A really early early start from Rabat that morning. 4am wake up call to be exact... I don't think I was awake till midday at all. This because we needed to cross the border to get back to Spain and when you count the fact that we lose one hour crossing over to Spain, plus all the custom controls it was really like the whole day was spent travelling literally.... Over at the Spanish border after getting off at the ferry, we actually had to take our luggage out of the bus and go through customs with our luggage and after passing through immigration, wait outside for the bus to come back through and load the luggage back onto the bus all over again. Our guide had explained to us that the buses would be check separately and very thoroughly, therefore the need for unloading the luggage. I didn't really think too much about it, but was more impatient for the bus to come, coz it really took a while! It was only back on the bus that our guide told us that two stray Moroccan kids had been found hiding in one of the buses, a very common occurence apparently, that it hit me why the need for such stringent checks.... Even now I'm still amazed that that kind of occurence actually happened to one of our tour buses... I was wow... when I first heard the news..

Lunch stop along the Spanish coast, Costa Del Sol... near the city of Malaga... if I remember correctly, the 6th bigggest city in Spain. Famous people like Antonia Bandaras and Julio Iglesias were from this city.

Hanging around the road after lunch...


Arrival into Granada, Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance

Got into Granada about late afternoon. The hotel we stayed in was probably like my least favourite, coz my room was small and smelled of stale smoke, I couldn't wait to get out of there once I dumped my luggage. So went out with the girls and Dew to explore the city centre. Christmas lights were still on around the city, which was quite beautiful... but the city is small and easily covered... Personally, I preferred Seville.

Cathedral in Granada

Scary street poser standing in one of the crooks of the church. He would occasionally flash his glasses and let out wierd alien noises...

The main reason for our stopover in Granada, a visit to the La Alhambra. It is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers. Once the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, Granada was the final city to be re-captured by the Christian rulers of Spain. After the re-conquest, the site became a Christian palace and within the Alhambra, the palace of Charles V was errected. After being along to fall into disrepair, the Alhambra was rediscovered during the 19th century. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and exhibits the country's most famous Islamic architecture together with Christian 16th C architecture as well.

First stop, around the gardens.... Menita stopping for a drink in one of its fountains..





Water was a precious commodity then, and a symbol of wealth and power in those days was the ability to have flowing water in the palaces, hence many parts of the courtyards were often accompanied by such fountains as the one below. The fountains also provided a feeling of peace and tranquilty and a way of relaxing...


Charles V Palace...