Ok, I told u about the hidden spaces with fountains all over the place but in general there’s lots of green, a large swimming-pool, a comfortable room, a delicious restaurant and to top it off a spectacular mountain view… if one day u want to explore the Alpujarra region this is the ideal (luxury) place to start from.

What follows is a quick last little update of my relaxing week at Lanjaron.

While we were tanning along side the pool, the one thing that surprised us the most was how time still moves very quickly even when you’re busy doing nothing. Yes, it was a relaxing week, but we did move our butts a little. Not only did we visit the big town (read humble village) of Lanjaron, but we also visited other Alpujarra villages: Trevelez, Pampaneira, Capileira, Portugos & Bubion. Jodka & I remembered our previous trip to the Alpujarra a few years ago when we tried to find a monastery indicated in the “trotter” (le routard), but quite unreachable (for us) in the fog. This year we didn’t venture this far and contented ourselves with a little walk (read climb) in every village we went to.
Wednesday I showed Jodka & Audrey around in my Granada and at night we went to see a Flamenco show in my favorite Flamenco-setting in Granada: El museo del Sacromonte. Before the show we went to eat at Juanillo, a restaurant in Sacromonte which I would strongly recommand to everyone: great food, friendly service and a stunning view of the Alhambra.

Two weeks ago someone told me Ojos de Brujo (Flamenco Fusion group from Barcelona) was coming to Granada. So the next day I checked on the internet and indeed: Ojos de Brujo were performing at Atarfe a city 20 minutes (by car) from Granada! Of course as soon as I could I bought tickets and it was this last friday that the concert took place. It was incredible. Not only the music, singing & dancing of the group was fantastic, and also the public in Spain is so much more enthusiastic then in Belgium, but I got see Ojos de Brujo with Audrey & Jodka and with some people I met in Granada at Carmen de las Cuevas: Isabelle, Matthew, Sonia and Carolina.

And the last but certainly the least activity we did here in Lanjaron was a true adventure. We decided to go for a little walk on the mountain. I say little walk because that’s what it said on the hotel-brochure-map on which the walk was described. Anyway, it was an adventurous trip, since we kinda lost the path we made a path of our own and after a hour of desperation and thinking we’ll spend the whole day up on the mountain, we were so relieved to find the little wooden bridge over the river (Lanjaron river)! We still don’t know if this was the very bridge we were supposed to arrive at or if it was another one, but we don’t really care. It was a beautiful adventurous walk, just what we needed after al that resting & relaxing, But of course after this we urgently needed a little more relaxing and resting… of course

I still need to finish this story, but I’ll do that tomorrow! See ya tomorrow.

Hey all,

Since sunday evening my residence has moved some 30 km. I now stay at an hotel in Lanjaron, the first village of the Alpugaras. A region at the bottom of the Sierra Nevada with lots of enchanting little villages. Lanjaron, known for it’s bottled water here in Spain, is one of the larger villages with many water related therapies. I guess if u put the ages of Jodka, Audrey & me together (with a slight exageration of course) u endup with the medium age of people living in & visiting Lanjaron. Even though the village is not the most special of the Alpugaras, the hotel Jodka found for us is wonderful. The hotel manages to hide it’s rather big size by it’s ingenious architecture… outside lots of little patio’s with fountains are hidden amongst the beautiful vegetation… paradise.

Pictures of this little paradise will follow later

But first I have to finish of my story of Carmen de las Cuevas. Carmen de las Cuevas is the school where I have been following Spanish, Flamenco dance & Compas (rythm) courses in the Albaycin in Granada. The school is a really beautifull, clean place with 2 big caves on the ground floor used for the Flamenco & compas classes, multiple other classrooms on the 1st, 2nd & even 3rd floor & lots of terraces everywhere u look.

I leave u today with this great picture of my latest Spanish class!
C U later…

So,

Now I’ll make a little time to show you some bits of my apartment here. Last week Rink & Janneke (Dutch guy) already left & this WE lots of people left: I’ll especialy miss our lovely polish Anita (living in Brussels!), Monica (Italy) & Caroline (France) are leaving tommorow from Granada but also left yesterday from the apartment
But lets look at the bright side: I get to stay 2 more weeks in the apartment with my roommate Lili (Brazil) & a new girl Alice (US) & our 2 US boys.

I’ll just leave u with some pictures of our wonderful apartment (without a dishwasher!) and its beautiful decoration.

Muchos besos a todos.

Ola,

Quickly before the new WE starts I would like to tell you about my previous WE. Sarah (a classmate) and me went to visit Sevilla. It was wonderful, no only because we stayed up half the night listening & watching live flamenco, but mostly because of the beautiful city itself.

There are so many beautiful streets, houses & churches in Sevilla it’s amazing, and then I didn’t even start talking about the many tapas bars… hmmmm well it was a nice WE.

The best part of it though was returning to Granada as if returning home. Watching the “tourists” on the bus being amazed by the splendor of the Alhambra and for us it’s just a scenery we see on our way “home”. Home here, by the way, is a nice apartment that I share with 5 other people. It’s infact sort of a “complex” (but than in a nice way) of several apartments where at least one other apartment is also occupied by students of the school. I live with one polish girl, one columbian girl, one Dutch guy & 2 American boys. As you all know very well I’ve been living by myself for a while now and it takes some getting used to sharing an apartment, but the good parts by far outweigh the less nicer parts. For exemple when there is a Flamenco show going on somewhere in the vicinity, which happens A LOT (if not everyday), you can be sure not to have to go alone!! And at every time of the day there is always someone praticing his guitar, which I really love, except when it really turns out to be ALL THE TIME (night as well)

In a minute I will have my last Flamenco class, so I have to go. Talk to you soon, xxx.

