Olives, Castles and Mountains

The Spanish countryside is full of olive trees.  Humberto tells me that a good deal of “Italian” olive oil actually comes from here, but Italy has more oil-caché.  Here in Andalucía about half the trees are oranges. The trip was fun: down the Guadalquivir valley toward Seville, and then up the low pass to Granada to the south. The former valley is flat and looks very fertile. It reminded me of CA’s central valley, except that it looks more rained-on. 

Lots of little white farmsteads (grange-type, which is to say a walled compound) and an occasional butte with castle. These formations are oddly-shaped - rather like the Tucson Mountains.

But the Sierra Nevada are serious. 11,000 feet high and really snow-covered (hence their name).  the highest mountains in Spain. The other side is the sea. The relief seems higher than Tucson, and the mountains are snowy a long way down. Probably because of the latitude.

My room,

I think I lucked out on the hotel. Not only is it 100m from the entrance to the Alhambra (my destination), but it is really elegant; much better than the big, rather noisy Maimonodes in Córdoba at exactly the same price ($60). Smaller hotel, but room is bigger. Bathroom better (with Jacuzzi-jet bathtub!), and a little balcony, from which I have a view of an olive plantation. Blissfully quiet.I stayed an extra day.

The Andalusians seem to be just as friendly as the Catalans. Everyone is really modest and polite. The cabs are pretty cheap, considering that you don’t have to tip. They are genuinely grateful for anything – even less than 10%.