Day 6: Grenada through Sierra Nevada mountains to Lonjaron Spain

 Today was filled with towering, snowcapped mountains, twisty and curvy narrow mountain roads, gorgeous vistas - and rain. Despite the rain we had a glorious time riding a big loop around the Sierra Nevada that boasts the highest peak in continental Europe outside of the Alps - Mulhacen at 11,414'.

look closely at the snow on the middle mountain

It's Palm Sunday and there was very little car traffic, but we encountered several groups of cyclists climbing up as we rode out of Grenada.

It was a lot of fun leaning into the curving roads, and as we climbed there were more pine trees.

We passed a gorgeous mountain lake and periodically rode through a small town.

We started to see homes built into the sides of the mountains. Known as trogloditas, they look like a typical house from the front entrance, but then are entirely within the mountain. We were lucky enough to stop for a visit to the Cueva Museo, or cave museum, that encompasses a family home (Paco, the father, introduced us to his wife and 2 kids) as well as two older cave homes.

Paco explained that there are about 1000 cave homes in the Purullena town area, and that a cave house is just like any other house except the only windows are in the front entrance and there are no doors between rooms to maximize air flow (they hang ceiling to floor curtains in doorways for privacy). 

Families hand-dig their cave homes using shovels, smooth the inside clay walls and paint them white. According to Paco, the cave houses are watertight and maintain a consistent temperature of 17-19 degrees Centigrade; about 62-66 degrees Fahrenheit. People in this area have lived in cave houses for many generations. We climbed outside steps to cave houses on the second and third 'floors' and were rewarded with panoramic views of the town - and lots of cave houses.

We continued to gain elevation and not long after leaving the cave home museum the skies darkened and it started to rain, so we stopped to put on rain gear. We continued to climb over a high pass, but really couldn't see much due to the rain. Plus the temperature dropped to 40 degrees! 

After a few miles on twisty mountain roads the rain stopped, and we enjoyed lunch in a cafe in a small mountain town. During lunch the skies turned black again and we heard thunder, but by the time we started riding the thunder had stopped although it continued to rain off and on.

With just a few miles left to ride, the rain stopped and skies cleared so that we had wonderful views as we descended into Lonjaron, a beautiful town on a ridge with terraced homes and gardens.

This was the most technical riding day of the trip and we didn't let the rain put a damper on our enthusiasm for the fun, twisty roads through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Tomorrow we ride west and south as we begin to head back toward Lisbon. 

Portugal and Spain trip day 4: Cordoba to Grenada

 We had time this morning to wander through the old city of Cordoba, getting slightly lost in the Jewish Quarter's narrow, winding streets - whatever did people do before GPS and Google Maps?

We also visited the Mosque-Cathedral located directly across from our hotel on a very narrow street. So narrow that the early morning food and beverage delivery vans blocked the sidewalk (itself barely wide enough for one person) and most of the street. 

The Mosque-Cathedral is built on a site of a Visigothic Christian basilica. The Muslims who conquered this area in the 8th century built the mosque in 785, and it was expanded throughout the years into the 19th century. It was converted to a cathedral in 1236 when Cordoba was captured by Christians and reconstruction continues today.

The outside walls are virtually unchanged, and the inside retains beautiful mosque features along with the Christian cathedral that was built in the middle of the mosque. Many of the inside walls are lined with ornately designed small chapels.

doors to the Christian part of the building

one of the small ornate chapels

We left Cordoba about noon, riding out of the city toward Grenada under cloudy skies that threatened rain.

Almost the entire 120 mile ride today was through rolling hills covered with olive trees.

We continue to see walled castles on top of several high hills, and stopped in one - Baena - for coffee. 

Uwe, our motorcycle group tour leader, is a pro at navigating his way through the narrow, winding, and often very steep streets of these small towns before we get back on the 2-lane paved highways that wind through the increasingly mountainous countryside.

We were amazed at the number of olive trees and olive oil production facilities we saw until we learned that Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. Every lunch and dinner we've had so far in Spain includes small dishes of olives brought to the table for appetizers and a bottle of olive oil to sprinkle over the meal.

We've had just about perfect motorcycle riding weather with temperatures in the high 60's into the high 70's. Although the overcast skies today meant that we couldn't see the higher mountain peaks in the distance, we really enjoyed riding on the curving roads up and down the hills and valleys.

We stopped under a bridge right before lunch to put on raingear, and it continued to rain off and on until we reached Grenada. We're staying here for 2 nights so that we can explore the Alhambra, the largest political and aristocratic center in the western Muslim world in the 13th-15th centuries, and the old city center of town tomorrow.