Farewell to Granada … and a night in Malaga
A quieter day . . . discovered the loveliest gardens … Carmen de los Matires (Carmen of the Martyrs). Set in their own forest just below the Alhambra. https://www.inspain.org/es/granada/granada/carmen-de-los-martires/
We had the place all to ourselves at first … so tranquil and quiet. A hidden grotto behind a waterfall … patios … formal gardens … an aqueduct supplying water to the whole estate … pomegranate trees in blossom (who knew the flowers were the same shade as the fruit) … a lake with its own castle folly … extensive herb beds … peacocks on the window ledges. What a magical garden this would be for children (not bad for adults too).
For our last evening we had tapas at Meson Andaluz sitting on high stools at a table in a vibrant alleyway Taverna, watching the world go by and listening to strolling musicians .. some were quite talented. Once again free tapas with each beer … jamon drizzled with olive oil on slices of bread … slices of potato torta. Waiters keeping track so you always received a different one. We also ordered a plate of very large prawns on a green salad. Delicious.
Strolling back to the apartment we passed a luthier (sadly closed) with rows of beautiful hand-made guitars … and a plaza with statues and fountains ablaze with lights. Each of the public benches were different … some had companionable bronze statues to sit beside … others with ‘comfortable’ bronze cushions to lean against. Quite fun.
Not so fun was extracting the car from the parking spot the next morning. The underground parking garage was compact in the extreme and had necessitated two sharp right-angled turns to enter, and then literally inching back and forth between 4 concrete posts and a car directly in front of ‘our’ allocated spot. The width between posts only allowed a foot spare on either side … this was ‘helped’ tremendously by the garage being plunged into total blackness every 3-4 minutes as the lights turned off in power-saving mode. One had to shuffle forwards, hands extended till a post was encountered … sometimes abruptly … and the switch pushed. We got smart and kept a flashlight handy. This process was repeated in reverse when we left. Thirty-five agonizing minutes and several very close calls later, we drove out … with many more gray hairs.
Needing to return the car to Malaga we booked an overnight stay, and drove through the Sierra Nevada mountains amid incredible scenery. High curving highways over dams and reservoirs – like Viaducto la Loma, https://www.adurcal.com/enlaces/mancomunidad/guia/puentes/rules/mayo05/index.htm (scroll down for views), deep folded valleys with villages gently cupped at their bases … out to the towns of Motril and Salobrena. This area of the coast is scenic and unspoiled.
The apartment in Malaga was …. outstanding. Called Luxury Apartment, they weren’t kidding. Dazzlingly clean… quality everything… two bathrooms … a lift right to your door … private patio on the roof. What’s not to like? And we only have one night there! Car returned to airport without a hitch and we relaxed on the patio sipping chilled sparkling wine, courtesy of the hosts. Train to Madrid in the morning.
