Gypsy Dreams of Andalucía: I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

I just got back last night from my first weekend away here in Spain. After class on Thursday afternoon I dashed off to Granada for a chiro appointment and I figured, while I'm on the road, let's go somewhere different for the weekend. So on Friday morning I hopped on a bus to the nearest coastal city, Almería.

It's been months since I've seen the ocean - in fact, unless you count a morning in Greenwich, I haven't seen the coast since Italy three months ago - and as a sailor it's weird and even a little painful for me not to hear the waves and feel the salty breeze in my hair every so often. I spent a lot of my time down by the beach or the port just staring out at the water, enjoying the sight and sound of the ocean. I really have missed it - and watching the ferries arriving and leaving from ports in Africa made me wish I could jump aboard!

I also asked around about any tall ships in the area, but about the best anyone could offer me was a small private yacht, and as I've explained many times, when it comes to computers, ships and hot chocolates, I always say bigger is better! So Almería at least is off the cards for sailing, but thankfully there's more to Spain than Almería!

On Saturday morning I walked up to the Alcazaba, which I was curious about because there's a ruined Alcazaba in Baza that I stumbled across a few weeks back with no idea what it was. As I understand it, Alcazaba is an Arabic word for 'castle', and refers to the Moorish fortresses now scattered across southern Spain. The Alcazaba in Almería is quite extensive and impressive, a proper royal hall with defensive capabilities and large landscaped gardens.

The actual buildings are currently undergoing archaeological restoration and excavation, but the gardens were great. There's a Moorish fascination with water features that I've seen in all the architecture, often featuring a series of connected pools, and frequently surrounded by greenery. Of course, the other major draw of the Alcazaba is the view. As a defensive fortress, it's built on the nearest hill overlooking Almería, so for the price of walking up the hill I could see halfway to Africa!