We left Lanjaron and spent more time clinging to mountain edges but the views were wonderful. We drove east across the Alpujarra, which is an area of mountain villages clinging to the slouthern lsopes of the Sierra Nevada. There are goats and sheep and olive groves and a lot of ham being dried, though nary a pig to be seen. From some places you can see up to five different villages at different elevations on the hillsides. This area was originally settled by Moors who were driven out of the cities by Christian Spainiards after the Christian conquest of Andalucia in the late 1400s and early 1500s. The houses were built in the same style as those of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, with roofs made of branches or cane or reeds, coated with layers of clay. Later, all of the Moors were driven out of the mountain villages, and the then'king repopulated the area with people from the north of Spain, but they keep building their houses in the same style as did the Moors.

We hiked down a steep trail to a small town perched on a gorge. Jeanne sat in a cafe while Michael hiked back for the car - then we both sat there for hours, drinking coke, reading, admiring the view and eating olives. Olives and coke together - and it actually works! They were made by a woman in the village, and the best olives I´ve ever eaten.

We spent the night after Lanjarón at Valor at the eastern end of the Alpujarra, and on Wednesday drove to a neolithic site just inland from the city of Almeria. It is a 5000 year old necropolis and fortress called Los Millares, and dates from an era when the two rivers that run beside had water in them, and when the land was covered with forest, rather than dry stubble. It had four circles of huge defensive walls, and exterior forts. They grew grain and worked metal.

We then drove north to Úbeda, a renaissance city to the north of the Sierra Nevada. We spent two night in a small eight room hotel called the Palacio de Rambla, a faded 400 year old palace, full of antiques and carved coats of arms and paintings of Jesus and old furniture. We had a canopied bed and a balcony over a small plaza. Everwhere we walked in Úbeda was dripping with history.

Food has been okay to wonderful. I had a great, creamy pepper pate. Yesterday we ate at the Galla Roca in Ubeda.We puzzled for so long over the menu that he took it away from us and gave us limited course choices. Then he brought us a plate of olives (at least 30) and bread and crispy bread and aioli and a tapenade type dish made of aioli and bread crumbs and olive oil and red peppers. Then gazpacho (which Michael liked!!!) and wonderful pork. The main course dishes are usually served with french fry like potatoes, which are cooked in olive oil, so never reach the state of crisp brown-ness we´re used to.

This morning we drove to Granada, and have spent the last ninety minutes or so trying to update this blog -- we keep losing part of our entry, so on each retry, we put in less text. Our hotel has a rooftop terrace with a view of the Alhambra (as does our room - we can even stand in the shower and look at it), and tomorrow morning, we visit the fabled site in person, along with the day´s other 8,500 ticket holders.