In Almería: Day 1

March 25, 2024

A hit and miss sort of day: some good, some just OK, some perplexing. We began with the happy news that the modest bit of rain expected for today has fallen off the forecast; and with the winds projected to be not as severe as the days ahead, we each plan on a substantial outing for ourselves. I draw up a 35 mile bike ride west along to the coast to a promising birding site and back, and Rachael finds a loop into the hills on Kormoot that looked attractive to her. she also finds a nearby restaurant that takes reservations, and books us for a 2:30 lunch. So the day’s plan is set: hike and bike in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and then go witness one of the day’s two Semana Santa processions in the evening.

And then I go down to our hotel’s cafeteria to have breakfast because I’m self-indulgent, while Rachael eats hers in the room because she isn’t. When I get back, Rachael announces that the forecast had changed while I was out, and now rains are predicted to start any minute and continue until about nine.

So we shelve the original bike/ride plan for another day because there’s not enough time now unless we want to go out in the wind and rain, which we don’t. We think up more modest plans for ourselves, and wait.

And wait, because the rain keeps moving out. Now it’s due to end at eleven, now noon. So the plan changes again. Rachael decides she’ll go to the nearby laundromat instead and do the laundry, and other than that we just hang out in our room until lunchtime.

Lunch goes just as planned, and we have a satisfying meal just yards from our room at the same place we’ve booked ourselves for Easter dinner.

Rachael wonders why I’m taking a photo of our two empty water glasses. Maybe you do too.

There’s no question about why I’m taking a shot of our appetizer though, a tower of eggplant, goat cheese and honey.

I was surprised by this sculpture in the plaza in front of our hotel. It’s John Lennon, honoring the time he lived in Almeria almost sixty years ago. He allegedly wrote Strawberry Fields, Forever while he lived here.

After lunch we went our own way for the afternoon. Rachael wandered around town for awhile, went to the pharmacy to get a brace for her hand that has been bothering her lately, and eventually landed back in the room for the balance of the afternoon.

I hopped on my bike, once I retrieved it from the basement garage. It’s a slow process, one I can look forward to every time I want to take the bike out our return it. First, go to the front desk and ask for assistance; then walk to the garage elevator with the concierge, and ride it very slowly down two levels to the garage; then get back in the elevator with the bike for the ride up.

I’ve got a very easy ride in mind: three miles along the waterfront back east to the small delta at the mouth of the also small Andarax River, because it’s the place that looks like the most promising close-in birding spot. I enjoy the ride down the waterfront, which is a much quieter scene today than when we biked in.

As it turns out, the Andarax delta is a pretty crappy destination today at least, birding-wise. I spend about fifteen minutes biking out the short unpaved trails to the end of the delta, and see a grand total of exactly one bird - a yellow-legged gull. Oh, well - it was nice seeing the waterfront I think, and start back toward our hotel. But then I see there’s a different bike path branching up the Andarax and decide to follow it a ways just to see what it’s like.

What it’s like is that it’s pretty attractive - a nice path, and one that branches off through the long, narrow park I’m following. And when I come back through the park it turns out that it’s a pretty fair birding spot too. I see my first monk parakeets of the year, and my first willow warbler ever. And a hoopoe; and then another; and then two more. Four hoopoes! Hoopee!

Hoopoe! One of four I saw along this stretch.

This is a pretty area, worth more than one exploration.

Two new birds, and a hoopoe that stands still long enough that I can get a shot of it for a change. On that happy note, I head back along the waterfront and to our hotel, where I have a snack dinner while Rachael and I wait until it’s time to go watch another procession.

Today’s Procession

Two processions are on tap for this evening according to our program: Pasion, which begins at six and finally arrives at the cathedral three hours later; and Gran Poder, which begins at seven,takes four hours to reach the cathedral, and doesn’t make it back to its starting point until 1:30. That’s six and a half hours for those poor folks.

We’re not staying up until 1:30, that’s for sure. We decide we’ll just pick up the first one, and time ourselves so that we’ll get to the cathedral maybe twenty or something minutes before the procession arrives. Cathedral Plaza is still pretty quiet we arrive at the cathedral at about 8:30, which is surprising.

Not much happening by the cathedral yet.

I remember this clock tower as soon as I hear it ring out the hour. We stayed in the Cathedral Hotel, directly behind us in this photo, the first time we were here. The bells ring out loudly every quarter hour throughout most of the night.

While we wait I’m surprised to see that folks are entering the cathedral, so it’s apparently open for viewing at the moment. So we go in too, and are suitably awed to be able to see up close the set of huge, intricately detailed pasos parked inside.

There’s still not much going on when we leave the cathedral. It’s nearly time for the procession to arrive, but it feels silly to stand around in the cold and wind just to claim a good viewing spot so we start walking down the direction the procession is due to arrive from. We get as far as Virgin del Mar Plaza, where we see some folks lining up apparently waiting for the show to begin.

The procession is due any minute according to the schedule.

So we head back up to the cathedral, encouraged by the fact that there’s much more activity afoot now. When we get to the square we pick a spot with a good view, and wait - along with a good number of other folks, many of them sitting in the box seats that presumably you have to buy your way into.

And we wait, maybe for another twenty minutes. It’s getting cold, and I’m starting to wish I’d brought another layer. And then it starts to rain, umbrellas start popping open, and folks that can crowd under overhangs to keep dry. And then the crowd begins dissipating. Folks start leaving, and so do we.

Today's ride: 10 miles (16 km)
Total: 401 miles (645 km)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesWe are in bed but listening for the first passos to approach-oh here comes the first boom boom boom of the drums. Gotta step out on the balconey to watch it!
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