Cordoba Perks

In Cordoba, I could not find a host and stayed at a hostal. Since my entire daily budget was given to Hostal Maestre , I needed to be creative with the rest of my needs. No problem...

As long as there are orange trees...

and garbage cans, I would not starve nor get sick.

Another fabulous feature of Cordoba is the free internet access at the public library, very well located next to the Mezquita!

One-Point Alhambra

Arches of the Alhambra

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

French meets Aussie meets Canadian

Getting into the Alhambra was not an easy feat. At home, it is not my style to stand in line to enter a bar or club. But for an architectural site, I lost my mind and found myself at 8:30am at the entranceway, in line, listening to an announcement, "The officials would like to inform you that there are 100 tickets left for the morning and 300 tickets left for the afternoon". That did not seem too bad and I was sure I would get in.

11:00am, two and a half hours later and I was still there, maybe 3 meters forward but many more away from the ticket counter. The intercom played, "There are no more tickets left for the morning visit and 50 tickets left for the afternoon visit at 2pm". In front of me, there stood 60 people?

However, standing and waiting for hours also has its advantages as I met an Australian couple and French family. The Australians did not speak french, the French did not speak English. None of us spoke Spanish but with my limited translation skills and basic knowledge of French and English, we plotted schemes together and finally got tickets (with only 10 left). Altogether, it was a great afternoon where a language barrier created a bond amongst strangers and made my visit to the Alhambra a more unique and memorable experience.

Hike to Alhambra

I made the ardous hike up to the Alhambra not just once, but twice. First at 8am in the morning to purchase a ticket, then at 2pm in the scorching heat, the time I was allowed to enter the site. This was the first time during this trip that I paid to visit a tourist attraction and by the time I arrived, I was ready to chill in the shade and have a nap (just like many others).

8am - Good morning Granada

Aquaduct in Nerja

Hot...

...Pink Jailbird

Petsitting

My hosts in Nerja were away and instead, I was entertained by Richard, a traveling Nomad who pet and housesits around Spain and the UK in exchange for accomodation and gin and tonic. I had some experience with this kind of job before I left Toronto looking after Maggie and Murphy. Hmmm, maybe I should continue along this career path.

D. Snaith, what do you think?

Little UK

Conversation between a customer and a Britsh saleslady in a card store:

Saleslady - " Hello Maggie! Fancy seeing you in here today!"

Customer - "Yes hello there, I´m looking for a get well card. Do you have one, preferably in Spanish?"

Saleslady - " I´m afraid not. You won´t find that in here"

This conversation best describes the 2 days I spent in Nerja, a small town on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Often, I thought I was living an episode of Coronation Street.

Typical expatriate private residential community where dogs are not allowed, even on the grass!

Here today, the sun is briliant and the sky is cloudless, but tomorrow, I look forward to going back to Spain.

Windows to Eternity

Early Morning

Matching Black and Green

Two bags later, my new backpack is the same colour as my shoes...an absolutely non-intentional and subconcious decision if you believe it.

(Thank you Paula for hosting me in Malaga. I hope you find good use for the one I left behind)

Time to part

Time to part with my motorcycle boots and lighten the load. Leaving them by the recycling bins, I hope that perhaps someone else might find them useful.

Organic Carpeting

I want to lie on you, feel your touch and disappear

Laundry

In Sintra, Portugal

In Chefchaouen, Morocco

In Malaga, Spain

Doors to Eternity

La Manquita Cathedral, Malaga

or...

Malaga

Malaga´s Urban Sprawl to the Mountains

Location

Belly Dancing

And I thought Malaga was a beach town...

A New Journey

We were 2, but I am 1

After two days of rest and recouperation in La Linea, just east of Alegciras in Spain (thank you Josh), my travel days on the motorcycle are over. My dearly beloved and trusted friend, the helmet, is now packed away on its' way back to Galicia. Tomorrow, I will start a new journey alone by boarding my first Spanish bus to Malaga.

Kleejourneys has been in the last weeks, regularly updated and chalkful of stories and images. However, the technical capabilities for maintaining the extensive archive of photos will now be a challenge and I ask for you, my readers, to please be patient with the blog updates as I, slowly but surely find a new system of updating and uploading. Read on...

Morocco, the finale

Some final shots of life in Morocco

Tamtatouchte to Imilchil

A day where I could not decide what was more interesting, the landscape, the rock formation or the sky.

Maybe I captured it all?

A Road Even Less Travelled

Northbound over the Atlas mountains by a dirt road and through the river...

Street Lamps

The best moment to arrive and experience the Medina of Asilah is at dusk.