Frigiliana

 The next day was my day trip to Frigiliana. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. It was a package that included a 3 hour horseback ride, wine and tapas in the town and some time for shopping.

A driver picked me up in the morning at the hotel (right on time) and we started the hour long drive to the town on the coast. As we got closer and could see the Mediterranean Sea, we spotted another small town all painted white. He mentioned to me that the town is supposed to be much whiter but there was a 'strange rain' that stained the buildings. Not having seen them before, they still looked quite white and I wasn't sure what he meant about the rain.

When we got to Frigiliana, I met up with my guide who took me in her car down some winding very narrow streets to the horse stables. I realized as they set me up with my horse for the morning that the saddles were not Western style, with a pommel and the front ridge. This was going to be interesting. They did at least have a helmet for me. We took the horses back up the winding road and were followed the entire way by 3 dogs: a German shepherd, a greyhound and a mini dachshund who kept with all of the longer legged animals the entire way. The ride stayed on the narrow roads, which meant we occasionally had to dodge cars. And it was difficult to stay on the horse as the English saddle requires much more leg and lower body work. I was not expecting this! Whenever the horse wanted to go faster, I wanted to grab onto the saddle for stability and it would confuse the horse. The area was beautiful and we got some wonderful views of the ocean and the town. While I enjoyed the ride, it wasn't what I expected (which probably would've been closer to what I experienced in Vail with the horses off trail in the wilderness.

After the ride, the guide took me to town and dropped me off at the wine bar. I was met by her husband who showed me into the back room where there were a couple of tall tables with stools. He started me off with a skewer of olives and peppers, which was I very suspicious of, and a glass of rose. He told me to eat the entire skewer and follow with the glass of wine. I have to say, while I didn't love the skewer, the saltiness against the rose was quite refreshing. There was a plate of the most amazing tomatoes I've ever seen with cheese and olive oil. Apparently the tomatoes are only available when they are at their freshest, for 5 weeks of the year, so I lucked out.

The final dish was the ubiquitous jamon. All in all, delicious meal with some tasty wines. I also had a chance to chat with an English couple who were visiting and stopped in for some wine. We talked about the weather, since there was a heat wave where they are from. I also learned from the shop owner that the 'strange rain' that the driver told me about was the sandstorm that blew over from the Sahara earlier this year. It apparently made it very difficult for awhile in this part of Spain, but afterwards, it was very difficult to wash off the sand. You couldn't just hose it off. Some some parts of town were back to the white white but other parts had the orange stain from the sand. A reminder that nature is a powerful thing.

By the time I was done with lunch and ready to check out the town, almost everything was shut down for the afternoon. I took a picture of a yucca plant that had been yarn-bombed, wandered in a small shop and then found myself at the same place I was dropped off where my driver was waiting. 

After arriving back at Granada and a short rest at the hotel, I decided to check out a falafel place for dinner. I had seen a bunch of them on the walk to the main plaza and I was tired of jamon. I found a nice quiet place for a falafel pita sandwich which was delicious and filling.