Lazarow World-Hike-About

Every now and again we mention some of our best experiences. The ascent to (the peak of) Pico Veleta was one of them. We are able to view the peak from the sitting room in our apartment. It's awesome. The mountains climb steeply from the base. There is no respite; they go directly upwards—tough and taxing. Although not easily viewable on pictures, there are three layers of mountains with valleys between them. The distance is deceptive as we soon realized—there's nothing as sobering as finding this out while on foot. The lower part of the village, where our apartment is situate, is at 6,890 foot above sea level, while the summit sits at 11,148 feet. Because we selected our own route, we had to negotiate a further 300 feet as we dropped down from the communication station and then further below the observatory. The cumulative gain was a meaningful 4,500 feet plus. We enjoyed every moment of it but for maybe 3 or 4 feet. It was one of those days where whatever they coul...

The Lower peak of Silleta de Padul from above, somewhere in the...okay, somewhere 2,500 feet above ground level. As we move up, the soft light provides the best views of the Sierras thus far. We approached this hike trying to avoid the intense heat as much as possible; we left the apartment early. However, one small thing that interfered with the plan was the directions. Although we had good instructions, it only takes a small error, even one very close to the destination, to add additional time to the journey. However, on the upside, and there are a lot of hills and inclines, we got to see more of the villages and towns clustered on, around and below the mountains. The elevation gain was a solid 2,500 feet, the climbing segment a little over two miles, causing a sweat. On a rustic but terrific track, with frequent moves through the forest, we kept our cool. Reaching the peak, which allows for surrounding views that are quite breathless. Field of dreams...

Grab power, tax the people, build a palace, loot the treasury followed by conscripting the peasants, attacking the enemy, killing, conquering and building another fortune. Repeat as often as the people will allow it or until the next power-hungry despot succeeds. Forgive us for the negativity but this scenario plays over and over; the only change is in the constantly improving technology and slick propaganda. So whereas we are enormously impressed with man's ingenuity over the years, we are rather depressed at the behavior. We believe we don't (hope) come across negative in the blogs but beg your indulgence for the rant after a palace and fortress visit. In order to get the feeling out of our minds, we'll borrow a favorite phrase from John Muir: "We hear the mountains calling..." The pictures below provide a mix from a fairly tough hike on the outskirts of the Sierra Nevada National Park and city scenes in the south of Spain. We walked to and around t...

We don't 'have' the Spanish and they don't 'have' the English. We last experienced summer weather ten months ago so we have been spoilt in enjoying mostly moderate climes for a while. They have 100 degree weather in Granada; we don't have the energy. We have the wonderful apartment on the roof garden, fourth or fifth floor, depending which country you come from. They don't have the elevator. We have heavy baggage initially and shopping bags to help us climb the stairs. They have the garage for our car in the basement. Parking bay (space) designed for a motorbike (small one). We ask the people all sorts of questions; they give us all sorts of blank stares. They have towns and cities that are more than a thousand years old. It appears the advent of the automobile was not anticipated that early. Poor town planning. Driving the car in town is only a little easier than parking it in the garage. Now try and find a hike. We headed to the Sierra Nev...

Before a person can undertake a hike or two, you have to get to the trailhead. In our case, we crossed the United States followed by a crossing of The Pond, sometimes called the Atlantic Ocean. Then we drove from Madrid to Granada, a fair distance on little sleep but fortunately, with a full tank of gas, that is, the car not us. Thanks to Delta and Iberia Airlines, the flights were superb. Nevertheless, air travel is for the birds although a lot more convenient than walking/swimming. We can't remember, in a long time at least, waking and deciding the lowest priority in our lives would be going on a hike. This occurred today. Hopefully, with some sleep under our pillows, we hope to regain the zest. In the meantime, we posted a few, what we think, are interesting photographs of the journey. Morning dawns on Madrid as we observe from thousands of feet above. Setting sun over the Atlantic, midway between New York and Madrid. Notice the partial, parting of cl...