Barranco del Abogado

This afternoon I set out on a beautiful 1.5 hour paseo with ISA to a very little known and secluded barrio or neighborhood of Granada. With the lovely and chatty Rosanna leading the way, and two new directors, our group of 15 estudiantes left the office of ISA and began our long walk uphill. We first passed el parque príncipe or Park of the Prince, where many native Granada inhabitants dwell in hoards during the hot summer months. Did I mention that EVERYONE, including the older señoras, gathers here at MIDNIGHT and later to enjoy the fresh air? Because Granada gets as hot as Tucson or Phoenix does: 40-45 degrees Celsius, 100-120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then we passed through el barrio de Realejo, where the Jews of Granada once lived before being forcefully exiled or converted to Catholicism, further up the hill, past the road to the Alhambra, till we reached the beginning of El Barrio del Abogado –so named because at one point in history, the people of the town had to pay a parcel of land to a lawyer (abogado), after losing their case to the judge- where you can see the little remains of the last wall surrounding the Alhambra built by the Moors (the rest of the walls were destroyed by the invasions of France and the Guerra Civil (Civil War) that wreaked through Spain).

A caved in cueva - someone used to live there!

This dog was so adorable! It came flying down a staircase and followed our huge group for most of the trek. So adorable! And I doubt a stray, because it was very clean!

Iglesia de Realejo

Cute hostel right next to the Principe park.

Winding up the steep hill, we pass one of the last inhabited caves, cuevas, of the area (these naturally formed caves have been lived in throughout the decades: pros– no rent, same temperature all year round, cons- rains cause floods and cave-ins that trap the residents, often killing them) very pretty and with a lovely red cinco, 5, above the fabric partitioned entrance.

 Just a bit farther and Rosanna reveals to us the sad history connected with the camino de nuevo cementerio (street of the new cemetery) –back during the Guerra those about to be executed were given one last walk up this winding street, to be shot near the cemetery at the very top. And after some more sparkling cityscapes (sparkling because the sun was beginning to set or acostarse, literally going to bed =D ) she explained to us how, once the city finally realized what a disaster the area was and wanted to help, the inhabitants fought violently against it. They wanted to keep their beloved neighborhood as is, so to this day there is no public school, no church, not even a farmacia (pharmacy or drug store) to be found along this twisting road. There is only the secret Gipsy store, where upon descending the steps one must yell the secret catchphrase to get some pan, bread, or any other variety of things.

 Finally we make it to the top of la colina, hill, able to see all around us without impediment, being chilled by the slight breeze, while one of Washington Irving’s stories about this barrio is recited to us – telling about how the last Moorish sultan of Granada, Boabdil, set out through this neighborhood, out through the streets of Granada, off to the mountains of the Alpujarras. And how, with one last glance back at his beloved kingdom, never to return again, his mother tragically tells him, “No llores como mujer lo que no supiste defender como hombre” (Don’t cry like a woman over what you couldn’t defend as a man), scolding her son for losing the kingdom, giving it up to the Spanish.

 P.S. – Tomorrow will be one month of keeping a fairly consistent updating of my blog! YAY!