Ronda

I read that Ronda is a must see city, but only really good for a day trip. Since it has the rep of being the most romantic city in Spain, I figured we'd stay the night, and even booked a "room with a view".  The view from the room was incredible and we ended up with the BNB all to ourselves. I really regret not booking a few days (we booked a place in Seville for the day after, even planning a few days ahead can bite you in the ass).

The main attraction is the GIANT bridge and gorge that cuts through the city. We climbed up and down the gorge 4 times! We ignored the spanish warning signs and went all the way to the bottom where the water pools and cascades. By far one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Two funny things happened during our stay: they screened a movie for the local kids right outside our lovely window with a view. It was so loud the walls shook. We got quite a laugh out of it. About 10 min before we had to leave for the bus station, the wind blew the bathroom door shut and locked all of our toiletries in! I was able to pick the lock with one of Sunni's bobby pins just in time.

Granada

We're finishing up our stay in Granada. Soon after we arrived we took a walking tour up a huge hill to the top of the city. The hills are filled with man made caves that house gypsies and hippies. Apparently the government wants them gone, since they don't pay any money. The community was actually pretty cute, they had gardens and solar cookers for their food. I'm not really sure how they get their water or use the bathroom....

We got up the next day and went to the Alhambra. It's a huge arabic palace that looms over the city. We spent about three hours wandering through the gardens and rooms with ornately carved walls and ceilings. It's a very magical place, and I can see why it's such a big deal in Spain.

We made friends with two guys from the states and spent most of the night hanging out at the hostel with them. We overdid it a bit, and ended up sleeping in until almost noon. There was nothing open in the entire city except the science museum (it's like a ghost town on Sunday). I wasn't expecting much, but the museum turned out to be great. It's a huge complex with lots of hands on stuff (and English so we could actually read what was going on). After that we took a long nap and went out and watched the sun set behind the mountains.

We booked a hike on our last day. I was thinking about trying without a guide, since I found some maps and GPS coordinates, but I'm glad we went with a group. It got pretty high up and if our GPS would have gone down, there was no way we would have gotten out. It was wonderful: we started off in the woods, along a small river with little waterfalls. As we got to the rocky parts, people were all rope climbing. We had to take cute little rope bridges. We swam for a while and then (in FULL midday sun) got to the more mountainous part. The views were amazing! I couldn't bring myself to look over the edge at the top though. By the time we got down and reached a little place for dinner I thought I was for sure going to pass out. I couldn't see at all. Thankfully it passed and I was able to get back to the bus on time. I felt bad for the little old lady who ran the restaurant. I think she thought I going to die in there. (I'm fine now. I think it was just a bit too much sun).

 the alhambra is the huge thing up top

a whale's heart is HUGE

bad idea after a long night out...

darwin

curie

einstein