April 22 – 24

We walked up a short but steep hill to get to the entrance of the fortified complex known as the Alcazaba of Almeria.  The word Alcazaba, from the Arabic word, signifies a walled fortification in a city.  In 955, Almería was given the title of medina (“city”) by the Caliph of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III, when the construction of the defensive citadel located in the upper sector of the city began.  Provided not only with walls and towers but also with squares, houses, and a mosque, it was to be the seat of the local government, commanding the city and the nearby sea.

We entered the first line of walls, which contains a large plaza with planters that was at one time the first Muslim military camp, to be used as shelter for the population in case of siege.  The first enclosure is separated from the second one by the so-called Muro de la Vela (“Wall of the Sail”), taking its name from a bell that warned the population in case of events such as the arrival of a ship in the port, danger, fires etc.  This wall was built by King Charles III of Spain.

In this second enclosure was the residence for the governors, their soldiers and their servants.  It also included the mosque, baths, tanks, tents etc.  The Alcazaba has been used to film Conan the Barbarian, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Never Say Never Again, and most recently Wonder Woman 1984.  The sixth season of the TV series Game of Thrones was shot in locations from Andalusia to Catalonia, including and the Alcazaba fortress, which is the capital of Dorne, the kingdom of the House Martell.

We would spend almost two hours walking the grounds, doing a circuit that would take us to the tall defensive tower at the highest point of the site, with its commanding view of the town and its harbor below before exiting. 

On the way back to the car, we stopped at a café for a drink or two, a beer for Dave and I and Joanna’s first taste of Spain’s Tinto de Verano, similar to sangria and typically made up of 1 part of table red wine and 1 part soda, usually lemon-flavored.  We would adopt it for its refreshing nature and Joanna, and later my sister Bev, would later consume respectable quantities of the drink. 

After arriving back at the condo and relaxing a bit, we again walked down to the beach in a different direction than the day before searching for a suitable option for dinner.  Our first choice, Pizza Pomodoro, wasn’t yet open and so continuing on we eventually dropped in at Mohana Café.  Upon arrival we were seated and quickly ordered a bottle of Martin Codex Alberino, a prelude to one of the better meals of the trip.  We dispensed with appetizers and instead ordered an entrée apiece, for Joanna this meant the Scallops with Guacamole, Butter and Lemon and for me the Iberic Sweet Pork Steak with Honey and Mustard.  Jessica and Dave would enjoy the scallops and a nicely done order of Pulpo (octopus). 

Having demolished the bottle of Alberino, we enjoyed another of the Carramibre Crianza, a nice red that complimented our various offerings.  We followed with two superb desserts, the Tarta Pistacho (Pistachio and Lemon Cake) and Tarta de Dulce de Leche (Dulce de Leche cake with coconut ice cream).  The best thing about all of it was the final tab, just 133 Euros ($154) for the four of us, inexpensive when you consider it included two bottles of wine and two plates of scallops. 

The next morning, we loitered at the condo and then walked into town for a quick breakfast of café con leche’s and tostadas.  It’s relevant to comment here that Jessica and Dave chose this community to settle in as their Condo property and the immediate surrounding area is a clothing optional zone.  We’d only witness a couple of instances of nudity during our stay, one of them being at that breakfast when a robustly shaped gentleman sat at the table next to us and unrobed, an interesting view in the morning.  So yes, it’s a real thing there. 

We returned to the condo and then took off for another drive, this time about an hour down the coast to an area known as Playa de Los Muertos.  While there we spotted numerous ruins from former mining operations, most likely silver, zinc or lead.  We stopped for visit at an abandoned two-story building, still in good shape with no signage to denote its original purpose.  It’s seaside plaza afforded views up and down the coast and we lingered awhile enjoying a warm afternoon in the sun. 

From there we wandered about in the car, Dave taking us on a dirt road adventure that had us tightening our seat belts as we dodged boulders, washouts, and steep overhangs.  We managed to find pavement again without much damage to the car and soon returned to the condo for a few hours before walking into town for dinner at Spice Hut, a bustling purveyor of Indian Food. 

We all had a few beers to drink, cold and refreshing which helped us polish off our initial appetizer offerings of Chicken Pakora, Vegetable Samosa, and Onino (Onion/Cebolla) Bhaji, all quite good.  Then we all split the Lamb Curry, and Saag Panner (Spinach) with a healthy amount of rice and garlic naan to go along with these very tasty offerings.  The tab would come to 62 Euros ($73) for the four of us, yet another satisfying meal that didn’t break the budget. 

We walked back to the condo as the sun was setting and spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and reminiscing about times past, and travel to come as we prepared to set out for Cordoba the next day.  Jessie and Dave were planning on a fall trek on the Camino de Santiago, which we did in 2017, and indeed, as I write this post, they are about halfway through that journey.  We wish them Boun Camino and god speed. 

Links

Alcazaba of Almeria: https://www.andalucia.com/cities/almeria/alcazaba.htm

Mohana Café: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QZnZv_IBs2Ua2qrciPK3hbFi1ILoufmI/view

Spice Hut: https://www.facebook.com/p/SPICE-HUT-61558520235055/