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The winding roads that ascend through the Sierra Nevadas are enough to make anyone car sick. Still, it’s worth the ride for both the scenery and the quaint pueblos set deep into the mountains. Our first stop on Friday morning was the tiny white-washed village of Alpujarras. There, townspeople pick “higo” fruits right off the trees and wash their clothes in a communal basin for lack of electricity in many homes. On one side street, we found a drinking fountain that guarantees marriage within a year of drinking from it. Thankfully, I brought bottled water.

From Alpujarras, we scaled deeper into the mountains and arrived at Trevelez – the town of the highest altitude on the Iberian Peninsula. After a quick picnic (María Pepa packed me two hoagie-length sandwiches, two apples, and an entire package of crackers – enough to feed the entire group) we hit up the shops in the town center. It was very small and every store, from bakeries to ceramics shops, offered a variety of dried pork legs, which hung morbidly from the ceilings. Around 1:30, we stopped into a restaurant to have a Coca Cola Light and the use the baño. Besides us five americanos, the only table was occupied by two old men and an ugly little dog that could walk on its hind legs at command. An hour and two complimentary beers later, we were all fast friends. Carlos and Alberto were pretty excited to show off the rat-creatures best tricks, and the restaurant owner and his wife seemed to think we were all hillarious. The real fun came after we told them about the marriage fountain we had drank from in Alpujarras. Everyone jokingly encouraged us to consider Carlos, who despite being about 70, is apparently quite a catch because of his dog, house, and lack of children. Apparently, Alberto is the town major, and he was full of stories. Very seriously, he admitted to me that he likes Americans better than Russians (though he prefers Castro to George Bush), then said something about the FBI that I couldn’t understand, and then told me about the time he met Robert Kennedy on a train going to Madrid. Before we left, he gave us his e-mail address in case we ever need anything.

Finally, we made it to Almuñecar by Friday evening. It was a little beach town with a substantial elderly population and very little noise. Actually, it was very similar to Torrenuevas, the beach I went to with María Pepa, and I am starting to get the idea that many Mediterranean villages are this way. Our hotel was pretty amazing, and I lucked out by getting one of only three rooms that directly look out over the sea. We spent a lot of time out on the balcony there, especially because the water was full of red jellyfish on the day we arrived and so we couldn’t swim. I spent the whole next day at the beach, which was made of stones instead of sand, and I learned how to search for sea glass.

On the way home Sunday morning, we stopped in Nerja to see its famous cave. It was actually pretty gi-huge-enous. I had a hard time believing it wasn’t some fake exhibit that you run into at Disney World… Sadly, we left right afterwards to make it home for lunch, although I would’ve stayed to see what I’m told is one of Spain’s best beaches.

As for me, I just finished the John Grisham book I was reading and I’m still working out plans for Fall Break, so I’m kind of up-in-the-air about things. Tonight is trivia night at Hannigans, and we plan on arriving early enough to win this time. Hopefully, we won’t have to do sports this time.

Abrazos