places to eat here from morning to night. You aren’t going to starve. From free tapas, ice cream everywhere and then barbecues by the beach and every style in between including Indian (so much food our leftovers did a dinner the next night too!), traditional Spanish, Italian, Nepalese and Thai. We were surprised on two nights when we were turned away from our first choices as they were fully booked - all week! Nothing really fancy but still fully booked. So we have booked for Monday and Tuesday until we move on. Some lovely surprises too like today at breakfast being given free schnapps afterwards at the quirky Vintage Coffee Shop. Not our usual start to a Sunday.

Nerja. Sunrise to sunset, there is always something beautiful to point my camera at.

Nerja. Just holiday snaps but not working this time, away with friends. It’s lovely to ask what we are doing next and not having to think or make plans. It looks like the weather has turned just in time. Blue skies and sunshine all day long. A round of drinks for five for €26 and enough free food to do as lunch. Beach day today which is not for me so a short visit and I headed off for another explore. Lovely to have company for a change and looking back on 35 years of memories and comparing notes on exercises, aches, divorces, teeth, knees, new hips and sleeping patterns. Yet we are below the average age here. Not a hormone left between us!

A full moon way up there lighting up my bedroom view. Back to southern Spain for a chillax.

Proper Aurora and on my doorstep! After Monday’s weaker show, the stats were looking unbelievable for last night, Thursday 10th Oct so instead of heading out alone we got a group together from our camera club and we had the best evening imaginable! From a calm start getting our eyes acclimatised to the darkness and working out our camera settings, we heard our newbie say “What’s that big red light over there?” and we turned to the east to see magnificent colours falling from the sky! Bright greens, oranges, pinks and reds were clearly visible to the eye for hours. The gasps and craic added so much to the experience. Just after midnight the whole sky lit up and trying to capture it with the phones or cameras was impossible as it was 360° all around us so it was a pleasure to sit back on the deckchair and just drink it in. Magnificent. These are the phone snaps and not enhanced, we really did see all these colours. A very special shared evening. Plus hot chocolate and apple tarts. What more could a woman want?

Barra Best

Monday night’s Aurora- with a reality warning! I do love the hunt for a perfect place to try to photograph the Aurora and I have had some wonderful evenings and very moving sights. Monday was fun because I had some great craic with friends out looking but the Aurora was not great for me. The pale photo and the crappy video in the comments below is close to what I was actually seeing. It was just a barely perceptible green glow and a hint of red above it. The other photos are what the camera saw. Yes, it was there or the camera couldn’t pick it up but it wasn’t anything like the photos you are seeing. The camera itself enhances the colours by gathering up as much light as possible. On special rare occasions or much further north it is bright, very colourful and dancing and it is a joyful sight to watch and that’s why I will keep looking. And tomorrow night looks good…

Everything is perfect for an Aurora now except the cloud cover. Does anyone have clear skies to the north??

Another damp day so rain gear on and umbrella up for a quick tramp round Mount Stewart - National Trust. The ridiculous posts about the Portaferry Road being closed were frustrating when only about a mile was closed but why bother putting up a few diversion signs when you can cause total confusion. Rant over and back to Forest bathing. Almost literally as it really lashed! Wonderful fungi all around and plenty of exercise squatting up and down for photos.

Waking up on such a damp grey day again I’m glad I got to see the most amazing colours of autumn at Greba Gardens Greyabbey yesterday. Wonderful at any time of year but the reds of the acers and the greens of the moss were glowing yesterday. Lovely company too…

Anyone else finding they have the attention span of a gnat? One joy of retirement is sticking outings in your diary when you fancy it but keeping days free too. Whether it’s a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday is largely irrelevant. So I agreed a nice coffee catch up for Saturday at 11.00 (time for a leisurely start). Then last night I was kicking myself as I had to leave my car in today at 9.00 so was up early anyway. As I walked away from the garage I finally realised it was only Friday. Clueless. So I wandered into Wardens and it was the Macmillan Coffee Morning so I had my coffee anyway and it would be rude not to try the lovely cakes. And Saturday still to look forward to!