The Second Season.....

Three days of misty gloom, low cloud covering the hills and.....rain.  It's just not acceptable here in Spain!  Yes, Autumn has arrived with a sharp change in the weather over the recent few days. Although, thankfully, it's back to blue sky and sunshine today.

Our French freind, Patrick, has been and gone, returning to the Limousin last Wednesday. He was lucky with the weather for the most part. While here, he had one day of greyness, which we tried to temper by taking a trip over the Contraviesa and down to the coast for a few Sol-Y-Sombres and Tapas.  The cloud remained but the trip was enjoyable and it stayed dry. Before crossing the hills of the Contraviesa, we stopped for a drink in the small town of Torvizcon, where this guy, looking suitably roguish, turned up on horseback:

The Contraviesa, terraced hillsides of Almonds & Olives

J & Patrick & Jack, of course

Just by Torvizcon is this wonderful hill. I call it Toblerone Mountain, for pretty obvious reasons:

In the background lies the small hippyish town of Orgiva. From here we carried on over the hills to the coastal town of La Marmola, a small place which is blessedly clear of tourists for the most part, and remains a small Spanish family sort of resort.

La Marmola, a small Spanish town on the coast with a great seafood restaurant

Jack pottering on the beach in pursuit of sticks, a favourite with him. The cloud doesn't dampen his enthusiasm

On the following day the weather was back to normal and we trundled over to Granada, taking the scenic route over the local mountain pass, La Puerto de La Ragua:

At 2000 metres, it was a tad fresh but pleasant and there are no shortage of signs, guides and information around the place, though the main cafe-cum-info centre was closed, it being October!:

Main Info Centre

Good panels and trails etc.

The new sort of Renault 4 type thingy. It has been great, so far!

As we reached the other side, we stopped at a Mirador, with this huge acreage pf Solar Panels spread across the plain:

Off to the right was an equally impressive range of wind turbines - never my favourite, but the Spanish here have certainly gone for alternative energy.

There were also a number of info panels dotted around the site, with small inset panels (pewter/silver coloured) in braille, explaining the scenery to be viewed from the site. Seemed a bit odd to me, as what can be seen if blind? Though, no doubt, for partially sighted, these would be a great bonus and the general thought/sentiment behind them must surely be praised:

We then carried on downhill to a bar where we generally stop for coffee and beer, at La Calahora:

From there it is a short run to the town of Guadix, famed for its cave-houses, which dot the landscape surrounding the place. This is a particularly pleasing example:

Granada, about thirty minutes further off, is always an interesting town, and I'm sure Patrick liked what he saw of it:

We wandered around the Albacin area, close to the Alhambra, with its tight, twisting lanes and tourists:

The Alhambra itself was given a miss. It is expensive nowadays to visit and when we checked online there was but two tickets left available for that day anyway. Still we were overlooking it:

While rambling through the Albacin, we came across a solitary, old belltower, and a terraced  house with these orante and intriguing ironwork window shutters:

All in all, Patrick seemed to enjoy his sodjurn in Spain and, indeed, is even considering moving down to the area and renting a place for a few months, possibly in the early New Year.

J returned to London/Kent yesterday but will be back next Monday for another seven days. She has now only about twenty more working days to go before retiring. Thank God!