Guadix and Goodbyes

Another busy weekend. It all started on Thursday night with Paul and Gillians’ going away party. This was on their rooftop terrace in the Albaycin (INCREDIBLE views) and entailed a ton of food, drinks, and even a little guitar. I was very sad for them to leave, as they were some of my very first and closest friends in this country. Karen and her boyfriend Angel will be leaving this week, which leaves just me from our original bi-weekly dinner parties. The three of us went out for tapas and ice cream last night.

Friday night was also eventful- Melinda and I grabbed dinner, met up with Clare, John and Casey for drinks and tapas at Circulo then all headed to my favorite bar in Granada- Eschavira. We were joined there by Anaise and some of her friends, as well as Angel, Nando, and Angel’s cousin and cousin’s girlfriend. Our party ended up taking a good section of the top floor of the bar. I love that bar because it is tucked away a little bit, and has a fantastic authentic atmosphere where live flamenco is often likely to spontaneously happen. After Eschavira came dancing at several different bars, ending of course in the wee hours at Camborio in Sacromonte.

Saturday was a much needed lazy sleepy day, and Granada had a surprise thunderstorm with hail, very rare here. (Fortunately not “golf ball sized hail”).

On Sunday morning I received a call from Clare, who had randomly decided to go to Guadix for the day and wanted to know if I was up for a day trip (which I always am). The group ended up being Clare, me, and two younger guys from her house- Casey (American) and Ruben (Dutch). After a 8 Euro, 45 minute bus ride we arrived in this small town (still in the province of Granada, just further east). It was the perfect day for it- sunny with a nice breeze, and we enjoyed walking around. The thing about Guadix is that it is comprised of rolling hills, mostly occupied by charming cave homes. 

We saw the 16th century Cathedral, Plaza de la Constitución, The Church of Santiago (I like to refer to this one as the ‘Party Hat Church’), The Alcazaba (11th century Moorish fortress), The Mirador de la Magdalena and of course the Barrio de las Cuevas. We were able to go into one of the cave homes- owned and lived in by a man named Jose. It was incredibly cool inside which was refreshing, and definitely appealing. We also had a very delightful but simple lunch in a café on Calle Peñuela. All in all, a very fun day trip.

SABES QUE…Over half of the population of Guadix lives in cave homes.