Caught an early train to go to Granada this morning. Watched the sun rise again but this time over unfamiliar landscape, mostly of olive groves. These fast trains actually do fly like bullets and every time I went to film one, it had passed by the time I got the camera out! Navigating one’s way around the train systems and platforms takes some getting used to and my weight training is coming along nicely with all the wrong platforms, tunnels and streets I’ve walked in the past few days. The backpack doesn’t feel quite as heavy now.
I took this photo today….doesn’t look much but it was rather beautiful to gaze at while I nervously waited for a train to come along. I was in the middle of nowhere and had to change trains. The announcements were of course in Spanish- something I should be able to understand by now, but they speak so bloody fast…. Something was said about a delay of 40 minutes but that still didn’t allay my fears of “what the hell am I doing?! “
Anyway, I jumped onto the next train and soon found myself safely in Granada with no idea how to find my apartment or even find my way out of the train station. Sometimes I wonder why I do these things but other times I turn the fear into adventure and excitedly work it out as a personal challenge. I chose the latter and walked a couple of kms towards old town, found my accommodation and although it was 4 hours to check in time, I rang the landlady and she let me in. I laughed and almost cried as I realised my apartment was the “penthouse” (I use the term loosely) and as with most old Spanish buildings, there are no lifts, just lots of stairs with rickety hand rails. There always seems to be stairs at the end of the day!
The apartment is lovely and she has even left me breakfast food, which I wasn’t expecting. it does have aircon which is a bonus but wifi is sketchy and it takes forever to charge my phone, which caused a small problem towards the end of the night .
I rested for a bit while the phone tried hard to charge and then I gave up and wandered around town. Found myself at the Cathedral and although I usually rebel when asked to pay to enter a church, I actually did so today. It is HUGE! I felt positively dwarfed by its enormity. The artwork is incredible and there is so much light.
My landlady gave me a map and lots of ideas as to where to go and what to do. I had booked to see a Flamenco show tonight, so I somehow found the number 34 bus that would take me up the mountain to the caves where the Flamenco show was to be held. Packed in like sardines in a can, we sat along the walls of the cave and watched as the dancers did their stuff. Waste of money on me I’m afraid and I could hear my dad laughing at how flamenco dancers looked like they had ants in their pants or were busting for a pee. I just don’t get it and I found it hard not to giggle at the passionate looks on their faces.
I heard some Aussie accents and funny remarks that only an Aussie would understand, so I chatted to the group of 5 opposite me. After the performance, I asked them how they were getting back down the mountain and they invited me to join them. We wandered down the narrow street, almost got run over a few times, and marvelled at the view of the Alhambra lit up like a Xmas tree in the distance. What a view!
It was a beautiful night and we chatted easily, discovering that we were all the same age, had grown up in the same area and reminisced about our youth. We stopped for dinner at a restaurant and because we were a group of 6, they put us out the back in a private room.
Dinner was of Moroccan influence and so delicious, and after consuming a few bottles of wine, we rolled out into the street to find our way back to our accommodations. My phone was about to die so they kindly walked me to a place I recognised and I finally got back to the apartment. We didn’t exchange details but I had a fantastic night out with lots of laughs, great food and great company. And here I was, wondering how on earth I was going to navigate all this. See? Don’t worry about it. Things always work out in the end!
Margaret Caffyn 