Sunbathing in the Streets of Granada

I had an entire afternoon and more than six more hours of daylight when I arrived in Granada. Granada a 4.5-hour train ride from Madrid. I had to ride a bus going to the town center and locate my hostel – cost €1.70. Riding the bus was easy, getting off the proper station was easy, but I had a bit of trouble trying to find the street. Granada Backpackers is located in Padre Alcover, a short walk away from Puerta Real.

I wanted to climb in bed and rest for a bit but it was too hot and the sun shining is just beckoning and calling me not to waste the day indoors. After getting acquainted with a couple of house rules, I grabbed a map and searched for a decent restaurant. The guy at the reception recommended that there are nice restaurants all around but none in particular. I ended up in a Tripadvisor-stickered restaurant which was just “ok” for me – for €16.70. Basta may laman ang tiyan.

I walked around to get a feel of the place before I enter the Alhambra the next day. I read trip reports that the town was pretty small and it can be covered in an hour. NOT. Not in a hot day and not when the cobble-stone paths are uphill.

The shopping area was deserted at 4-ish PM. I guess the heat keeps all the shoppers inside their probably air-conditioned rooms. 

The Cathedral. I paid the entrance fee – €4,00 but I did not get the special ticket to the special exhibit area. I though I saw too many churches already. Since I was travelling solo, my itinerary is very flexible.

I followed the “difficult” suggestion in the map. By that, I mean there are more uphill roads, and it is the round-about way of going to Mirador de San Nicolas, which is the viewpoint of Granada. I started walking from Plaza Nueva going up to Carrera del Darro.

 

Film shooting? The crowd was stopped for a couple of minutes then we resumed.

I got lost trying to figure out where the viewing point was. Tourists didn’t come as often. I think I took the less travelled path. After minutes (but felt like forever) of wandering aimlessly and being toasted, I came upon a tour group that seemed to be hiking towards the view point.

Here it is.

The challenge now is to get someone to take my photo. I’ve travelled for almost three weeks with a travel buddy so I can “direct” how I want my photo taken. It took me four sets of fellow tourists to get a shot that I like. The sun can be tricky at times so my face was shadowed in the other shots.

I walked all the way back to the town, then to the dorm. 

‘Twas a long walk. It was supposed to last an hour but I think I took more than that. I made lots of stops to take photos and rest. The heat tired me up easily. I got toasted.

Conclusion: It was a hot day. Dapat nag-payong ako.