Margaret Drabble at Casa Ana in Ferreirola

For creative people the Alpujarras can be an inspirational and pleasant setting to work. Therefore Casa Ana in Ferreirola is sometimes used as a base for writing holidays organized by The Literary Consultancy (TLC). At the moment two Literary Adventures Writing Courses are run during which guest writers are invited. Last week visiting speakers were Chris Stewart and Michael Jacobs, an event that we personally enjoyed very much.
This coming Monday the 4th of April Dame Margaret Drabble will give a presentation at 17.30 hours.
Margaret Drabble's work includes seventeen novels amongst which ´The Sea Lady´, ´The Seven Sisters´, ´The Peppered Moth´ and ´The Needle's Eye´, and various works of non-fiction. She has won numerous prizes, including the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was made a Dame in 2008. She will be reading from a collection of Complete Short Stories, ´A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman´ that is due to come out in May 2011.
The fee to assist this literary event ´To live as a writer´ is 5 euros. For more information call 958 766 270 / 678 298 497 or email info@casa-ana.com.

Ruta Medieval through the Alpujarras

The Ruta Medieval is a beautiful linear walk connecting the villages Pórtugos, Atalbéitar, Ferreirola and Busquístar in the Taha valley and Cástaras, Nieles and Juviles. The wooden waymarking posts guide you from west to east.

We have a description and a map of a route of 20,7 kilometres from our small country hotel ´El Paraje´ to Busquístar, following the medieval paths from east to west.

Click on the image to enlarge.

This is the description and the GPS track that includes the stretch from us to Juviles.
The idea is to come back using the Granada - Bérchules bus, click here for schedules of the ALSA bus services), or arrange a taxi transfer.

profile from El Paraje to Busquístar.

Other documentation on this route PR-A299 can be found on the Spanish website of the  Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Alpujarra Granadina.

The GPS data of the whole route (including the stretch Busquístar - Pórtugos) can be found there

stage 1 Pórtugos   - Busquístar 4,7km, details  and profile

stage 2 Busquístar - Portichuelo de Castaras 4,2 km, details and profile
stage 3 Portichuelode Cástaras - Nieles 5,6 km, details and profile
stage 4 Nieles - Juviles 6,5 km, details and profile

A nice two day round trip suggestion might be:

day 1: Pórtugos or Busquístar to Juviles (or El Paraje) following the Ruta Medieval

day 2: Juviles (or El Paraje) to Trevélez and Busquístar (or Pórtugos) following the GR7

The web Recuerdos de Castaras has a comprehensive article about the oficial spanish leaflet on the Ruta Medieval.

Click here to search accommodation per village.



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Cistus albidus or Grey-leaved Sunrose

In the Alpujarras various types of sunroses can be found like the Cistus clusii and the Halimium atriplicifolium, amongst others. The only kind we have so far seen on our own terrain, is the Grey-leaved Sunrose or Cistus Albidus. In general this Grey-leaved Sunrose has rose-purple flowers, but a white form is found as well. The petals have this special look of crinkled paper which is distinctive of most rockroses. Last week we saw masses of this beautiful bush, native to the Mediterranean, while walking the GR7 between Montenegro and Mecina Bombarón. It was nice to see that the first flowers had come out at an altitude of about 900 metres. Our Casa Rural ´El Paraje´ is situated almost 500 metres higher than this and we think that it might still take at least a month before we will be able to see our own sunroses in flower.




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GR142 online topo guide

We have made a GR142 special with all info we have on the subject. A permanent link to this Gr142 guide post can be found in the righthand column. Writing the special, we came across the GR 142 online topo guide, Senda de la Alpujarras Granadina y Almeriense (ADR Alpujarra - isbn 84-607-3904-X) (without the maps).
We have embedded it so that you can start browsing and reading straight away:



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Chris Stewart and Michael Jacobs at Casa Ana in Ferreirola

This coming Sunday the 27th of March at 17:30 hours Chris Stewart and Michael Jacobs will read from their work at Casa Ana in Ferreirola. Chris Stewart is best known for his book ´Driving over Lemons´ (1999) in which he tells the story of his move to the Alpujarras. ´A Parrot in the Pepper Tree´ (2002) contains more stories from Chris Stewart and his farm El Valero close to Órgiva. In our modest library we have these books in their original version as well as the ones that have been translated into Spanish: ´Entre Limones´ and ´El Loro en el Limonero´ and into Dutch: ´Een optimist in Andalusië´ and ´Een Papegaai in de Peperboom´. In his third book ´The Almond Appreciation Society´ (2006) Chris Stewart introduces his friend and travelling companion Michael Jacobs. This author and art historian has been interested in the hispanic world since childhood and his numerous books include: ´Andalucía´ (1990), ´Between Hopes and Memories: A Spanish Journey´ available in Spanish: ´ Entre esperanzas y recuerdos: un viaje español´ and ´In the Glow of the Phantom Palace: Travels between Granada and Timbuktu´ translated into Spanish: ´De la Alhambra a Tombuctú´. On Sunday Michael Jacobs will read from his book ´The Factory of Light: Life in an Andalucian Village´. This book that centres on Frailes, the Jaenese village where he resides a large part of the year, is also available in Spanish: ´La Fábrica de la Luz: Vida y Milagros en un Pueblo Andaluz´. Chris Stewart will read an extract from an unpublished work about a voyage to Peru. Entrance fee for this literary meeting is 5 euros, call 958 766 270 / 678 298 497 or email info@casa-ana.com for more information.

Related links:
- Chris Stewart in ´Viajeros por Andalucía´ (Programa de Canal Sur)