Hotel Pena De Los Halcones Cazorla

... ripped up and down the street cruising on their mopeds and revving their engines…I guess they can’t afford cars. The funniest thing was that the guys wore t-shirts, shorts and flipflops with a helmet or horse riding helmet, while the girls as passengers were dressed to the nines and no helmets at all. We enjoyed the sites and sounds of this cool little town and then walked back to the room to rest up for the next day’s ride.

As we've moved into July, the weather in southern spain during the day has gotten oppressively hot. The 2 greatest reliefs from this are LONG siestas (from right after lunch -about 3PM - until 6:30 or 7) and a concoction they have here called Tinto de Verano. Literally translated, this means red-wine of summer, but it is basically a mix of red wine and Fanta (usually lemon flavored) over ice. We discovered it in Malaga, and have been ...

... happy.  Along the walk we kept seeing signs that read "Coto de Pesca sin Muerte."  For non Spanish speakers, these words translate to "boundary of fish without death."  Fish without death?  Wow.  This must be a special place.   It got pretty hot in the afternoon, and Jenny almost took a dip in the invitingly cool river.  The bridge wasn't the best entry point ...

Sorry that entries have been somewhat few and far between these last 2 weeks, but we've been having a great time with Merche and Paco. They are absolutely worderful hosts. Just about every time Paco sees me sitting at the kitchen table (our usual hangout) he offers me another beer or wine, regardless of the time of day. And Merche is a wonderful cook and constantly encouraging us to eat more yummy food. Needless to say, our clothes don't fit ...

... and Italy have the worlds best goalies (according to the commentator on the TV), but Spain has lost to Italy for many many years now. Emotions were high. The score was 0-0 as the second half drew to a close, and Jose arrived home from Granada. As they went in to the first then the second overtime, Jose and Paco became more and more animated. Still neither team scored, and they went into the five penalty kicks. Well apparently Spain and Italy have ...

... Also, I had saved the letter to Mercedes and Paco on my thumb drive so that we could at least look up the address and see where Laura had lived. Furthermore, we were ready to get away from the more touristy areas. The incident with the gypsy in Granada made that clear. But also, in the big cities, it's possible to get by without any Spanish at all. With the slightest look of confusion from us, natives would switch to ...

... home. Overall the trip was.. very hard. I'm glad I did it because it was an amazing experience and something that nobody else will ever be able to see or understand the way I did. But I'd really think hard about whether or not I'd do that hike again... One thing I gotta say is.. it's good to be NOT traveling for once since I got here. I'm looking forward to unpacking my suitcase and leaving it that way for at least a while.

... Joan is a bit of an early to bed kind of person and was ready for bed at about 10pm which to be honest isn't too early except when you're in a hostel. People come and go all the time and most people don't get to bed until midnight or later. So unfortunately, Joan didn't get to sleep early. First, the air conditioning in our room wouldn't work so we had to leave the window open. The window which opens onto the lobby, the lobby where the light automatically comes on when someone ...

... the vibrancy and modern class of a much larger town, nestled cosily afoot the marvellous snow capped peaks of the Sieera Nevada. Granada instantly came across as a beautiful place to be in. The focal point of Granada is the magnificaent Alhambra Castle, a breathtaking 11th Century fortress that sits high above the city, once the residence of the last Muslim kingdom in Spain. Rev, Brooks and myself took this fabulous construction in, with the sun bearing down and the ...

... looking bag on one of the beds...we prayed that is wasn't an 80-year-old man! Turned out to be a girl from England, and the next night we bunked up with two American girls. I visited La Alhambra, an old citadel from the 13th to 15th centuries. It was beautiful. The architecture and handmade tiles were unbelievable. I'm not sure about all the history, still have to read up on it some more.