Sunday 24 June 2007,
07:55: I hear the Star Wars sound of my mobile phone, the “cab” is ready at the front door. I give Charlie a huge hug, Erick (the gentleman ) puts my bags in the car and off we go! At the airport I don’t loose much time to check-in since I used the online checkin service of Brussels Airlines, so I deposit my huge bag (thx Eva ) at the drop-off point with no queue and hop to the gate. On the airplane I meet a woman who is returning to Almunacar where she has been living for a while, since Almunacar is the one city I know well at the costa del sol, the time flies by!

Once we arrive at the airport of Malaga the fun is over. At the arrival terminal the screens show that our luggage will arrive at bagage claim 21. when after 40 minutes nothing arrives but the screen changes to another flight, we get directed to nr 28, we wait for another 15 minutes: nothing.
Finally someone comes to explain something: they tell us to wait! After a few minutes we get directed to 23 where our luggage is arriving! Oef.

Anyway, I could tell you lots more about my trip from the airport to Granada, but let’s just keep it very short & simple.

Malaga airport – Malaga bus station – Granada bus station – Bus to the centre of Granada – Lisboa hostel – walking around town – 32°C & 38°C at the same time at different street corner – terrace – another terrace – vino, tapas … dodo!!

Maandag 25 juni 2007,
At 9:00 I’m expected to be at school! And luckily the school will take care of my luggage, they will pick it up from my hostal & bring to my appartment. After & hour of general explications the courses start. Every morning I have Spanish courses from 10:00 untill 13:30. At 19:15 my first Flamenco course starts. But more about the courses & the apartment later.

For those who are interested the address of my school:
Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas,
Cuesta de los Chinos 15,
18010 Granada

Because this is my birthday I’ve bought some Sangria & tapa’s to celebrate tonight. But aparantly since it’s my birthday there is this family of “Gitanes” who want to perform a Flamenco show especially for me!! Yeah right, the fact that I’m here in Granada during a Dance & Music festival might have something to do with it. Anyway it was a great birthday: talking Spanish, being at Albaicin & seeing the Alhambra every time I lift up my head, meeting new people from all around the world, Gaspacho, learning Flamenco & finishing off with a flamboyant Flamenco performance, well, it could have been worse ;o)
Hasta luego …

Iep,

Het avontuur is begonnen! Ik zou graag wat nieuws sturen naar heel wat mensen… vandaar dit BLOG.

*** EN ***
Finally: the Granda adventure started, at first I’m writing some posts in Dutch, but I’ll try to switch from NL to EN soon …
*** EN ***

Vrijdagavond 20 Juni 2007,

Mijn laatste dagen voor mijn vertrek waren best een beetje stressy. Laat ik heel snel met enkele woorden,de stress redenen vertellen. Emakina terras, Moulay drink…. voort feesten in Moulay’s buurt Sint Gillis… rond 01:30 vertrek richting Jette Plage… maar onderweg, carjack aan’t Zuidstation , venster kapot geslagen en chacoche (op de passagierszetel, ja stom eh) weg. Dus … identiteitskaart weg, bankonctact kaart weg, visa kaart weg, gsm weg (gelukkig meest contacten op PC)… enfin dikke shit dus. Het zou zowiezo dikke shit zijn, maar een week voor een vakantie van meer dan een maand is da echt wel dikke shit!
Ah… vandaar de stress (papieren in orde krijgen, gsm, bankkaarten,…) hmmm ja, maar er is meer.

Donderdagochtend,
’s Morgens water in de kelder: zo’n 12 emmers vol! Ok er was regelmatig wel eens wat water in de kelder, maar af en toe en altijd als het geregend had. Woensdagavond waren er ook al zo’n 10 emmers vol! ’s Avonds kwamen Sophie & Tristan to the rescue (thx Sofe & Tristan) om te testen waar het water vandaan kwam. Bleek dat elke keer dat er een serieuze hoeveelheid afvalwater richting rioolbuis (in de kelder) verdween, die rechtstreeks uit een muur begon te spuiten. Ja, wasmachine en afwasmachine dus niet meer gebruiken, liefst ook geen bad of douche nemen. Enfin, volgende dagen, zelfs nog zaterdag zonder al deze zaken te gebruiken, toch nog vele emmers water in de kelder ;(

Zaterdag 23 juni 2007,
Door weer een volle kelder: riool-deblokkering-maatschappij gebeld voor een afspraak dinsdag.
Maar zaterdag waren er nog enkele andere zaken te doen:
Rugzak voor mijn macbook kopen, bankkaarten ,kelder leegmaken, scratching (voor ingewijden), catsitting planning maken + alle andere nodige info neerschrijven, catsitters rondleiden in het paleis, kleren wassen (in wasserette), check-in… ah ja en de valies maken: rond 01:00u is dat toch ook gelukt.

De echte start van het avontuur volgt snel