Tuesday, September 1st - Valencia to Granada

Wake-up call at 6:30 a.m. and bags out and breakfast at 7:00 for an 8:00 a.m. departure and again we were right on time.  Breakfast actually had fried eggs, which looked like a nice treat, but even the fresh pan they brought out was really cold so they weren't all that great.  Still bread and buns, cheese, meat, fruit and cereals though so lots to choose from.  

We drove south along the coast of Spain.  The Mediterranean with so much water is on our left but the land on our right looks incredibly dry.  Where it is not irrigated it is just like white sand.  Most of the area is hilly so it looks rather barren with just a few small trees on it. However, where it is irrigated it is green with lots of orange groves along the way.  The oranges are of course Valencia oranges and the orange juice is delicious.  The trees are in very straight rows so it is an interesting and orderly contrast between the strips of light sand and the green trees.  And much of the land is terraced - some large and wide terraces and others just a single row wide.  Even when the terrain is not steep the land is still terraced for irrigation purposes. 

Most of the year the sun is shining and it is very hot in southern Spain.  When it does rain it really rains so they collect the rain in large reservoirs or pools and these eventually feed the irrigation.  There are big dry riverbeds with strong cement or rock banks to handle the flow in the rainy season.  Valencia was originally a Roman town founded in the 2nd century BC and the Romans had some irrigation systems.  The Muslims expanded the system and created a series of canals throughout the city.  Since then the irrigation systems have been updated and modernized many times but the foundation and principles still go back to the Romans.

The guide just told us that they grow just about everything in the area: beans, lettuce, avocados, oranges, olives, grapes, figs, lemons, etc.  It seems much drier now but obviously their irrigation is working where it is needed.  She also told us that the mountain area is a seismic area but the guide said she just recently found out and didn't know it even though she's been a guide in the area for over 20 years.   However, there was an earthquake just a few years ago with nine killed and thousands left homeless.  The old cathedral in Valencia was also partially destroyed.

The land is a flat valley around the highway but there are hills not too far away and mountains in the distance.   The rolling hills eventually turned into higher hills and mountains as we drove through some of the Sierra Nevada range and the land got more desolate and dry looking..  There were still some fields and some trees but not like before.  

There are marble quarries throughout and they mine various colours - black, white, pink, cream, green, etc. and it is a big industry for the area.  Granite is also mined here.  We saw some sheer cliffs that we thought might be marble or granite and in some places there were small caves and even homes built right into the side of the mountain.  These were not just old caves.  These were homes with a cave as part of them and families lived in them now.  These were more spread out but it reminded me a bit of Coober Pedy in Australia where almost the whole town is underground and all you see is the entrance and a chimney or two for each house.  In a hot climate it definitely makes for cooler homes so it makes sense - if the hillside is the type of rock that can support it.  Hmmm, I wonder if these caves that sound pretty basic have marble floors, walls and ceilings?

At the top of the summit we were over 900 meters according to my camera's calculation and then we quickly came back down again and into wide valleys with orchards.  It wasn't a really high pass but the views were still pretty impressive.  According to our guide, Spain is second in Europe, right behind Switzerland, for mountains.  I would not have believed that but now I guess I can since Spain is such a big country and it does have mountain ranges, just not high ones like Switzerland.

Granada has a population of about 300,000 and 65,000 of those are university students so it has a very young population even though it is a very old city.  We stopped at a lookout on the way into Granada so we could take some pictures of Alhambra that we are going to tour tomorrow morning.  It looks very large and impressive.  We then had a quick tour of some of the main city highlights as we drove to our hotel.  We didn't  have a walking tour at all but for once our hotel was within walking distance of the town so we could walk to the main attractions in our free time, which is what I did.  I only had two major destinations - the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel - and, if time allowed another old house/museum.

Granada Cathedral is huge and it takes along time to walk all around it to find the correct entrance.  As the church is sandwiched between many buildings and streets, you never really get a good look at the whole thing.  And as you walk around the outside the building looks quite plain. It is a light stone colour that is darker in places just from the weather.  The cathedral was built in the 16th and 17th centuries.  There are not a lot of decorations that you can easily see.  The front, which does open on to a small square, has three arched doors with round windows above on the lower level and larger round windows on the top level.  There are three big arches formed over four large columns that separate the doors so that the doors and windows are inset into thee facade.  There are some carvings and sculptures on the facade but basically it is aa very plane baroque building sandwiched between other buildings and doesn't ook all that impressive.

