Goats, caterpillars, snow, sun & fun in the Alpujarras.

Narration and photos of several weekend hiking trips to villages outside of central Granada.

Classes are officially in full swing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take weekend trips to explore the outskirts of Granada! For a lover of the great outdoors, Granada is the place to be to go on senderismos (hikes). These past couple weekends, myself and a bunch of other Pacific Northwesterners have been hopping buses to nearby pueblos (towns) and taking hikes to view the natural beauty of Granada. The outskirts of town were definitely a shock to the eyes, which have grown accustomed to seeing hordes of people walking the streets, motos (mopeds) and cars speeding about, and parks which feature patches of dirt rather than grass.

On the weekend of February 10, a bunch of us American students met up with other students from Germany, France, and Brazil to catch a bus to Monachil, a town 8km from Granada. The Sierra Nevada ski resort is located in Monachil, and the Sierra Nevada National Park is just beyond the town borders. We took a moderate 4-hour hike during which, at one point, we were “chased” by a herd of goats as they walked part of our hiking trail to reach their home. The sites we saw were definitely worth the 2 euros we spent on transportation!


In the cuevas (caves) of Monachil!

My French friend, Swani, and I being “chased” by goats.

The days surrounding Valentine’s Day (el Día de San Valetín) were filled with some cultural experiences as I experienced more of Spain’s nightlife. To celebrate Valentine’s Day Spanish style, some girls and I indulged in cava, a type of pink champagne produced near Barcelona, and sangria, a typical Spanish drink consisting of wine and fruit juice. The following night, we also ventured up to the gypsy neighborhood, the Sacromonte, and visited El Camborio, a popular discoteca. Unfortunately, the Granadino lifestyle of beginning parties at 4am still isn’t working for us Americans, since we retired “early” at 3:30am.

This past weekend, two friends and I ventured to a town in the Alpujarras, the mountain district just south of the Sierra Nevada. Wikipedia refers to the Alpujarras as “the Spanish Switzerland,” and I couldn’t agree more! With a warm climate and rivers flowing off the Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarras are a green and fertile land with tiny farming plots located on steep mountainous hills. Farming and tourism are the main economic sources of this region. We stayed in the village of Capileira, one of three white-washed villages built on the mountainside of the Alpujarras, and over the course of 3 days, did about 16 hours of hiking. It was an interesting little town with very few inhabitants, and it featured a free movie showing in Saturday night, allowing us to view Clint Eastwood’s Sin Perdón (Unforgiven) in Spanish. With excellent views of the Mulhacén (the highest point of the Sierra Nevada) and tons of hiking paths, a visit to the Alpujarras is a definite must!


A procession of caterpillars, nearly 2 meters long!

See? They really are caterpillars…explains the abundance of butterflies.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to snow!

The gorge after the snow turned into fog.

Not long after, the sun was out again!

We ended Saturday with a breath-taking sunset.