I can't believe Albayzín Granada again!Em and I arrived in Madrid a bit after midnight and Dad got us Holiday Inn express 3km from the airport. After a tricky arrival (the cabs want longer rides into the city and are reluctant to have their 1 hour or more wait for a ride be so short) we checked in called home and fell asleep hard.
Given the slightly remote location of the hotel we needed to take a bus to a metro stop but since no driver can break a fifty, we found an American Ribhouse next to the bus stop so we stopped off for an American lunch complete with free refills. Ahh...
With smaller coins available we caught a bus to Avenida de las Americas a bus station, train station and shopping mall all in one. A quick ride to Menedez Alvaro and we were on a Granada bound bus.
Joe, Kerry and her brother Dan met us at the bus station and started us on the long ride to Orgiva. The town is nice, highly walkable and had a surprising number of places open at midnight.
Joe took a scenic route to Lanjarron which anyone who has been to Spain may recognize as the water company with the purest agua in the country. The water is supposed to have magic healing properties. They have a fountain that is dumping gallons on a continuous basis (apparently in July there is a water fight town wide!). We filled up and headed up to their farm.
El Duque de HazardsAs we left Orgiva Joe told us that if we need to switch seats or make any stop to do it now. We were good but I didn't quite understand. Then suddenly I did. The ride up to the El Duque valley is insane. The road is unpaved somewhat narrow and with questionable guard rails for most of the trip. It is 20 minutes of bumpiness until we got to the house. Arriving at night first is actually pretty nice. You don't have to look at the road conditions. As time went on though the road seemed much more normal and less frightening.
The house is off the grid. Solar power for everything but oddly the have internet. How? Well they radio across the valley to a repeater which radios to another repeater which has a connection to town.
Joe had a full house. There were 7 of us at one point staying there. It is rustic but has a view that can't be captured by a camera. Joe is working on a farm so has access to fresh fruits and veggies. We made lemonade, drank claritas and had a great time doing very little.
Commune-ing in Nature
Orgiva is an odd town. It is mostly retired Spaniards and a hippie crowd. The hippies live in a place called Beneficio, a hippie commune in a Spanish national park. A few hundred people live in tents, teepee's and other "structures". During the summer the backpacking crowd increases the size of the commune. There is a "big lodge" where you can stay while you build your home.
Every Thursday the hippies come down the mountain into Orgiva and sell bread, crafts, and the usual mix of knickknacks inspired by eastern mysticism. As a result the mix of people is highly interesting. One dirty looking guy in particular who was selling bread that looked pretty good told me it was homemade and handmade. Hmmm... I think I'll pass for now... but thanks!
That night they were having a full moon party which probably would have been a lot of fun but we were trying to get up to do some stuff the next day (plus Joe had to do some work) so we'll have to catch that next time.
We had some tapas at Bar Agustin in Orgiva. Patatas Alioli (fries with garlicky mayo) with roast chicken, carne con salsa and a few other delicious things. 15 beers 3 glasses of wine 2 cokes and as many tapas for 34 euros. That night we had our own, likely much tamer, full moon party. It lit the valley, we drank beer, listened to a running river and agreed we are 6 very fortunate people.
--Joey
