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December 10 Saturday Bicycle touring Spain from Granada Spain to on the way to Pico Veleta in the Sierra Nevada Spain Sharon thinks workers for the freeway might be coming to work this morning, so we pack up our bicycle touring gear in the still darkness and retrace our route back along the fields to the culvert which leads to the main road. No sooner had we lifted the second bike down when the first worker drove up. Guess Sharon was right. We waved to the workers and cycled slowly away, following signs out of town to the Alhambra. Of course, the Alhambra is situated on top of a major hill. The cemetery is up there too and Sharon persuaded me to go in to see the cemetery. Already, at 8 AM, beggars with limps and canes are here. Even a stray cat limps by on three legs. I take a picture of the cemetery, even though it is against regulations. It is like a village inside with streets lined with trees and flowers. Graves are slots in huge apartment-like structures. High-rise graves ... who would have guessed? Everyone gets a view? The area is massive. An area is being exhumed to make way for more apartment edifices, I presume. There are maps posted in the graveyard to show the different named avenues. The whole thing is enclosed by a stone wall. There is a guard at the entrance in a booth. Outside the graveyard's wall, shops are beginning to come alive (sorry). They open up to sell flowers to people to put on graves. A bus from town makes regular trips back and forth to bring mourners and people paying their respects. We jump on our fully loaded touring bicycles and cycle over to the Alhambra where we fork over the admission fee. Our turn to view the palace is at 10:30 AM. They only let in 400 per half-hour for your viewing pleasure. When we enter, we are enthralled by the intricate wood door carvings, painted ceilings, ceilings with fantastic sculptured stalactites, walls with clay-fired tiny designs, and ceilings with coats of arms. The palace is massive; however, most of it is closed to tourists. There are fountains and water running in tiny canals inside. Outside are gardens. Stones of white and black make designed sidewalks. Picnic tables are along the road back down to Granada. We pull our loaded touring bikes to a halt, and stop there to eat. We have a great view overlooking the town. Two boys on a moped get a flat tire. We try to patch the five holes in the tube, but the rubber is different than bike tubes and our patches won't stick. The only thing we accomplish is to use up most of our patches and glue. We leave Granada and cycle toward the Sierra Nevada's. We begin to climb while looking for a free camp spot. An old fellow, with no teeth, catches up to us on a moped. He directs us to an olive grove with a house that is hidden from view of the road. He indicates he owns it and we can stay there. We have a superb view of the surrounding Sierra Nevada and watch the last of a lingering sunset. The road is not officially open to vehicles, so few traffic goes by -- mainly cyclists and mopeds. The guy who directed us to this spot said the road is complete all the way to the top and that we can use it. Sounds good to me. |
