Michelle Obama visits Granada
Michelle Obama, who is travelling with one of her daughters, visited Granada yesterday. She arrived at Granada in the afternoon and before visiting the Cathedral, she enjoyed an ice-cream to bear the temperature.Then she visited the Cathedral, where the Catholic Monarchs lie. After visiting the Cathedral Michelle and her daughter were driven to the Sacromonte Quarter, where all the caves in Granada are placed. They enjoyed a "flamenco" show in Rocio´s Cave, but although many caves are devoted to dancing and music in this area, there are also some others which can be booked and enjoyed as cool summer dwellings, as for example, Cuevas del Abanico, The Fan Caves.
After having dinner near the Alhambra, Michelle and her daughter finally enjoyed an evening visit to The Alhambra Palace with its gardens and water. They also visited the famous Palace of the Lions, which gets its name from the marble fountain supported by twelve lions.
Medieval Street Markets
Summer is here and as every year many celebrations take place in the streets. Some of these celebrations are Medieval Street Markets which consist of open-air markets where you can buy handicrafts, native products, or enjoy some leisure activities and performances.
One of these markets is taking place this weekend, Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th, in Huéscar, but many others are going to take place all summer long in Orce, or Galera, as well.
They are a good opportunity to enjoy life in the open-air and cool summer nights.
Adventure Sports Competitons
This weekend a "Triatlón" competition is going to be held for the first time in Pozo Alcón, a town in Jaén, in the Cazorla Range, but very close to Cuevas del Campo in the north area of The Granada Province. The competition consisting of 450 metres swimming in "La Bolera" reservoir, 27 Km cycling on the road, and 5000 metres running round Pozo Alcón is going to take place on Sunday July 11th.
Practising adventure sports is a good way of knowing rural areas around Andalucia, which is full of wonderful places where practising sports in touch with nature. Sports such as: hiking, climbing, hang-gliding, cycling, swimming or horse riding, among others... and in such places you can also find a different kind of lodging, cave house, of which there are quite a few in Cuevas del Campo, thus enjoying the experience of resting without air conditioning, but very cool in summer nights.
Do not miss such an opportunity!!!
Castril and The Nobel Prize José Saramago
I have already talked about Castril, its landscapes and the beauty of its Natural Park... But it is also the place where José Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel Prize, often stayed on holidays, as his wife was born there.
He had a special relationship with Castril and its people, a public commitment which made him collaborate in many cultural aspects related to Castril and the North Area of The Granada Province. He wrote about Castril, his walks along Castril riverside, its paths...
Maybe his works will be read by many children and teenagers who met him, saw him in the streets of Castril, or heard him telling a story in the school... I hope so.
The Tropical Coast
The crystal-clear waters of The Tropical Coast, in places like Calahonda or Motril, are suitable for the practice of water sports such as: wind-surfing, surfing, swimming, diving, saliling...And within the Almuñécar district, you can find the ecological complex of Peña Escrita, with a small zoological park, accommodation and many other services for the tourists; while in Jete you can try one of the best wines in the Province of Granada.
The region offers magnificent possibilities for active tourism not just on the coast, but also in its interior area. In Otívar, for example, you can find one of the best places in Granada to practice the descent of canyons and ravines: Río Verde, The Green River, with water jumps and pools which make the river waters descend form 1,200 to 300 metres of altitude in little more than 3 kilometres.
The region, then, offers tourists a wide range of possibilities for enjoying summer, the sun and nature.
The Albaicín
In Granada city there are many emblematic places: Mirador de San Cristobal (San Cristobal View Point), from where every look becomes a different landscape, or Mirador de San Nicolás (San Nicolás View Point), from where you can have an excellent view of The Alhambra.
And from the greatness of the Alhambra fortress, The Albaicín, which was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, can be seen. In fact, this neighbourghood is considered as an example of urban inhabited buildings which have become a rich legacy of The Arabic Architecture in Spain.
This is another of the places you cannot avoid visiting while visiting Granada. You will enjoy it a lot.
Spring and Festivities
When Spring comes many towns and cities celebrate festivities which take place out, in the streets and in the countryside. That is the case of two towns in the High Plateau of Granada, in El Altiplano de Granada. They are Huéscar and La Puebla de Don Fadrique, which share their Saint Patrons, "Alodia" and "Nunilon".
The legend tells that the two sisters were the daughters of a Muslim father and a Christian mother and they died because they converted to Catholicism. Their chapel is located at the foot of La Sagra, 2383 metres high, in the border between the two towns. Many people go there to celebrate the fact that they converted to Catholicism and both towns celebrate it with processions, sport competitions, music and dancing and with a picnic in the countriside as well.
The visitor will be surprised by a festivity full of joy which invites you to be out in the streets celebrating and in the countriside enjoying the good weather.
Sierra Nevada National Park
Sierra Nevada is a National Park just 10 kilometres away from Granada City, and it is also one of the main skiing resorts in Spain, although it has also spectacular landscapes in spring and nature and adventure activities in summer too.
At Medieval times it was known as the Mountain Range of the Sun, the towns of La Zubia, Cájar and Monachil are on its feet, together with Huétor Vega, one of the towns which has important testimonies of its historiacal past and the civilizations that populated it... By this area the old "neveros" carried the ice to the city of the Alhambra in ancient times. And following the path of the Genil River, we can reach Cenes de La Vega and Pinos Genil, full of almond trees in flower during spring time, and behind Canales reservoir we can reach the Güejar Mountain Range, where we can combine the cultural visits with active tourism.
If you visit this region you should also have a trip to "El Charcón", to "La Vereda de la Estrella" or to the "Maitena River", where you can enjoy its natural swimming pools in summer time.
It is a wonderful place to visit all year long, and where to practise all kinds of sports: just try hiking.
Charming Landscapes
In the Altiplano de Granada area centuries of erosion by water and wind have shaped different hills... The Sierras of Baza, Castril and La Sagra surround an area that millions of years ago was covered by a lake, but where today the green trees by the rivers stand out form the ochre coloured shades of the earth, creating a scenery of incredible beauty.
The red hillsides of Sierra de Castril are irrigated by beautiful waterfalls wich sparkle against the green vegetation..., while in La Sagra, during winter we can enjoy the dazzling image of the impressively hillsides completely covered by ice, and what is more, at any time of the year you can see the huge sequoia trees, which were imported form American lands, on its bottom.
The Alhambra
The Alhambra lies at the foot of Sierra Nevada. It was the last Muslim stronghold, ant it has become a centre of cultural and artistic exchange since then on...
The Muslims were responsibe for most of its exceptional heritage. It is full of narrow alleyways, beautiful gardens, wells and fountains, although one of the richest and most original arquitecture is found in "El Patio de los Leones", The Lions Courtyard, with its magnificent fountain dominating the "Patio" and its lions preserving it. This "Patio" is like an oasis surrounded by trees... It is a "Garden of delights" with clusters of delicate columns supporting the galleries around the courtyard.
But there is also another Granada, the Christian and Renaissance Granada which was chosen by the Catholic Monarchs as their final settlement... A Granada which offers cultural events of the highest level, highly personal gastronomy, arts and crafts, as well as a specvial character which has inspired so may times famous artists and writers, among them Washington Irving.
