Las Alpujarras!

Las Alpujarras are a series of high mountains south of Granada including the two highest peaks in Spain.  Even in July, patches of snow can be found in the shaded areas of these southern mountains.  

Visiting Las Alpujarras is like taking a step back in time.  Although these quaint villages are not as primitive as you would see in "Al Sur de Granada", they are not far from it.  Arriving at the villages is a difficult task.  Since there is no bus transport to the higher villages, hitchhiking was our only option.  Once we had arrived, travel between villages was all by foot.  

Our time in Las Alpujarras was spent trekking from one village to the next.  We used grown over mountain trails that wound around small farming plots and tattered stone houses.  We often got lost, since there were no signs on any of the trails.  Once we came across an old woman - most likely in her 80's - and we asked her if we were on the right trail.  She proceeded to tell us we were very confused and explained just how lost we were.  After explaining the route we needed, she quizzed us about the location of her goats.  We pointed to some that were down the hill, but those were apparently not hers.  She left us disgruntled, supposedly to search for the goats that were hers.

My favorite memory of our hikes was the day we came across a mulberry tree.  Javier climbed high into the tree and passed down the sweet ripe fruits.  The rest of the day we were covered in the evidence of our gluttony.