The Alpujarras

"Dulce soñar y dulce congojarme, cuando estaba soñando que soñaba; dulce gozar con lo que me engañaba, si un poco más durara el engañarme;" ( Sweet dream it was and also sweet affliction, when I was dreaming that it was a dream; a sweet delight I'd take in what deceived me, if only that deception longer seemed;) - Juan Boscán {currently studying in my literature class}

The Alhambra was Saturday, and on Sunday I went to the Alpujarras (nearly three weeks ago). The Alpujarras are a series of mountain towns on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada within a short drive of Granada.
They are well known for a few reasons, one because many of the towns are at a high altitude for Spain, and the other because after the Christians defeated the Moors in Granada, in their treaty they gave the Moors the Alpujarra region to live, and because of this there exists today a strong Arab influence in the region, much more so than Granada.

We departed for the Alpujarras at 10 am from the bus station, and arrived at an area that has three of the most well known and well visited towns, Capiliera, Bubion, and Pampaniera at around 12:30. These towns are all in the same valley, and within a few kilometers of each other. They also offer incredible views, and together the three towns make a pretty awesome photo.

Each town is whitewashed, and located between 4,000- 4,600 feet. I had a good day in the Alpujarras, but I would like to return again in the future, because we had some hazy weather this day, and with snow on the mountains it would be even prettier I believe. Anyways, I hiked the area, and took in the terraced pueblos perched along the sides of these mountains.

I have read that you could find very similar towns in northern Morocco, as the building style is the same, and it was interesting to see this as the rooftops are all flat with tall chimneys. There was also a carnival going on in Pampaniera, and similar to carnivals/fiestas in Granada, they had many merchants and beggars trying to get your attention. I left the Alpujarras after being there for about 5 hours, and went the two hours back to Granada. The windy roads along the way made me sick, as the bus driver decided that he could manhandle the drive. All in all it was another good day seeing the area near Granada.