Hiking & Arab Baths

Last Sunday was undoubtedly one of the most amazing days here since my arrival.  We woke up before the sun rose, and met up with half of our classmates for an early morning hike.  Ironically, on our walk through the city, we saw more people coming back from the discotecas than people who had actually woken up for the day (for us this was a fairly comical sight).  

We all met up at school at 8:30 sharp, and before we knew it, we were on the trails.

The mountain we hiked overlooked the Alhambra and the Albaicín, which of course made for some breathtaking views.

The landscape was surprisingly dry, and quite different than any other mountain I have ever hiked (there were very few trees, and by the end it got HOT!)

There was a fútbol field located on the mountain, at a relatively high elevation.  This confused me, because by the time we reached the field I was exhausted, and had no energy to play any sort of sport!

We also discovered a sundial, however it was quite misleading, it told us it was only 10 o'clock (it was actually closer to noon).

Of course, with our group, we didn't take the hike TOO seriously :)

(Pre wipeout picture)

Boston College, represent!

After hiking, we ended our long morning with probably the best reward ever: a trip to the Arab baths.

"Bañate en la historia"

Cameras weren't allowed inside, which is unfortunate, because I feel that no amount of explanation could do this justice.  

The Arab bath (variant of the Turkish bath/Russian bath) is an ancient idea.  For thousands of years, people have been coming to these baths to cleanse, relax, and even meditate.  

...so why am I just hearing about this now?

We entered into the bathhouse, a quiet, dim, environment, and the first thing that hit me was the scent.  A beautiful mixture of roses, lavender, and other soothing scents that, when combined, have an immediate soothing effect.  I instantly felt at ease as I toured the facilities, an ancient building of Arabic design (for more details about Arab architecture, check out my post on the Alhambra!)  

There were three different baths: cold, medium, and hot.  The cold bath (my favorite!) must have been around 60 degrees.  It was deep yet small.  The warm bath was much larger than the other two, large enough to swim in if one desired to do so.  The hot bath was bigger than the cold, yet much more shallow.  The ideal posture in this bath was to lay flat, resting one's head in the water for maximum relaxation.  I started in the cold bath and worked my body up to the hot bath to avoid shock.  There was also a sauna, so steamy that one could not see more than a few inches ahead.  At first I found this environment difficult, for fear I might pass out from lack of air, however after sitting down and slowing my breath, I actually found it to be a very cleansing experience.

Finally, it was my turn to receive a massage.  My body had already been loosened up by the hot water bath, and I felt ready.  I was given the choice of four different scented oils: rose, lavender, mint, or flower of Granada.  Naturally I chose the flower hailing from my fair city.  My senses were immediately filled with a beautiful aroma,  both sweet and clean.  My massage was 15 minutes of heaven.  When I left, I felt clean, rejuvenated, calm, and clear-minded.  My roommate and I remarked that it felt as if we were floating as we returned home.  

Needless to say, I shall be returning to the Arab baths soon (yay for student discounts!)

Lagos, Portugal

It's been a while since I've posted, however that might be a good thing, since I've been busy these past few weeks having a BLAST!  Last weekend, I went on a trip to Portugal with some classmates from my program.  We went to Lagos, a relatively small beach town with quite a lot of character.  The bus trip from Granada was about 5 hours, and was fairly miserable, since we were all coming off of very little sleep from the night before (our friend's 21st birthday!)  Nevertheless, when we arrived at the hotel, this is what was waiting to welcome us:

Yes this was my room, and yes, it was in fact in a 5 star hotel.  It was incredible.  I probably would have been content spending my whole weekend here, however in actuality, we were only here to sleep at night.

We were all essentially famished when we arrived in Lagos, so our tour guides took us here:

Nahnahbah Cafe/lounge

That's right, voted one of the top 50 burger places IN THE WORLD.  It was incredible.  The only downside was that we had to wait a while since it was so crowded.  10 euros included the following beautiful burger and sangria.  Our tour guide also treated us to nachos because he was awesome and felt bad we had to wait.

The Toucan Burger: cheeseburger, pineapple, tomato, onion, lettuce, bacon... HEAVEN

The next morning we woke up early and hit the beach.  The first beach we went to had giant rocks that we jumped off of.  There was a ton of fog so unfortunately I couldn't get any good pictures of this beach, but one can imagine its beauty.  The rock was super hard to climb and everyone was laughing at me because my whole body was shaking as I struggled to rock climb, HAH!  However, it was worth it when I took the awesome plunge into the Atlantic from 20 feet up.  After this beach, we went to another right across from our hotel, and the fog cleared up just in time!

