Almuñecar

Our internet has been very sporadic lately so I apologize for not posting this for two weeks. Today is my first solid internet connection that will allow pictures to be added.

Two weekends ago a group of 11 of us went to Almuñecar, a beach town about an hour and twenty minutes away by bus. The ride wasn’t bad; we drove through the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the way to the coast. I had three hours of sleep because we stayed out too late and I couldn’t sleep on the bus because I couldn’t help but looking at the amazing scenery and because there was not a cloud in the sky.

When we got into town we tried to find our hostel, so we stopped a lady writing parking tickets and she was not much help. We walked about another block and found a map. We found the street the hostel was on and it turned out that we were standing right underneath the sign for the hostel when we asked for directions. The hostel was 35€ for a night, even though the website advertised 24€ per night. We really just wanted to get to the beach so we took it, and there were plenty of rooms available for the rest of our group one they got into town later on in the day. So we unpacked and changed and headed for the beach, which was only three blocks away.

(Pete & I had to strike the Captain Morgan Pose)

The beach had small rocks, like river rocks, sizing from tiny pebbles to rocks about the size of a fist, along with many areas of sand. The water is so blue and clear and the waves were not big at all. The Mediterranean Sea is incredibly salty but one of the most beautiful beaches I have been on because on each end of the beach there are large rocks and cliffs along with the city going up the mountain side right off of the beach. I walked up the whole length of the beach and at one end they had a water park but it was closed because their summer season is over – even though it’s 80 plus degrees -and at the other end was a large bluff with a walkway that led to the top. When we walked up there we noticed some people jumping off of the lower cliffs, so we went back and told the rest of the group and we moved to the other side of the beach.

(The group)

(Of course we had to bury someone in the rocks - Thanks for volunteering Pete)

(Cliff Jumping)

The cliff was pretty small about 15 to 20 feet and the water was atleast 15 feet deep at the edge of the cliff. I was walking on some larger rocks and I stepped on something sharp and someone said that it was most likely a Sea Urchin, so it felt like I had a sliver in my foot. It really didn’t bother me until the next morning the bottom of my foot was a little swollen and it was a little sensitive to walk on. When I got home Sunday afternoon, I got it out with tweezers and it instantly felt better. The beach at night was even a good time. There is a long strip of pubs, lounges, and discotecs right on the beach. The lounges were really cool because they have couches and little awnings for people to hang out at; it’s a little more relaxed and away from all of the noise.

(View from the top of the bluff)

(Some of the clubs and bars along the beach)

Being out in the sun all day and then being woken up on four separate occasions from my 10 P.M. – 12 A.M. siesta. We all were so tired we called it a night by 3 A.M. and we slept until about 11:30. We grabbed some breakfast and then headed for the bus station. Our bus left at 1 P.M. so we got back to Granada just before 3. Lunch was ready for us when Pete and I got home. It was our favorite meal so far, Paella. There are many forms depending on the meats and vegetables that are put in. We had shrimp and clams in ours, it was amazing. Our señora made so much we had paella leftovers for at least the next 72 hours (Lunches and dinneres) breakfast is only bread or fruit. I definitely will miss the fruits and vegetables from here because everything has such a strong and sweeter flavor. We get a piece of fruit with lunch and dinner, and for awhile it was bananas, then apples, then melon, and now we are getting peaches. As long as we keep getting fruit, I will not complain.

(Cross on top of the bluff)

Next post: last weekends trip to Madrid.