Day 34- Granada

Started our day with an electric bike tour. Mark our guide was half Spanish and half English and was an excellent guide, easy going and very informative. It was only the two of us with Mark which was excellent.

  Looking glam in our outfits, I think we stand out as on tour! Before we left we had to put on helmets with hair nets and our glam jackets. Lots of tours don't insist on any of this gear as helmets are not compulsory in Spain.

Electric bikes are a must in Granada as it is an extremely mountainous city. At times the bike was in top gear with the most assistance possible and it was still a struggle. At times we would be climbing no climbing and then we would turn a bend and have to go higher, very tough.

   Sacromonte is the traditional neighbourhood of the Granadian Gypsies, who settled in Granada after the Christian conquest of the city in 1492. This is the district in which you will find caves being the choice of homes for many. Much like Coober Pedy, they are built to help survive the extremes of temperature, having a constant temperature of about 22C without the use of power for heating and cooling.

   Scattered amongst the hills are illegal caves with squatters surviving with no power or running water. 

   The views from the hills of Sacromonte are well worth the effort on the bikes.

   Also in this picturesque district are homes covered in plates of all shapes and sizes. We know that they have something to do with light but have to check exactly what.

 Next we were off to another must see district, that of Albayzin. Albayzin was the old Muslim area, now with a lot of Arab influence.

   Lots of cobble stone laneways only wide enough for bikes. You could easily get lost in this district. Along the cobbled alleys are 'carmenes', villas with Moorish decoration and gardens, secluded from the world by their high walls all painted white.

   Local small markets pop up all around.

   One last photo from the hills of Albayzin.

The old city of Granada is a UNESCO heritage area.

Back to the hotel to get organised for our next stop, Toledo.