Seventh Entry -- Adios to Granada

Palace and Generalife Gardens at The Alhambra 

"A mi me encanta la ciudad de Granada!" I ADORE the city of Granada! It's been everything I hoped it would be. I remember back when I was first researching where I wanted to stay in Spain and finally settled on this town. People have asked why...well...for MANY reasons: location is one -- it's in the southern region, but still centralized to other interesting places; climate is another -- warm, but not too hot (and even though it's gotten fairly chilly now, I can't help brag a little that today was about 75); sights and historical significance -- the Alhambra and Moorish quarter of the Albaycin alone have been worth the trip; and most importantly (for me anyway) is Granada's proximity to the Sierra Nevada mountains! My hikes have definitely been some of my best memories. Ask just about anybody around here and they say Granada is magical. It totally is! Can't believe I've been here nearly two months. The time has flown by! And yet, seems like I've covered an awful lot of ground. 

My favorite plaza - note the groups of old men on benches

It's no stretch to say I've hoofed it around just about every inch of this city. Well, maybe except for the furthest, most outlying areas. But even those I've passed through by bus. I've seen the touristy and the local, the lookouts and the valleys, the modern and the old. When I think about my first day here, dripping with sweat and 'barumpting' around the cobblestones, dreadfully lost, it's amazing to me now how long I've been walking around without a map. And when I head out of town or go away to visit another city, it feels like home coming back to this tiny flat on Callejón de Pavañeras. If I were to ever get the chance to come back, maybe even to live here longer and possibly work, I'd choose Granada for sure. No wonder this place is filled with so many ex-pats.

Now allow me to dust off the Pollyanna a wee bit and admit the fact that I'm also quite homesick. The novelty of all this has worn off some, and, well, I guess I've hit that part of the journey where being this far away starts to take a toll. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my boys. I miss a comfortable bed. I miss a decent shower. I miss carpet (have I mentioned the floor in my flat is all tile -- and no rugs). I miss Thai food. I miss OPB. I miss hair color. I miss a clothes dryer. I miss my dog -- really, REALLY miss my dog.

Tiled entry in Albaycin - it's everywhere!

Please don't think me a whiny-ass. Of course I'm uber-lucky to be here and having the most amazing experience. Just being honest. It's only natural. Perhaps some of this homesickness is in part because, as I write this, massive construction is going on in the two adjoining apartments. Workers in the flat to my right are in their third (maybe fourth) week of replacing pipes and remodeling the kitchen wall (even poor Kristie had to contend with the noise during her stay). And now, workers in the flat to my left (the one Amy was in before she left) are replacing the bathtub with a new shower. My own walls are vibrating with the sounds of jackhammering, plaster scrapping, pounding, saws-all buzzing, and the universal characteristics of construction workers shouting to each other over the noise. AAYYYYEEEEEE-CAARRUMMBBBAAA!!! O-M-G!!! What rotten luck!! I've watched and listened helplessly as other neighbors have stormed up to complain. Gloria, the neighbor I had the run-in with over my AC, threw a huge fit about the noise. Is it bad that I kind of enjoyed watching her and the worker argue about the situation, yelling back and forth at each other? I've called my own landlady. But to no avail. There's not much that I or any of us can do. The construction continues, and, apparently, by law it can.

So with that I'm forced to buck up and overlook a few "real-life" pains in the ass about my stay here in Granada...in spite of all the things I wrote (and meant) at the start of this blog. I suppose I've gotten used to the lingering stench of garbage and cigarettes that hang in the air, people walking straight towards you without bothering to move, and the ever-present mounds of dog shit that litter the streets. I guess these things help appreciate the other beauty even more. And at least the construction wasn't happening during my first few weeks here. That would NOT have been cool!

Student protesters - Granada's a BIG college town

Tomorrow I leave to experience a different side of Spain; a rural side. After a short, three-day detour in the coastal town of Mojacar with my new internet friend, I'll travel to a tiny village called Cocentaina (of which my first goal will be to learn how to pronounce it!). **Dad, as you're trying to locate it, look north of the east-coast city, Alicante, and west a bit from Benidorm (both of which I plan to visit). I've got a house rented in the country...well, not the entire house. A couple lives there and rents out the lower level. I'll have my own entry and kitchen though. The photos look fantastic! Compared to Granada, it will be infinitely more remote. There'll be fewer people and fewer attractions. But I'll also have fewer distractions and more downtime to hopefully make some serious headway on my book. Not sure yet how I'll get around. Maybe on foot. Maybe by bike. I'll figure something out. I'm looking forward to the new scenery, roommates to help with my Spanish, and...the Mediterranean coast!

With luck, a fresh attitude, and no more jackhammering, I'm sure my bout with homesickness will diminish. So hasta luego, Granada...or as the locals say -- "haa lu-EGG-o" 

13th century gateway to the Moorish Quarter