Vacation

The sun heats the pool all day and the water is absolutely
divine!  We were worried that this late in the summer it
would be too cold to swim, but it's been perfect.

Angelines's birthday was at the end of August and I decided I would surprise her with a vacation.  However, August is when EVERYONE is on vacation in Spain and so it was pretty tough to find anything available.  In any case, the last week in August as I mentioned in a previous post was pretty busy for me and I decided that earning the extra money in that last week would go a long way toward paying for this surprise.  

At the beginning of summer we had talked about taking two "mini-vacations" since our original plans of something more grand disappeared as the budget for the work around the house grew.  We went to Cazorla, Jaen for four days at the end of June and beginning of July...but with all the craziness of the tiling, etc. any relaxing we got in during those four days was quickly forgotten.  

For some time now we've wanted to visit the Alpujarra in Granada.  I have been before with my parents some 11 years ago when I was studying in Granada.  The Alpujarra is part of the Sierra Nevada mountains outside Granada capital full of tiny villages and lots of hiking opportunities.  This was the final refuge of the Moors after the fall of the Kingdom of Granada to the crusading Christians in 1492.  

Angelines and Bela next to one of the aqueducts that riddle
the mountainside.  These are all thanks to the Moorish
engineers of Al-Andalus.

I was able to find a great little house for two that offered a discount on the price per night if we stayed for a full week.  Of course, staying for a week means closing the bar...  That part of the surprise was something I was more than a little worried about.  In the end, I decided to tell her about the "surprise" about a week before we were supposed to leave.  It's a good thing I did because although she's happy to be here now, she had to adjust to the idea of having to close the bar, etc.  

So here we are in Lanjarón, Granada.  The house is up on the mountain above the town so we have great views.  The only downside is the steep path up or down from here to walk the dog!  We are getting our workouts for sure.  

The landscape is amazing because this time of year especially everything is quite arid, but there is still a good ammount of runoff from the high peaks.  You can see the house has got a great lawn and beautiful flowers; there are pear trees and persimmon trees, too.  And on our walks I snack the whole time: figs, blackberries, pommegranets, grapes and cherry tomatoes.  Today we even saw kiwis!  Walnut, almond and chesnut trees shade our walks along with the ubiquitous olive.  Every house has a stupendous garden and it seems like they all produce far more than any of the gardners are able to eat!  There are all manner of peaches, tomatoes, apples, figs, etc. fallen and rotting on the ground.

Tomorrow we're going to explore more of the nearby pueblos. It feels great to be away from home and on an adventure with Angelines and Bela. :)

The view of Lanjarón from the house.