Area Traveled: Madrid, Cazorla, Grenada and Cordova
Lodging:
Cazorla: "La Orospeda" the Casa Rural (rural house) A small apartment with a kitchen, living room with a fireplace and a bedroom with a patio that overlooks the mountains. It could hold up to 5 people and cost only 47 Euros a night ($50). C/ Ximénez de Rada, 17, Cazorla (Jaén) 23470, España Teléfonos: +34 953 72 20 11 +34 639 66 05 62 Website
Cordoba: Albergue Juvenil Constantina (International Hostel) One of the nicest hostels we've seen. Beds are two to a room with private bathrooms. A central courtyard, a cafeteria that serves breakfast and a very high tech internet room are all great features. Through in the fact that's it's in a great location and around $35 for a room for two - great deal!
Madrid: Hostal Buenos Aires. Clean and neat - we had a corner "balcony". Really only doors that open up to the street with a railing so you don't fall out, but it was quite nice and was only 59 Euros for the night without reservations. Great Via, 61, Madrid 28013, España
Tel: +34 91 5420102
Outdoor Travels Rating: 5 out of 5
Thumbs Up:
- Interesting culture, and food
- Lots of castles and ruins of Roman, Catholic and Moorish origin
- Charming pueblos blancos "white towns" clinging to majestic mountains a beautiful picture
- Something for everyone from big cities to little towns
- Great bike riding and gorgeous scenery
- Beer, wine and tapas!
Thumbs Down:
- Wish we had more time
Lessons Learned:
- Cruzcampo is very tasty beer!
- Learn a little Spanish before you go. Outside of large areas, very little English is spoken. Plus, the people really like to talk to you if you speak a little of their language, or at least try.
- Andalucia is known for its Tapas Bars. Enjoy a change of pace with little beers and little plates of food that very often, you don't order.
- Look closely before you bite into a tapas that you can't identify.
- Grenada is worth staying longer than we did
- Cazorla is perfect for those of you who really want to experience "non-touristy" Spain.
- Spanish people can look a little gruff until you engage them in a conversation. At that point they usually smile and are quite nice.
Travel Diary: Spain, Anadalucia -
Madrid, Cazorla, Grenada & Cordoba
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Travel Photos
Video from Train
Video from Cordoba
Spain Travel Log
March 5-11, 2003
By Kelli Farnsworth
Day 1
We arrived in Madrid at about 10am and planned to go to Cazorla, Spain. Cazorla is a "pueblo blanco", a white village, (traditionally, they paint all the houses white) and one of many in the mountains of Andalucia, the southern province of Spain. In my high school and college years, I studied Spanish and so I got directions and we found the subway to take us to the train station heading south. It is easy to maneuver if you've been on subways, and they are very clean and shiny, not like New York's! But there are a lot of smokers, so the air is a bit thick. It was about 1.50 euros, that's about $1.75 each, no matter where you travel on the subway. Not a bad deal. We got to the train, and with a little confusion and trying to figure out how to get to Cazorla (it is so small, there is no train station there) we boarded a train by noon for a three-hour ride! It was about $20 each, round trip. At first, Dana wasn't liking the scenery, being that Madrid is a big city, they aren't always beautiful in the outskirts, but after about an hour and a half or so, we started to see field after field of olive groves and rolling hills with mountains off in the distance. We took the train to Lineares-Baeza stop. From there, boarded a bus to Ubeda, but not before having a beer and hamburger at the café across from the station. It was our first experience with getting a 'tapas' when we ordered beer. It essentially was a small dish of potato salad with a lot of mayo and 2 forks. We caught the bus to Ubeda for an hour's ride. When we got there, I asked for some assistance and called our lodging as they didn't accept credit cards and asked that I call when we get near. I can't really understand Spanish too well on the phone, so a very helpful woman helped me and called to make sure we still had our reservation. Nobody really speaks any English if you are outside of Madrid, and only then in the Hotel lobbies or information booths in the airport. I personally love that. I enjoyed practicing my Spanish and getting to know the people of southern Spain. I think Dana did too.
