Main sights

The Alcazaba, a medieval fortress that was begun in the 10th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1522. It includes a triple line of walls, a majestic keep and large gardens. It commands a city quarter with buildings dressed in white colours, of Muslim-age aspect.
Almería air raid shelters, underground galleries for civilian protection during the Spanish Civil War, nowadays, the longest in Europe open for tourists.
The Cathedral has a fortress-like appearance due to its towers, merlons and protected paths, created to defend it from Mediterranean pirates. Originally designated as a mosque, it was later converted into a Christian church, before being destroyed in the 1522 earthquake. In the 16th century it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style, whilst keeping some of its defensive features.
Renaissance church of Santiago, built in 1533, with tower and portal decorated with reliefs.
Chanca, a group of houses carved into rocks.
Castle of San Cristobal, now in ruins. It is connected to the Alcazaba by a line of walls.
Museum of Almería. Includes findings from Prehistoric, Iberic, Roman, Greek ages and Muslim objects, mostly from the Alcazaba.
Paseo de Coches, a modern seaside promenade with gardens and palms.




ROAD Tripping

Having done a load of odd jobs that have been been put off for quite some time due to lack of parts, lack of skills or plain old lack of interest, it was high time to let the hair down ...yeah yeah I know its all gone !

I needed to tire the dog out so he didn't drive everyone else nuts, so he had an early morning beasting - well earlyish , we got up around 10:00 and had a little cycle ride , well he didnt - I did - you know what I mean !

Just as well the sprinklers were on and irrigating the grass on the sea front or Id never have got him back to the boat , funniest thing watching the ginger idiot trying to suck water from a rotating sprinkler system.

Coffee and tostada in this plush sea front cafe before getting Nelly back on board , he looked knackered , excellent , lets get the motor bike out and take a road trip !

So I took a look on line at places to go or see locally , ALCAZABA kept flashing up , it looked the mutts nuts ( no he hasn't got any nuts, like I have no hair) so I jumped on the BMW and took a steady Eddy trip along the back roads to Almeria.

Bloody hell these roads are rough, even with the bike suspension set to soggy, it was still rattling my teeth every pot hole , I was expecting the fairing to fall off any second .

This is Plasticville, the whole area is one BIG green house, producing much of Europes winter vegetables, its also one of the most dry and arid areas of Spain , PLUS they've had a drought for 5 years....dusty isn't the word.

I followed the coastal road and was rewarded with some good scenery, but nothing that took your breath away, the wind was blowing pretty hard and as far as the eye could see there was plastic "tumble weed" everywhere, not a nice sight.

The road to Alcazaba was easy to follow and I parked 20 meters from its entrance - got to love a bike - the entranceway has a little hut, the guy sat there handed me a brochure, I got my wallet out - NO he proclaimed....... "ITS FREE" - I LIKE Alcazaba already.



The scene as you enter this moorish castle took my breath away , the most amazing blossom tree in full bloom (here in Spain's most arid region) and the most vibrant lilac colours I have ever seen, the fallen petals blowing along the ancient cobbles , the picture simply doesn't capture the spectacle.







The grounds of the castle are simply stunning and a DO NOT MISS place to visit if you are in the locality, if you have no interest in architecture, just the history of this place will blow your socks off ?





I wandered around here for a couple of hours,( Ill let the pictures speak for them selves ) before getting back onto the bike and heading home, there is a lot more in Almeria but I have limited time today , I think I will head back here in a few days time.



UPDATE: Aparently the Alcazaba (castle) in Grenada is far superior in size to the one in Almeria, so maybe I take a look at getting there and doing an Alcazaba comparison test ... anyone interested ?