Road Tripping the East Coast of Spain

It took six days, four core friends and one solid car christened 'Dora the Explorer' to drive from Barcelona down the east coast of España en route to Africa.  I could fill up an entire post babbling about the view out of the car window; man that was some sweet, sweet ochre- olive countryside. Kerouac would probably right a dissertation about the about the burnt earth, and the abandoned houses and strip bars that scattered the road side but we (Daniel, Pip, Ren and myself) just admired the intense sunsets with a glass of Don Simone 'Tinto de Verano'*. It wasn't simply life on the road that rocked, our stop-overs in Valencia, Santa Pola, Granada and Algeciras were pretty damn cool as well.

Hanging out on Dora's roof to catch the last moments of sun in Santa Pola. 

*Tinto de Vernano is a Spanish speciality that essentially tastes like red wine mixed with lemonade (and don't worry Mum and Dad there was no drinking and driving going on).

 

 Enjoying the freedoms of car-hire and scoffing peaches at a pitstop from Valencia.

Inside one of the MANY abandoned houses by the road...

so suspicious.

Our first over night stop was Valencia (which is the birthplace of Paella FYI) and our first stop in Valencia was the marketplace. Yumma!

After stocking up on snacks we happened across this great little monastery.  As you can see it was a pretty stressful day...

Daniel blended well with the Moorish mosaic work.

We also visited the super modern Science and Arts sector which looked like multiple storm trooper helmets plopped in puddles and then we got ridiculously lost in the midday heat - which was probably excellent preparation for the Moroccan climate in hindsight - but a sweaty nightmare at the time.

Then at the end of our first day of adventure we drove off to the sleepy town of Santo Pola ...

...and into another sunset.

Santa Pola itself is a tiny town along the famous Costa Blanca of Spain. The coast is famous for pretty much one thing: beach, and we weren't let down. I understand that nobody likes a gloater, but check out the view from our apartment. That's some serious ocean-age!

So we hung out in our apartment on the beach for the next two days, reading books, swimming, concocting elaborate meals like this one and generally being smug about life. Then, when we were thoroughly relaxed, we trucked off to Granada.

And in Granada we relaxed some more. Hooray for a hostel with hammocks! We also explored a fair bit and went for a mountain-goat-esque climb up the Sacremonte to the gypsy caves.

I trailed, puffing a good five meters behind the gang of New Zealanders with their super trained calf muscles. The view almost made the hike worth it but afterwards I was cactus.

CACTUS!

Here are some of the lovely New Zealand crew that we accumulated (minus Daniel the Deutscher) Renee, Liv, Lottie and Pip. In the background there is the crowning jewel of Granada: the Alhambra. Please, let me show you inside...

For those dear readers who think that 'Alhambra' sounds more like a the name of a cocktail than an historical site, here's a brief history of the place (entirely regurgitated from the info recited to me by my overly enthusiastic British audio guide). 

The Alhambra is a mishmash of Nasrid and Catholic influences having been used as everything from a fort to a court to a palace from about the 9th century onward. It became its full, fancy self some time in the 13th century when the Sultans decided to move into the place. It changed hands many times, though  despite the disagreement between the Moors and the Catholic Monarchs about gods, floor plans and colour schemes, it's been a pretty stunning landmark ever since.

The roof of one of the royal bathhouses inside.

The mosaic work was rad too- and obviously laid with some serious, century resistant adhesives. I felt like I was inside a kaleidoscope more than a few times.

Alex, Daniel and Renee (being aurally educated) on the outside of the kaleidoscope.

After two sunny days in Granada we piled back into Dora to head to Algeciras, our brief, final stop before catching the Ferry to Tarifa. It was a surreal week filled with spanish sights and smiling faces- definitely a highlight of my trip so far. I didn't even have to deal with teary goodbyes at the end of it (besides farewelling Dora) because the whole gang crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and popped over to Morocco together. Hence the sunshine and hilarity continued...