Saturday 20th November 2018

We only had a short drive from Cordoba to Granada but it was wet and windy the whole way.  There was a little respite whilst we set up the caravan and then it carried on for a bit longer. Kev and Val had finally got their car working a couple of days earlier and where hot-footing it down to Granada to await the arrival of their 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law and 6 grandchildren. They had asked us to have a look at the villa and check to see if they could store their caravan there for the week to avoid storing it on a campsite . Well, with immense difficulty we eventually located the villa and we thought it was hard enough to drive a car through the narrow streets of the village, let alone attempt to take a caravan through.  Not only that, but the road to the villa was a little bit hairy as well!  Not for Matt, Owen  and Phillip, K&V’s sons of course!

Our campsite was high up in the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada with absolutely stunning views.

It was great to see the sun rise slowly above the mountains.  In the distance you can see the snow-capped peaks of the High Sierras!

 

Most mornings I took a 5 mile or so hike up in to the mountains to stretch my legs.  It was very interesting seeing people on their way to work, some even took their dogs with them!  On the top of some of these hills were allotments and they seemed to be tended by men in their 70s.  I found it quite a challenging walk but they must have been knackered!

When you found a newly finished road with fresh tarmac it was a minor cause for celebration………well another good excuse to stop and take a photo!

After risking life and limb driving along the winding mountain roads with the locals overtaking you on blind bends………………

There is nothing better than spending the afternoon sitting outside the caravan just   admiring the view!

When you set out on a geocaching trip you never know what you might find on your travels, maybe a manmade lake/resevoir

Or the remnants of a Roman aqueduct………………….

But you were always guaranteed a fantastic view!

And as the leaves are turning a golden colour they just seem to accentuate the natural beauty that was around!

Some mornings when the sun wasn’t always shining at its best there was still always so much to see, and if you were keen on scrumping you would be able to find more than enough produce for tea!

The early morning mist was waiting for the sun to burn it off!

Everywhere you turned there was another frame for a picture!

I certainly made the most of my early morning hikes by taking 100s of photos……………..

However my editor has made me reduce my selection…….and she is always right, so she says!

At the end of the day if it is clear enough, you get to see the moon rise!

Jane always reads the guide books and is great at finding things to visit.  This castle was spotted on our trip to a chocolate factory!  I’m not sure if it is the highest factory in the world but apart from the Everest double glazing plant in the Himalayas I can’t think of another……..well I could if I put my mind to it!

The drive to the chocolate factory had many photo opportunities along the way!

Some of the higher roads leave a lot to be desired and are just concrete with grooves in.  I found that these surfaces made me concentrate just a little bit more than usual!

The factory was set in the whitewashed mountain village of Pampeneira. It is the lowest (at 1000m) of the three such villages in this area

After a lovely €9 Menu del Dia we set about exploring the steep and narrow streets.

They have to make the most of their space so hows about a patio over your front door?

And then the moment that Jane had been waiting for all day, there was so much to choose from and they had very helpfully left out lots of samples for us to try, we both tried everything twice before we made our decisions

A very happy Jane…………….but we didn’t buy enough…………its all gone!!!!!!!