The fog over the greenhouses of Motril was melting away with the first light of sunrise. We were already docked on the pier of the largest port of Granada’s coast thanks to an early morning arrival. Some of us boarded buses going to Alhambra, others head to Motril for a tapas cooking class, and the most adventurous left for the River Chillar. National Geographic Orion then departed Motril to be relocated and await us in Malaga, the capital of the Spanish sunshine coast
After one hour driving across the mountains of Southern Andalusia, the group going to Alhambra emerged on the Vega, the granary of Granada, a flat area surrounded by mountains and overlooked by the Alhambra. We were lucky to have an early start as this has become one of the most visited World Heritage sites in the world. Once inside we enjoyed the view of the highly decorated rooms and doors surrounding the different courtyards of the royal palaces of the Nasrid, the emirs that ruled during 250 years the kingdom of Granada, the last stronghold of Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula. Repeating patterns of tiles where mathematicians have uncovered 17 different crystallographic symmetry groups covered the base of the walls. Above the tiles, non-figurative stucco engravings with Arabic poems covered the rest of the wall up to the ceiling where a network of cedar timber-framed stars represented the night skies of Andalusia. This was a paradise on earth for the kings of Granada, with fountains that provided the pleasant murmur of falling water. After visiting the Generalife gardens outside the palatial complex and having lunch in the luxurious Alhambra Palace, a modern hotel decorated as the palaces in Alhambra, we returned to the ship.
Those on Río Chillar were enjoying a completely different type of experience. Engorged between the rocks and forming cahorros, long and narrow corridors overlooked by cliffs on both sides, the Chillar River itself was the path to be followed by our hikers. With the feet continuously submerged in water, our courageous travel companions followed the course of the river for a couple of hours to complete one of the most secluded trails of Southern Europe. Meanwhile those involved in the tapas cooking class visited the oldest oil mill surviving in Andalusia before heading to a farmhouse on the village of Murchas. Once there, they first participated in a short, practical cooking class and then, sitting on the terrace that overlooked the valley and the ruins of an old Moorish alcazaba (castle), they literally enjoyed the fruits of their labor.
This evening, with everybody back in Malaga, we headed to the wine bar Patio de las Beatas. There, our guests enjoyed a dinner in which wines were specially selected for the dishes that were being served. After an amazing foodie experience, most of us returned to the ship while some others preferred to independently explore the lively nightlife of Malaga.
