Naked Man Headstand (Almeria, Andalucia, Spain)

This morning we returned to Cabo de Gata, first starting by heading to El Playazo in Rodalquilar.

We then hiked to Playa Las Negras in Las Negras, passed old Moorish terraced files and Spanish fortifications.

Once to Las Negras, we continued on...

And on...

And on...

Until we reached the Bohemian village and beach at Calle de San Pedro.

Unfortunately, this beach was a bit too "Bohemian" for our blood. When we finally got to the beach from a small batch of bushes we were greeted by pure flesh. And to be clear, every beach in Spain is a nudist beach, which is pretty liberating. But this was an extreme case...the first thing we saw was a naked guy doing headstands on the beach, with another fella playing Bob Marley on guitar, while four guys built a "tent" out of a beach towel. And it never really got any less weird from there - like the old, naked guy who 'sailed' an old boat up and down the beach, about 15 feet from the shore, legs up watching; or the various pot-marked 'latrines'.  After watching the dogs shit all around us, and smelling the faint waft of human excrement, we decided to double back and retrace our steps.

And after another 2.5 hours, back to where we started at El Playazo, we had about the most enjoyable, breathtaking, and needed swims of our lives.

Before ending our night in Almeria with 10 free tapas (seriously, the tapas scene here is amazing), all the while encircled by children with their own tables (look behind Amanda) and newborns until well into the night.

Less Tourists Please (Almeria, Andalucia, Spain)

Our Albayzin neighborhood in Granada forbids motor traffic from 10am until 2pm. Fortunately, we got our act together just in time (9:56) to begin the last leg of our trip in Almeria, which is in far southeast Spain. This arid region has almost a lunar like feel to it.

After a quick pit stop in Almeria, where we found a vegetarian, organic market, we continued east to our destination: the Cabo de Gata national park to see the rugged terrain and shoreline and to take a dip in one of its beautiful beaches.

The first beach we visited was Playa de Monsul.

Before we continued on to Vala Media Luna.

And hiked up a cliff on its side to yet another small calamity with amazing Vistas around the southeast corner of Spain. The top also had very forceful wind gusts.

After reaching our southern most destination (because we forgot to pack more than .25 liters of water), we circled back and walked to Playa de Genoveses for a dip.

Afterwards, we finally got to see our apartment in Almeria.

And confirm that the rumors are true...for every drink you buy in Almeria not only do you get a free tapas, but unlike in Granada you can choose it. 4 drinks, 4 tapas, 11.70 euro.

Alhambra (Grenada, Andalucia, Spain)

Today can essentially be summarized in one word: Alhambra. From almost every vantage  point in the city, this Moorish-turned-Christian, white-turned-red, "lost"-turned found, citadel-turned-palace-turned-gathering-space, looms over the city. So we devoted a good portion of the day pouring through its carvings, tiles, ceilings, defense, gardens and views. This is a small sample of its beauty.

OK. I guess we can add that we visited the Sacramento, which is right behind our house.  This hillside community was outside of the original city walls and built homes into the face of the hill, which is apparently a pretty effective climate control method. Today, the community is primarily gitano (Roma/ gypsy). It is hard to capture by photo, but it is an interesting place.

So after a long day, all that is left to do is get some food and drinks in a cave.

And get one last view of the Alhambra from your patio.