18th February - Sierra Nevada

Woke to a bright start but it didn't look like it would last so we packed up the van and headed out for the day.
At home I had read of a number of places worth visiting , one of these was Granada and the Sierra Nevada. My good old fashioned and trusted road map book of Europe shows a circular route through the area , highlighted as being scenic so we set off in search.
As it was already midmorning we took the quicker route on the A7, hugging the coastline it was pretty in parts.The sun had come out and the day was warming up as we got off the A7 at Motril, picked up bread and supplies for lunch before heading up the A44 in  the direction of Granada before turning of onto the A348. The road had climbed steadily since leaving the A7 and we could see snow on the top of the mountain peaks, it's strange but we passed Almond trees in full bloom,  cactus and wild flowers and at the same time looking at snow capped mountains.
We stopped for fuel at Ogiva a small town before leaving the main road behind and taking the A4132 , a much narrower mountain route to Pampaneria.
It was getting much higher and with almost shear drops with out guard rails  it was getting to be an Interesting drive !
We pulled in to take in the views and get the camera out. Photos just cant show the expanse of the place or the beautifull colours of the hills and mountains bathed in the afternoon sun. Realising the time and as we had stopped in such a great spot we stayed put for an hour and had a late lunch.
The road became steeper with hairpins galore, it had me wishing I was on the bike but in reality it wouldn't be much fun,  the temperature was droping even though the sun was full out.
We pulled into Pampaneria at 16.00 and spent an hour or so woundering around taking photos and checking out the gift shops. The village was so pretty, white washed houses clinging to the mountain side each with displays of Geraniums in pots hanging from balconies in full flower. Small brooks burbled down the centre of some of the narrow streets and made for some great photos.
After buying  souvenirs including a new rug for the van we set off again on the same mountain road heading for Cadiar. We passed through Trevelez , the satnav telling us we had reached the highest spot of the route with the summit of Mulhacen ( 3479 m ) in the background . The sun was starting to get low in the sky now but it didn't stop us from parking up and building a snowman at the side of the road !
The route took us through Berja as the sun set over the distant mountains, we grabbed more photos.
Night fell and thankfully we didnt have far to travel on the mountain road before joining the A7 back to the campsite.
We pulled up at 21.30 had a mug of tea then bed.
It was a great day out, definitely the best day sightseeing of the trip and I would recommend a visit if your ever in the area.