The cathedral took 181 years to complete.  It was started shortly after the Muslims were driven out of Granada in 1492, and was built on the site of one of their mosques.  Due to the length of the construction period, several designers, architects and different styles were used.  The original plans called for two 81-metre towers but neither of them were completed, mainly for financial reasons.  Despite the fact that it looks small due to the other buildings which surround it, it is actually huge.  When we saw it from a higher point the next day, people could not believe its size.  It seemed to take up half the old town.  Seeing it from that view I wondered if even I had made it all around the building. Perhaps there was another entrance that was the main one and perhaps it was more ornate than the entrance for visitors.

The inside of the church can only be described as huge and magnificent.  It took a long time to take it all in.  There are high white columns, sometimes with many columns together to form really large columns, and four rows of them, not the usual two.  They are ornately decorated with carvings and designs but all in white.  The four columns mean there are five aisles in the nave.  The central aisle has the highest arches and vaulted ceiling.  The two aisle on either side of the central one are lower and the outer two on each side are even lower.  Then all around the outside there are chapels set against the exterior wall.  The extra height and width really makes the interior seem huge, which it is.  When you look from corner to corner it is like looking through a forest of pure white pillars, all of which seem to be unique, and with gold glistening between them.

The decorations in the interior are mainly gold and they fit the atmosphere perfectly.  Every door and chapel was decorated with statues and carvings and paintings and they all looked very rich and priceless.  The central dome was painted blue with stars on it and the white and gold ribbed arches and stained glass windows to light it made it very stunning.  The curved designs at the front of the church were many storeys high with carvings, paintings, windows, etc. with rich gold everywhere, probably made more impressive looking by lighting but it was beautiful.  Even the silver organ pipes located in a couple of different locations in the church were surrounded by gold carvings and design.  I would say that Ferdinand and Isabella really knew how to design a church but they were long gone by the time the interior was decorated so I can't give them any credit. 

The Royal Chapel is a mausoleum for the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and, although adjacent to the Cathedral, is now a separate ticket.  I guess they get more money that way.  King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I, Queen Joanna I and King Philip II, and an infant prince are buried here.  The Royal Chapel was built in the early 16th century and their remains were transferred to the location in 1527.   Other royal monarchs are buried elsewhere but Granada was captured from the Muslims and it was the central point of Ferdinand and Isabella's campaign in 1492 to evangelize the world at home (the Spanish inquisition) and abroad (sailing to India and North America).  The marriage of Joanna and Philip also strengthened Spain's ties to Portugal, England, Netherlands, Burgundy and Austria and made Spain a great empire so the Royal Chapel has historical importance.  

I wouldn't normally rush to see such sights but our guide said it was a must so I decided to go.  It is a space behind and connected to the Cathedral but definitely smaller than the Cathedral.  The actual crypt is small with just the five coffins inside, but the tomb/monuments above are beautiful carvings on marble.  The main altarpiece in this room is incredibly detailed and beautiful.  The carvings depict Biblical scenes such as the nativity and the crucifixion.  There are also carved scenes of the fall of Granada in 1492, when the Muslims left the city and the Christians came in.  It was beautiful to look at and there was a lot of detail to be seen so I probably needed more time here.  Leading into this area there were various chapels and they too had carvings, sculptures, paintings, decorations, etc.. and all were were very impressive.  The small museum that followed included personal and religious items that the royalty had.  Isabella's crown and Ferdinand's sword are among the exhibits.  The whole chapel was very impressive so I was glad I had paid it a visit.

I tried to find another house that the guide said would be interesting to see but I couldn't find it.  I found many other things (churches, museums, concert halls, fountains, plazas, old buildings with wonderful shapes and designs, shops, narrow winding streets, etc.) and got almost to the foot of Alambra but eventually turned around and headed back to the hotel to change for dinner.

Our dinner was included at the hotel so we had to be back for that.  Once it was finished, I think it was basically bed time for everyone.  These included dinners sounded really good from a cost perspective but I don't think there was one included dinner where we were really impressed.  I think we would rather have had the whole evening to do as we pleased and chosen our own restaurant and meal somewhere along the way.  Hotel dinners just really aren't that spectacular and they definitely cut into your touring time.  At this hotel we were close enough to walk into town before or after dinner but that wasn't the case in many cities.