EL VALLE DE LECRIN
ANDALUCIA
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Travelling due South from Granada and after crossing the pass of Suspiro del Moro (The Moors Sigh), the road starts it’s descent towards the coast. If, instead of journeying directly to the resorts of Salobrena & Almunecar or to the port of Motril, you were to take the turning West to Lecrin you would enter a beautiful area of amazing greenness. This is the fertile ‘Valle de Lecrin’ (from the arabic meaning ‘the vale of happiness’), watered by streams and springs from the snows of the Sierra Nevada to the North East, the valley is largely undiscovered. Amongst its stunning orange groves and with the beautiful lake of Beznar at the centre, are some dozen or so hidden villages, each with its own special character. ‘Restabal’ is one of these, and this is where Casa San Jose is located. The valley forms a clearly defined oval bowl and is surrounded, like a fortress, by hills and mountains which have shielded it from outside influence and in a very real way from the dual carriageway which links Granada to the coast. Thus the valley remains predominately a farming community and the fact that 90% of all the donkeys currently remaining in Spain are in the Lecrin Valley is an odd but telling statistic. Life here is mellow and the principle pleasures are sitting in the sun , drinking wine and cursing about the price of oranges.
The house is situated in the middle of the village of Restabal which has about 1000 inhabitants. Each of these families owns pieces of land which have been passed on from generation to generation, and they grow oranges, lemons, olives, almonds & tomatoes. The village has a couple of small supermarkets, a few bars (we recommend the Bar Jovi!), a chemist, a bakery and a bank (open two hours every morning). There are now two restaurants in the village, both of which are very good and offer fantastic value. All of the local bars serve free tapas with drinks. Vans visit the village everyday selling bread and fish – they announce their arrival by sounding their horns! The valley and surrounding mountains are fabulous for walking, the GR7 route which runs from Greece to Portugal takes in the Lecrin Valley on its way passing through Restabal! Horse riding and mountain bike hire can be arranged.
This is the real Spain and there are a great many beautiful and interesting places to visit, below we’ve listed a few –
Granada (30 mins.drive) This is a beautiful city the home of the world's most famous and visited monument, The Alhambra. This is a must for visitors to the area and you should dedicate at least 4/5 hours to this architecturally unique arabic site.There is also the lovely old Moorish Quarter, the Albaicin. There are many, many bars, good restaurants and shops and a lively student atmosphere. Above Granada is the ski resort of Sol y Nieve (45 mins.drive from Restabal) this is the highest and most southerly ski resort in Europe.
The Alpujarras This is a mountainous area with many pretty little villages, and good walking, made famous by Chris Stewart in his book driving over lemons. The closest and most developed village is Lanjaron (30 mins.drive), with its spa – it produces most of Andalucia’s bottled water. There are many villages villages worth a visit including the ones we know well, Orgiva, Pampaneira and Bubion.
The region is famous for it’s air dried hams, cheeses and handmade rugs.
Cordoba (about 2 1/2 hours drive) a beautiful mediterranean city with a rich history and stunningly beautiful arabic cathedral
Seville which is our favourite Spanish city is also 2 hours 30 minute away
Guadix (about 2 hours drive) a small town famous for it’s ceramics and cave dwellings. You find yourselves walking on the roofs of houses.
The Coast there are many resorts to visit the closest is Salobrena (25 mins drive) you then have Almunecar and further on again Nerja. All offer beaches, restaurants, shops and sports such as diving, sailing, paragliding etc. In between these there are smaller less developed beaches and coves. There are water parks (slides & pools etc.) in Almunecar & Malaga. There are golf courses at Motril (25 mins drive) and in Granada. Malaga is about 90 minutes drive.