SO ABOUT GRANADA

Well let me say first that the ugly-urban-sprawl-depressing-I'd-rather-die apartment-complex-cookie-cutter American System has quite sadly spread rapidly to even the most quaint and historic Spanish cities. It's everywhere (at least in southern Spain); the centro commerciales, the four lane autopistas, the billboard skyline- everything except the green grass chemically-kept pathetic lawns seems to smell of a big old K-mart trend. Malaga was the worst of all- on top of half the population being sunburned seniors from Britian, the develpment was entirley depressing. I think even more so than here on Tenerife because Malaga has greenery and trees, so that the giant masses of dry chalky concrete seem even more unnatural covering what used to be eucalyptus infested forest and bushy undergrowth. Thats not to say that the places we visited were not breathtakingly beautiful- only that the full effects of old sectors of towns are dulled by what you've seen through the bus window on the way from the train station to the hostel.

My favorite place was Granada-perhaps because it had the strongest historic feeling to it- but also because of the awesome hostel in which we stayed. The Rambutan baby. My idea of the ultimate communal living space. First is location- it's situated half way up a steep hill overlooking the deep cut moat below and, at eye level across the drop, the impressive profile of the Alhambra Palace (Probably the most coveted of all arabic architectural masterpeices in Spain). Then there's the people...what a bunch of crazy interesting roamers, from Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Colombia, French Canada, Sweden, the list goes on. About half of them were University students taking a year off to travel Europe for a year. One couple told us about how they worked in Canada for six months, then left to travel the world for a year, using the money they had earned. Last year was Asia, this year is Europe, and next year is South America. All of us would gather around in the main room at the table and play risk or cards or exchange stories each night. The walls were covered with fascinating lines of grafitti and photos of former residents, the fireplace mantle stacked with books, and the air filled with light, sweet, smokey scent (hint hint, it wasn't tobacco).

I felt sort of a full circle effect being there. You see, much of my inspiration for this whole Spanish extravaganza of mine comes from the experience I had with my Great Uncle Bobby back in seventh grade, when I accompanied his school group from Boston on a seven day trip to France. I never forgot our three night stay in a hostel in downtown Paris, where the center terrace was filled each night with a crowd of students from all over the world. I hadn't felt that atmosphere again until last week at the Rambutan, talking with all of the travelers there, each on their own mission to see a part of the world.

And the three owners were hardly different from the clientel, moreover, half the people staying there were earning their stay by working for the hostel, so the cooperative feeling was really strong. Each morning and night you could order the daily home-made vegetarian dish, or, make your own food at one of the two little kitchen spaces.

I'm sure I'm leaving out all sorts of stuff (notably the incredable interior of the Alhambra which we gaped at for six hours straight that day), but I hope you get the overall idea of things. If you EVER are in Spain, I highly recommend traveling to Granada and The Alhambra and The Rambutan- it will be worth your while. Oh yeah, and the place cost a wopping $15 a night.

RAMBUTAN LINK

GRANADA PHOTOS

ALHAMBRA LINK