Granada

“Las horas son allí más largas y sabrosas que en ninguna otra ciudad de España. Tiene crepúsculos complicados de luces constantemente inéditas que parece no terminarán nunca.”

'The hours there are longer and more delicious than in any other city in Spain.  Granada's dusks are complex, made up of lights that are constantly appearing in ways never before seen and which seem like they will never ever end.'

                  ~ Federico García Lorca

            Federico García Lorca was my biggest and most important introduction to Spanish culture, and although I had been studying the language for several years before I learned about him, it was through him that I had my first glimpse, the first brush, with what is unique and terrific about the Spanish soul and the way it moves through and interacts with time and space. 

Of course at the time I wasn’t aware of the specifically Andalucían nature of García Lorca, but regardless of the technicalities, I was struck by the passion, equal parts ecstasy and despair, and the vividness, the way the land itself was alive and cried out, in response to the crying out of the poet, but just as often how laughter would ring out as well, echoing through the streets and up to the mountains, a constant dialogue. 

And this is all to say that what began in books was consummated when I finally visited Granada, Lorca’s hometown and spiritual center, as the first stop of our Semana Santa vacation, and everything I had intuited years ago was manifested all around me in nothing less than complete splendor. 

Granada is nestled in a valley in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, whose snowcapped peaks sparkle white-hot in the distance.  Even in the valley, the topography is quite hilly and the town and the land mesh together, following each other’s contours harmoniously.  The Alhambra, the Moorish fortress/castle/palace, sits on a ridge overlooking most of the valley as its center and crown jewel. 

We stayed in an Airbnb cave house in the Sacromonte area, just north of the Alhambra.  We took a bus from Madrid and arrived around 10 PM, to find that our accommodations for the next four days were a 30 second walk from an incredible view of the Alhambra.  After dropping our bags, we took a few minutes, in awe and disbelief as we took in the vista of the Alhambra, illuminated, against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevadas, before heading into town for tapas.

Cave houses are just like what they sound…rooms carved into the side of the many hills of the valley, primarily as a way to beat the Andalucían heat during the summer months.  Luckily, we were there in late March, and the weather was perfect.  The trademark white buildings of Andalucía are also another way of beating the heat, and the best places to experience the charm of these houses and the narrow winding streets are the Albaicín and Sacromonte neighborhoods. 

Don’t worry about where you’re going, just get lost.  And be sure to take in a sunset from this area…I’m a sucker for a good sunset and the ones here are among the most breathtaking I’ve ever seen.  

As further proof of Granada’s magic, the first night we ran into a friend of my friend that I was travelling with at a bar.  Although they hadn’t seen each other in several years, they both had caddied at the same golf course in Long Island, NY during the summers between high school and college. This friend, whose nickname fittingly enough was “Paradise,” was visiting his sister who lives in Granada and spending a month or so hanging out before heading back to the states.  So, inadvertently, we ended up with a tour guide right off the bat.  Besides several great restaurant recommendations, one of the coolest moments of the whole trip was hanging out and having a couple beers at one of the lookout points in Albaicín, while people played guitar and the sun set, before going out for tapas later that night. 

Our route from the Air BnB into the center of the city was emblematic of all that Granada has to offer.  We started from the caves of Sacromonte, and then headed west, with the Alhambra to our left, before cutting down to the Río Darro, passing by the Arab Baths, the terraces that line the river, the many gypsies/hippies with wares to sell ranging from leather bracelets to wind up boats, some playing instruments, and then hitting the Plaza Nueva, with street performers and flamenco artists filling the air with the fervent thrum of strumming guitars and the clicks and clacks of heels and castanets. 

Then you move into the small restaurant lined streets of the Jewish Quarter, where we had the most success finding delicious tapas.  And after hopping around to a few bars, eating and drinking a bit here and a bit there, we would retrace our steps, our bellies full and our spirits light, wondering how in the world such a beautiful place can be real.

After being in the city for a day or so, the best way I could describe Granada was as “turbo Spain,” or to put it another way, Spain par excellence.  All of the things you hear about Spain generally are on magnificent display in Granada.  The relaxed and leisurely pace of life.  The beautiful dark haired, olive skin complexion of its people.  Gitanos, or gypsies, playing guitar and dancing flamenco.  The food.  Quaint and awe-inspiring architecture in equal measure.  The cobblestone streets.  The natural beauty of its landscape.  The palpable and deep-rooted sense of history.  The mixture of different cultures.   Orange trees lining the streets.  Etc, etc.  Even after having lived in Madrid for 6 months at that point, and experiencing many of these hallmarks of Spain, Granada was the complete package and then some.