Monachil

On Saturday we went out to Monachil, a small village in the Sierra Nevada about 20 mins out of Granada, from where you can get into the national park. After getting us lost (again) in Granada for a good hour, in the end we did manage to find the bus stop and get on the right bus. Well one that was going in the right direction anyway, had to get off just outside the pueblo and walk another twenty minutes along the main road... But at least we made it. Eventually. Despite our slightly circuitous route to get there, the National Park itself was totally worth it. There are various different hikes you can take up into the mountains, complete with waterfalls and hanging bridges. Even along the paths there's quite a lot of climbing and squeezing past rocks to be done. We scaled some of the rocks to get this stunning view, although the vertical drop on the other side was not for the faint-hearted.

After an adventurous couple of hours we headed back into the village to try and find the bus home. Of course what I had failed to take into account was that it was a national holiday in Spain (I believe celebrating Columbus' discovery of South America) and so the buses, temperamental at the best of times, had pretty much stopped running. After a good 45 mins of waiting, it was getting darker, colder and the despair began to kick in. So much so that the best option left to us was to hitchhike. We'd already seen one group give up at the bus stop and get picked up almost straight away, so it didn't seem like a bad option. Apparently, however, us two lost tourists looked more menacing than the group of dreadlocked Spaniards, as it took some time before anyone would stop for us. Even then we had to do it in two stages, being first taken further into Monachil before a slightly batty old man with a large dog in the back agreed to drop us off in the outskirts of Granada. I don't think I've ever been so relieved to be back in the city, despite not knowing exactly where we were...

Stopped for a well earned drink and some tapas on the way home, as well as getting to witness some of the national holiday festivities. The whole city was buzzing, in total contrast to the deserted streets of the previous night. Of course there was another night out planned, apparently Vogue was so good it needed to be done two nights in a row, but despite much persuasion we only went for pre drinks before going home to crash out. Not sure we could have handled any more adventures that day!