Las Alpujarras

First and foremost, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

It has been a slow process of realization for me that I will not be celebrating one of my favorite holidays with the people I love most, and now that the day is finally here I wont deny that I miss getting stuffed with stuffing, turkey, and Aunt Jeanne's yummy, black-cherry jello with homemade whipped cream and toasted almonds...yummmm.  Being in a country that doesn't celebrate the holiday has made it difficult for me to get into the mood of typical, Wisconsin-fall cheer (and maybe that's for the best?)  I know I have so many things to be grateful for, foremost my family and friends, who I miss dearly.  Of course, I am extra thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving day letters I received from home, with pictures included!  They have provided some wonderful stories with my Spanish family. 

As for fall in Granada, the leaves are certainly starting to change here, but being in a bigger city makes the turning of the seasons much more difficult to appreciate. Luckily, to get in my fill of autumn I've recently enjoyed a nice trip out of the city and into the Alpujarras, which is a region on the back side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  Three weekends ago now (yes, I'm right on schedule with my procrastination when it comes to this blog) my ISA group took a two day trip to this beautiful part of Andalusia.  We enjoyed the great outdoors to the fullest with a five-hour hike up and down the gorge below the famous white-washed villages that have been described to look like sugar cubes being dumped down the side of the mountain.  When we weren't scaling mountain sides, we walked about the quiet village streets, enjoyed a sunset behind mountain silhouettes, and of course indulged in rich and hearty mountain-man meals of blood sausage (morcilla), chorizo, pork and potatoes!  Yes, of course I've included more food photos...

Las Alpujarras! The white peak, Veleta, on the far-far-far left is the same peak we see from Granada, which is directly on the other side of the mountain.

Me and Lexie down in the gorge carved by the Poqueria River

Capileira - the tallest village of the three on this mountainside where we spent the night

Snapshot of Ashli during our hike with a beautiful view of the gorge that leads to the sea.

Another view of Capileira.  I love how it looks like snow on the mountainside, reflecting the real snow-capped mountains in the background

A veiw from the highest point we reached during our hike.  Here you can see the mountains descend to the sea, which is that yellow-grey glow in the distance.

After our hike, we came back to Capileira to take a second "hike" through the city on the mountainside.  Along the way we spotted this wooden man taking in the view from a flat rooftop.

These funky hat-like chimneys stuck up from every rooftop in the village, all of which were flat and covered with stones.

On Sunday, before heading home, we stopped at another village further down the gorge called Pampaneira.  We went out for lunch to a restaurant with a menu in 4 languages.  Number 29 on the English menu gives you an example of how often things get lost in translation here...

El plato alpujarreño - typical Alpujarran meal.  Creamy potatoes, blood sausage (morcilla), chorizo, pork, ham, cooked green peppers, and a side of manchego cheese in olive oil.