Later that afternoon, we took a 2 hour boat cruise, that I have to say was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!  We toured the breathtaking grottos, and took a dip in the crystal clear, refreshingly cool Atlantic.  We were all in such high spirits and had a blast.

Later that evening, we took a bus out to the very tip of the Iberian Peninsula, nicknamed "the End of the World" as this was once thought to be the case, many years ago before we discovered Africa, the Americas, and all those good things.  We had a beautiful view of the sunset from here, overlooking a rocky coast.

After this, we headed back into town to try out some real, authentic Portuguese food.  Considering I don't like seafood, I was out of luck, since Portuguese food is, essentially, seafood.  I survived by ordering chicken, however it was the spiciest chicken I have ever eaten (which isn't to say it was a bad thing, there just wasn't enough water to go around.)  Emlyn, however had no idea what she was getting herself into.  She adventurously ordered "fried cuddlefish," and this is what she received:

It pretty much looked like an alien from Men in Black III.  Rather than eating it, I did CPR on this guy, followed by an autopsy.  Needless to say, none of us ate very well that night, and one girl got food poisoning.  Looks like the Americans weren't able to fully immerse themselves in the Portuguese culture after all.

That night, we had a blast dancing the night away and enjoying Lagos nightlife to the fullest!

The next morning, I learned the hard way about drinking tap water in foreign countries.  Bottom line, don't do it, unless you're sure its clean.  The aftermath is unpleasant.

That day we went to yet another gorgeous beach, this one notoriously known for its surfers.  I felt that this beach really captured the essence of Lagos, the carefree spirit of its inhabitants and their desire for adventure and natural beauty.

We hopped back on the bus that evening for our treacherous ride home, back to our oh so difficult lives in Granada :P

In total, it was a relaxing, crazy, gorgeous, unpredictable, hilarious, and unforgettable vacation.

Adeus Portugal, until next time

La Alhambra y el Generalife

Wow, am I ever lucky to be living in the most beautiful place in ¡TODO EL MUNDO!  This past Wednesday, our class finally had the opportunity to the Alhambra, the most visited site in Spain.  The Alhambra is an ancient Arabic palace built in the 1300's.

The palace could not be more beautiful, and the history could not be more fascinating.  It's architecture tells the story of Granada's past.  The Alhambra, meaning "the red fortress" was built under the reign of Sultan al-Ahmar.  It is said that the inspiration for its architecture came from a dream, where he dreamt he rode a mythical creature into the sky to the castle of the prophet Muhammad.  The palace was handed down through 20 generations of rulers, until los Reyes Católicos, Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand conquered Granada, and Boabdil, the final sultan, was forced to hand over the keys of the kingdom.  It was at this time that the palace, as well as the rest of the city of Granada, began to undergo its Christianization.  The evidence for these changes are abounding throughout the fortress.

These two fountains are examples of the drastic difference between Christian and Arabic architecture.  The former, el Pilar de Carlos V, was built for Emperor Carlos V, under the Christian rule.  Its intricate designs, symbolism, and arcs of flowing water, representing baptism and life, are all characteristic of this culture.  The latter fountain, on the other hand, is typical of Arabic design, very simple and modest.

Another example of the presence of these two contrasting cultures is in the design of the facade of the palace.  The outside is very plain, as the Moors believed that beauty should not be flaunted, but should lie within.  The intricate patterns on the walls are of Arabic influence, however there is also a statue of the Virgin Mary built into the wall, clearly representative of the palace's Christianization.

 The walls are decorated with red (representing passion and death), green (the color of Islam as well as nature), blue (color of the sky), and yellow(color of royalty).  Arabic writing covers the interior, much of it is repeating.  The phrase appearing most often translates roughly to "solo Dios es vencedor" or "only God is victor"

 Palacio de Carlos V

Ironically, Carlos V never lived here, however this beautiful elliptical plaza is named after him

All of the entrances to the various rooms are arc-shaped, as is typical of Arabic architecture

The only animals represented throughout the entire palace are the lions of this fountain

Los jardines

The pool acts as a mirror, creating a crystal-clear reflection of the building

Obviously, the various parts of the interior are breathtaking.  It was surreal to be inside of such an ancient building.

From the top of the palace, there was a beautiful view of the Albaicín, the neighborhood of ancient Arabic houses built into the hillside below the Alhambra.

The BC crew!

We next took a brief tour of the Generalife, a five-minute walk from the palace.  Though I know very little about these gardens, they were quite beautiful.

Overall it was a beautiful, exciting, educational, and exhausting day