Well, we had 2 hours to kill, so we searched for a café, had a few beers and walked around a bit. We came across an old hospital that was converted into a Museum. It was beautiful, as all the old Medieval buildings are, with grand pillars and beautiful courtyards. Ubeda has a lot to see, but we were off to catch our bus to Cazorla. We arrived by about 7pm and I asked a (what I thought was a taxi driver) policeman for directions and he called our place and they came to pick us up in the plaza! We later found out that the owner of the "La Orospeda" the Casa Rural (rural house) that we stayed at is a local police officer in town! He knows everyone, as he also owns an adventure excursion business and another hotel as well. They took us to the hotel and we were beat! It pretty much took us all day to get there and we had some jet lag. The place was great. It was a small apartment with a kitchen, living room with a fireplace and a bedroom with a patio that overlooks the mountains. It could hold up to 5 people and cost only 47 Euros a night ($50).
The owners, Juan and Fatima Benevente were very helpful, gave us a map of Cazorla, and suggested a café (Café Las Vegas) where we could get a sample of tapas in the plaza. So, off we went to get some food and a few more beers. Now, just to let you know, the beer is a bit stronger, but the glasses only hold about six ounces. Each time you order a beer, called a "cana", they serve you a tapa, a very small appetizer of their choosing. Over time, we learned that each café has their own signature tapa that they are famous for. Their hours are very different from American hours in that they don't really eat breakfast, most places close up for about 3 hours in the afternoon, and restaurants (other than the cafés) don't open up till 9:00pm. So, being American, we were hungry always at the wrong times there! So, we went to the Café Las Vegas and had a few beers and tapas and called it a day.
Day 2
We decided to explore the town since our bikes wouldn't arrive till later in the day. Cazorla has 2 Castillos (castles that are really forts and lookout points). We walked to the Castillo de Yedra and took the tour. It was built on a hill above the town in around 1452. The day was beautiful, a little chilly in the mornings and evenings, but perfect midday. I could tell that Cazorla doesn't get too many tourists, especially in the spring, as other than the one other tourist at the Castillo, we were the only tourists we saw the three days we spent there. On the way to the Castillo, we passed a ruin of an old cathedral. They are working on restoring or cleaning the site, but there wasn't much left but a few walls and the steps. It was still incredible to see. Well, after that, we walked down to the plaza de Santa Maria (named after the cathedral in ruins) and found a café and ordered some grub. They really like mayo here, though they swear it is an American influence, they put it on the darnedest things. They put it all over everything except their sandwiches! But no matter. We headed to the Orospeda for a rest and to see if the bikes had arrived. On the way, we passed a convent that was converted into a youth hostel and went inside to check it out. To our surprise, Fatima works the reception counter! She told us that neither her nor her husband had been home all day and so Dana began to worry that the delivery of our bikes had been a failure. We headed to our little apartment and discussed what we should do if we missed our bike delivery. While we were talking about that, along came the delivery truck! How lucky is that! Then, Juan pulled up and offered to have a friend be our guide! So about 4:00, his "companero" Franci came to guide us on a ride. It was fantastic, but if you want more details go to the biking page and read what is theremore details, maps, etc are there. We got back about 7pm, cleaned up and chatted with Juan and Fatima. They offered to take us up into the park the next day with Franci as our guide. We accepted and planned to meet at 9:00am the next morning. So, again off we went looking for dinner. Again we found cafes with tapas and beers and had a great time! Actually, Dana had too much fun and wasn't feeling so great the next day!
Day 3
We met Juan and Fatima the next morning and to our surprise, it was to be an all day adventure! There were about ten boys around 10-13 years old all with their bikes too. We went to the local market, about 2 blocks down the road, and bought 2 cured ham sandwiches on fresh baked bread and some snacks. Then we all loaded up in their trucks and off we went into the mountains. We weren't really sure what the plan was except to drive up into the park and coast back into town on the bikes. Well, we kept driving and driving and it got colder and colder as we got higher into the snowcapped mountains! It turns out that Fatima and Juan wanted to take photos in the snow! We got stuck and turned around and went back to what would be our starting point for our ride down the mountains. Read more in the biking section. It was incredible!
