Coastal Times

We went back to Orgiva for we left our bikes at Glennis house while we went to Granada. Joe and Chris had a gig at a local bar that a guy from town set up for them. When we arrived in Orgiva, advertisements were up all over town to come see "Venga Venga" play. "Venga Venga" is the name that Joe and Chris came up with for their band. It means various things in Spanish. Come on, come on, hurry up, let's go, and go away. It's a commonly used Spanish term. Everyone that we met in our 3 week stay in Orgiva, came out to the show. The place was packed. We made more friends in Orgiva in 3 weeks time, vs us living in Asheville North Carolina for 4 years. That truly says something special about Orgiva. Everyone is so friendly and easy to get along with. The show was a blast. Everyone was dancing and having fun.
On Sunday, we hit up one last rastro. Tons of people came out since the other rastro's have been cancelled due to the rain and Easter events. The rastro was more about people gathering and hanging out vs people buying anything. Seth and I did okay on selling but not like before. Joe and Chris played a café nearby in the rastro and made out great.
We left Orgiva with some money in our pockets on Monday and set out to head to the coast. We camped halfway at our favorite spot in the mountains. The one with the pedestrian bridge that went over the crystal clear water below. We had the place to ourselves again. Penny (who we did the Help Ex for) met us there in her caravan and stayed the night with us. We had a delicious pasta meal, gin and tonics, and cookies. It was divine.
It felt fantastic being on our bicycles again and camping. Independent. Staying at people's houses is great in all but your in someone else's space. I love having my own space in my tent surrounded by my belongings.
Luckily for us, the ride to the beach towns were flat and gorgeous. It was a good thing, since we were all out of shape from not riding our bikes for 3 weeks time. Along the way we noticed another bicycle tourist following us. We pulled over and introduced ourselves. He name was Denys from Moscow. He came with us into Almunicar. He wanted to see Joe and Chris perform. Denys hung out for a bit then continued his travels. Almunicar is a medium size town built into a cove on the Alboran Sea. It's filled with a mix of Spanish and tourists from all over Europe. We hit up the market but by the time we got there, there wasn't any place to set up. The market consisted of 2 long rows of stuff with people jam packed in. A lot of different things sold at this market. Ceramics that were hand painted like the one's we saw in Granada, to different kinds of fruit that I've never seen before. The market had my favorite fruit called a custard apple/cheimoya. It looks like a closed artichoke but has a vanilla dessert taste with black seeds inside. You scoop it out from the skin and eat it with a spoon. If you ever get a chance, eat one. Best fruit ever. The custard apple is in season right now in spring.
We had a nice camp spot in a grassy field not far from the beach. Secluded with a nice scenery. Joe and Chris busked 4 chilingitas (bars on the beach) and made 50 euros a pop. Seth and I sold art on the boardwalks along with the Africans selling Nike knock off's and Reebox knock off's. It's a huge thing in Spain. From Guchi purses to Nike shoes. All fakes. Not everyone knows their products are fake but I happened to work for Nike years ago and the tags sewn into the items are not Nike's. Their made to look the same. That's how the people can sell them for so cheap. Beware.
We cruzed the old part of town built on a hill with a castle above. In parts of Almunicar, there is old Roman structures underground that were used for salt baths. Now, the structures have parks built around them. We treated ourselves to a pizza dinner with garlic bread served with a whole slab of goat cheese on top. Spain serves the pizza with thin crust with many pork options on top or you can order veggie. Definitely smaller portion size than the U.S but also delicious.
We played at Almunicars rastro (flea market) and had fun. Their Rastro is all garage sale items. No hand made art like Orgiva's. If your looking for a good deal on anything you might need that's used, the Rastro is the place to get it. You can bargain with people. Selling art for me, wasn't the spot. Joe and Chris made a fun scene with a lot of smiles and dancing. Before we came, everyone was in their regular funk.

Granada

We went to Granada for 4 days. It's a huge city. The older part is up on a mountain and down below is a sprawled out city. The roads are made with rocks and pebbles and some have designs in them. There's a huge castle called the Alhambra up top of the city built into a ridge. Behind the Alhambra in the rolling hills, the Gypsies built cave homes. They've created small communities and sell homemade items in the streets. There's a lot if beautiful Muslim architect all throughout the city. In the Muslim quarters, they have shops filled with bright colors of ceramics, clothes, leather purses, spices, loose leaf teas, and much more. There's delicious restaurants and hookah bars. Granada is one known for it's tapas. Tapas are tiny appetizer size. Simple and delicious. The deal is, if you order any alcoholic beverage, your served a tapa. If you have 4 people, sometimes you only get 2 tapas for the table. 3 is the magic number, then you get 3 tapas. It's fun to have one drink, eat the tapas, then move into a new place. That way you can sample all kinds of different tapas. A lazy tapa is potato chips and olives.
We stayed in a Airbnb right in the old part of the city. We got a 1 bedroom with a queen size bed, a twin bed, and a couch that turns into a bed for 30 euros. On Airbnb you get the whole place to yourself. Their usually someone's vacation home or just used for Airbnb. We've stayed in beautiful places for cheap. Especially for 4 of us, it's a better deal than getting a hostel. Plus you get a kitchen that's usually stocked with spices and your basic needs. A washing machine and sometimes a bath tub to relax in come with most all the places too. Airbnb is a website anyone can use all over the world to find a place to stay.
We did a lot of walking around Granada while checking everything out. Unfortunately for us, it rained every day we were there. Our shoes were soaked but we had rain jackets on. We hiked up in the windy road neighborhoods and saw beautiful views of the city. There's lookout points all over hidden in between the streets. We tried to get tickets to go inside the Alhambra but it was sold out for the next 3 months. Who knew to book it that far in advance. Missed out on that one. We checked out the vintage thrift shops, record stores that had tapes, books, old school posters in it, English book store, and second hand shops.
Our friend Judith that we met at Isla Bonita, met us in Granada. It was fun catching up with her and hanging out. Joe's friend Mathew showed up the next night and met us so we had a full house. We went out and checked the nightlife scene. There was some live music at a bar but it wasn't all that great. We left and hit up a hostel that has a full on bar down below with cushy chairs n couches. Our tapas were a cream base with mushrooms and chunks of ham, served with bread. Good music playing and fun times. We stayed out late and had a blast.
Joe and I had a day together. We went to cathedrals, art galleries, and cruzed the city. Somehow we kept going in circles amongst the windy little roads. We sat in cafés and ate pastries while gawking at the beautiful sites around. In the meantime, Seth and Chris went on a huge hike up a steep mountain behind the Alhambra. They discovered a cavern and walked, then crouched down into a long cave that led into complete darkness. Chris only had his cellphone light so they didn't go all the ways down.
On the day we had to leave, the sun came out and so did the buskers. Music of all kinds played throughout the streets. The Gypsies selling their art and handmade items at all the lookout points. Tourists everywhere. Fun to see the city liven up with the sun out. We had an amazing time in Granada minus the rain.

