2024 10 Spain

Spain 15,

Oct. 27, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I had choice to make today, either take a 4.5 hour ride through the mountains, which knowing my pace, would take me 6 hours, or visit Granada and take a 1.5 hour ride on a secondary road. I chose the latter. Life is filled with choices and we, unfortunately, only know if it was the correct choice or not after we have made it. The only time I was shown the future was in Greece many, many, years ago when a Gypsy read my hand. Years later, I understood that what she read, came to pass, just as she said it would. Or, is it just my own interpretation of what she said. Or, did she look into my eyes and when I blinked, did she then make her interpretation of the lines on my hand. Even today, I don’t know for sure…. But that is a story for another day.

I could not get a reservation for the Alhambra today, so I decided to walk up to the palace which is situated at the top of the mountain in Granada. I asked the lady in the hotel if I could walk there and looking at me, with my white hair she told me that the road was very steep and that I should take a bus. Not to be put off, I took the challenge and started up the hill. After going a certain distance, I asked a nice young man for directions. He pulled out his i-phone, consulted google maps, and told me that I was on the wrong road. ‘Go down 500m, turn left and cross the bridge’. ‘ How long will it take?’ ‘Looking at me he said ‘30 min’. So it took me a little longer! But I stopped to take pictures, made a slight error and climbed the wrong stair case, (oh yes, there are stair cases) and it is hilly, but I did arrive in almost less than an hour.

The Alhambra is a palace-fortress built by the Moors over 1000 years ago when the Moors overran Spain. I visited the palace in 1970 and again with Dominique 10 years ago. Then, you could walk up to the ticket office, and purchase a ticket the same day. 54 years ago, it must have cost 1/2euro, I certainly could not have afforded more. The price has changed by a factor of 60 and the wait list to have a ticket is 2 months. Oh well, I got enough exercise walking up and down and took some great pictures of the outside of the walls. Those Moors really knew how to build things in those days. Mind you, a good man with a whip, with no unions to answer to, and you could really get things done if you had a century to do the work.

On the way down, I went through the old section of town. Granada is built on a mountain and the old city is an incredible place to visit. The whole section has stair cases rather than roads. The roads, when there are some, resemble narrow passage ways about 10-12 feet wide. The people that live there, either walk up and down stairs cases or have small, small cars that resemble golf carts, to get around. I took a lot of pictures with tourists taking the same pictures. It is very hard to get a good photo without 100 people taking the same photo unless you are willing to get up at 5:00 am to take the picture.

I left Granada for Malaga and as I said previously, opted for an advanced secondary road. It was supposed to take 1.5 hours but I ride slower than the GPS lady. The road was a secondary road, 2 or 4 lanes wide and eventually lead onto an autoroute with tolls. So what. I have never driven that fast on an autoroute before. Smooth, clean, no pot holes, banked turns, beautiful scenery, safe, fast, 4 lanes, well marked, polite drivers, clear blue skies….what more can I say. 6 Euros, who cares.

I arrived in Malaga, circled around a few times and eventually arrived at my hotel just outside of the pedestrian area. I had dinner in a taverna and became friendly with a Dutch couple sitting at the next table to me. Seeking company for my last night, I invited them for drinks. We chatted for a while and they were quite impressed that my Dad had spent time in Holland during the war. Dutch people have a warm heart for Canadians as the Canadians liberated Holland at a time when things were very bad for the Dutch. They have 2 children of their own and have adopted 5 or 7 other ones. Hopefully one day I will see them again in Rotterdam.

Tomorrow I will be up early to return my bike, fly to Paris and take a train to Reims. I will stay at my friend Patrick’s for a few days and see Dominique’s family. I have a 2k ride to deposit the bike at the Triumph dealership. Whenever I get onto a bike, I always say to myself, ‘this could be my last ride’.

Love,

Brian

Pictures to follow, I promess