We got back about 5 that night and Fatima invited us to join her and Juan for tapas and beer later that night. So we all met up at about 8:30 and they took us to several different places. I guess the custom is to have a beer or two then have a few glasses of wine then switch back to beer. Well, I am not so good at switching back and forthWe went to the first café and tried all kinds of tapas and some beer. Then we went to another place that one of the young kids that went biking with us, his father owns and we had some great wine and tapas there. Earlier Dana and I had planned to catch a taxi the next morning back to Ubeda and then catch the train to Cordoba the next morning at about 7:30, but as we were all heading back to the hotel (it was about 11pm by now) Fatima asked if we wanted a nightcap. I convinced Dana to go and we went to a bar that looked kind of Irish. Lots of young happy people were there and it was a bit loud but we were having the best of times. Juan and Fatima offered to drive us to Cordoba and show us the sights the next day, so long as I wake up and inform the taxi driver that we wouldn't be needing his services. We gratefully accepted their offer and planned to all meet up at 9am the next day.
Day 4
So, all of us hung over, Juan, Fatima, Dana and I headed to Cordoba by way of Granada. Juan told us he considers Granada magical. I would have to agree. It is surrounded by the glorious, snowcapped Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was so beautiful. There is an old Moorish Palace, called the Alhambra that sits above the city and looks down over the cobblestone street that runs along the creek. We sat out in a plaza enjoying the view then they took us to a "locals' bodega". A Bodega is the place to go for wine. Normally they aren't much for serving food, but this one is famous for it and has all traditional local foods. Fatima and Juan ordered for us and we all dug in. We couldn't have been luckier to have such wonderful accidental tour guides who were fast becoming friends. Afterwards, we headed out for Cordoba (a 2 hour drive) as it was getting late and they'd have to drive back to Cazorla that night. In Cordoba, Fatima helped us with getting a room at the hostel or alberque, as they are called in Spain (as she works in one in Cazorla). We said our goodbyes, thanked them for all they did for us and they were off. I will miss them a lot and I hope they'll be able to visit us. Anyway, we cleaned up and went out for pizza in a touristy place. It wasn't worth it and after that we stuck with going to the cafes for tapas and beer.
Day 5
The youth hostel includes breakfast and so after we took advantage of the free grub, we were off to sight see. I think Cordoba is a lovely place, but didn't beat Granada. That said, Cordoba has a lot to offer too. The Mezquita, which was built in 900AD is there and has architecture from so many periods and has been converted from a Mosque to a Cathedral and been added on to that it takes up a huge portion of the center of the "old town". It is magnificent and has a nice orange grove courtyard and tower that were built in the 1700's. They light it up in the evenings and it glows with all its majesty. There is an old roman bridge and Moorish mill and a castle (which we got kicked out of because it was closed on Mondays or something) and many other sights to see. We found a tourist office across from the Mezquita and got a map of the town as well as a book on mountain biking Andalucia in Spanglish. Then we wandered to the travel agent office and bought our tickets for the AVE to Madrid. The AVE is the fast train that runs from Seville to Madrid with a few stops along the way, one of them being Cordoba. So with our tickets and a few hours to kill, we did a little souvenir shopping and found another café. It is called Café Chef. And if you go to only one in Cordoba, this is the one you should go to. The man who owns it has traveled all over and has memories in his café hanging from the walls. He happened be from Cazorla of all places, but settled in Cordoba. He was really very friendly and talkative and I think I was getting the hang of talking in Spanish by now and we were having a great conversation. He showed us photos of him in Mexico and other places he traveled! We stayed here a while, then caught the bus to the train station. The train ride was about 40 Euros each, more expensive but only took us 2 hours to get to Madrid. Once we got to Madrid, I looked up a hotel in my book that was said to be clean and inexpensive and we took the subway there. It was called Hostel Buenos Aires. It was clean and we had a corner "balcony". Really only doors that open up to the street with a railing so you don't fall out, but it was quite nice and was only 59 Euros for the night without reservations. We never had a bad experience with any place we stayed the entire time in Spain. So, we headed out to search for a café for beer and tapas one last time. We found a local place that doesn't seem to get too many tourists and I tried to order a tapas and got that mayonasy potato salad again. Then we searched for another spot and had one more beer. A local drunk wouldn't stop talking to us, though I barely understood what he said. He was about 4 feet tall (see photo at top of page) and had about as many teeth! But quite a happy fellow! He bought us a beer then we made our goodbyes and went to bed, exhausted.
Day 6
Not too much other than getting some breakfast (eggs and French fries with bacon and a coke) then we walked down to the plaza to catch the subway to the airport. We took a few last photos in the plaza at the fountains and tried to figure out how we could stay a few more days and we didn't want to leave so soon. So we promised we'd go back again.
Dana the beer quaffer (with wine) and a friendly local wine-o' in Madrid