Field Trips

Last Friday Penny took us on a field trip to a beach town called Almunecar. We met her friend there who's starting a website of "World Schooling." The website connects traveling families together. They do meet ups in her home town every Tuesday. When we travel, we can see if other world school families are nearby to hook up for the day. Pretty neat for us. That way Seth can hook up with kids his age through the web and in person. It's called World Travel, aka homeschooling. You can't use the word homeschooling here in Spain since it's illegal to be homeschooled.
We got to see an amazing Flamenco show at a restaurant on the beach. A man played the guitar, another beat a box drum, a lady singer, and two women who danced. The Flamenco dancing is intense. It involves different clapping techniques as well as stomping on a wood platform. Each woman builds herself up through dancing faster n faster. Then about has a orgasim is the best way I can describe it. Very passionate and sexy with sweating it all out in the end. One woman even did the Flamenco dance with the traditional Spanish fan. The show lasted about 3 hours with breaks in between. The deal is that you come in and buy tapas and drinks then the show is included. It was a blast. After the show, we went to another beach town close by. We busked along the boardwalk for a hour and made back our money we spent at the Flamenco show. Fun times on our field trip day.
On Saturday night, Joe's friend Mathew played bass at a art gallery opening. The art was all in black and white with tons of eyeballs, butts, and boobs. She created lots of interesting and feminist art. I enjoyed seeing something different in Spain. The musicians were a blast. One lady sang and played the guitar, another woman, belted out songs, 2 guys played soft jazz, and Mathew played the bass with loop pedals. Tons of people showed up to the art opening. So many people that there wasn't enough room for everyone.
We played at the Thursday market in Orgiva. Penny set up her Guatemalan stall, Joe and Chris played music, and Seth and I sold some art. The Orgiva market is interesting since they have a artisinal side to it. The Spanish markets usually have clothes (new and used), shoes, spices, sausages, cheeses, nuts, fruits, and candies. Fun to see a different style market and for me to chat with other artists in the area. We had a fantastic day. Sun shinning with lots of people out n smiles.
We took an adventure walk down by the river. There's 2 different communities further down that in the woods by the river. There's a boat that's a free thrift store on land right by a rope swing. It was neat seeing everyone's home done up in a different style. Some motor homes, some dome homes, hand built out of wood, all sorts. Most you can only get there by walking. In and around Orgiva is different kinds of community living. We got lost on our way back and saw an ancient olive orchard. The trunks to the trees were amazing. One even looked like a mans face in it. That's why it's fun to get lost. Never know what you will discover.
This past week we finished up all of our painting job. We happened to come across 6 kittens in Penny's bodega (storage space) while cleaning it out. A stray cat had snuck into the bodega and had 6 healthy kittens maybe a week before we found them. Glad we're traveling, otherwise their so cute that I want one.
We took Penny's camper up to Capileira, which is further up in the mountains. Such a beautiful, old, tiny town. We heard there was a market there on Mondays. It was the tiniest market ever for there was one guy selling fruits n veggies. Penny and us set up to make a scene. Lots of tourists especially the grey haired crowd. The grey haired crowd is the old English people on holiday. Nice people n all but tight in tipping. Hate to say that but it's true coming from other buskers. Joe and Chris lightened up the whole town with their music. Capileira is known for weaving blankets and rugs by using an old weaving loom. The town is built into the mountain with tiny walk ways. In the middle of the walk ways is water ways for when it rains to collect the water at the bottom of the town. They are also known for their delicious chocolate. I indulged in a salted dark chocolate bar and a honey milk chocolate bar. Joe and Chris got the dark chocolate bar with chillies. I had a blast exploring around.
We left Penny's house after 2 weeks of helping her and she helped us. We headed right down the road to her friend Glenna's house to watch her dog while she goes back home to Whales. It works out for us because we're trying to save enough money to go to Granada for 4 days. I've always wanted to go to Granada ever since I lived at Isla Bonita. From Orgiva, it's only 1 hour away by bus. With us working at Penny's during the days, we couldn't hit up all the markets around. Now we're at a beautiful house with olive trees all around and a river. On Glenna's property is an abandoned house. I love walking through abandoned places. In the attic was an old iron bed from forever ago. We just have to keep an eye on the dog so we can busk every day and back at night. The holidays are finally over after 2 weeks. We like it here in Orgiva but it sure is small. Going into town, we see the same people at all the functions. It has been a great place to meet all kinds of fun people. The view you wake up to is amazing. Great vacation spot for us but couldn't live or stay too long.