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Stone Villages of Salamanca: Charming villages dot the hillsides of Sierra de Francia. All share the traditional stone and timber construction, flowered balconies and cobbled streets, but each village has its own personality. We have two days to explore this area, walking easy forest trails between the villages, discovering the delights of  traditional paths, two now with fun surprises along the way. Non walkers can relax in our home village, or accompany the bus to visit other towns. Guided visit of Salamanca city also included.

Itinerary: Depending on makeup of group, may flip day 2+3 to facilitate logistics and make best trip possible for everyone. Day 1: Depart Madrid fairly early - probably 9am. Stop in Salamanca, free time to visit the city, lunch and do a group tour with an official guide of the two Cathedrals (old, and new side by side!) and the University, one of the oldest in Europe. (suggestions available for restaurants and things to see not on our guided tour). Afterwards continue south to the Stone Villages. Free time in the evening to settle in and explore our village before dinner.  Day 2: Short bus transfer and hike a very special trail, "mostly down" (ascent at the end) and discovering surprises along the way. End in a stone village with an excellent bakery that does great bread and country-style cookies, just the thing to bring back to Madrid, if you can resist until your return!(not slimming but who cares?) Explore this new  village, with a charming old stone bullring and a "recycled" castle. Have lunch and hop on the bus to ascend a nearby peak with a wonderful view over the area, complete with a lookout compass pointing towards different villages. Learn about this area's Patron Virgin and the local name, visit the church and nearby grotto before returning to our hotel. Free time in afternoon / evening to shop for souvenirs (lots of shops!) or for cheese, sausage, honey-almond turron or people watch in the square.    Day 3: Walk from the front door of our hotel through the village then a forest of oak and chestnut to a country chapel made of stone, in a pretty glade.  Continue to another stone village, partly along a waterway; just before reaching the village there's a lookout where we can play "name that village". People who are tired can jump on the bus in this town, while the rest of us continue along another nice trail (with more surprises!!) to yet another stone village. Some time to explore and have lunch before getting on the bus to return to Madrid, with lots of memories of Salamanca's Stone Villages.

Highlights: Tour of Salamanca with a local guide, who will unlock some of the mysteries of this pretty city. Walking the Magic trail and Water trail. Odd construction of stone chapel. Cookies at special bakery. View from the highest peak in the area.  Settling into our village and discovering its traditions and exploring its cobbled streets (maybe we'll see the resident pig). We can also visit the natural park visitors' center, ethnographic musuems, and for the curious, hunt out the daily local tradition at dusk.

Stone-and-timber house typical of these villages
Discovering the magic trail...
One of the stone villages
Easy trail lined by stone walls
Stone chapel in an oak forest
Stone bullring - without the bull.
Dates:  best early fall and spring-early summer

Group:  maximum 23 people

Children:    please check

Price: 

Payment:

What's included:

Hotel: Three-star rural hotel about 5 minutes from the main square of a  charming village.

Shopping: Cheese, ham, sausage, lomo, honey, honey "turron", typical silver jewelry, embroidery, baskets, ceramics.....

Walks: Both walks are optional, can stay in villages or with the bus if you prefer not to walk (Sunday non-walkers must be with the bus as we will not return to our village after our walk). Walks are on mostly good trails through forest with some rocky parts. One walk is about 10kms / 6 mi and has a bus pickup partway through, other under 7kms, no bus pickup, has a short but steep hill at the end. Both have beautiful scenery (woods and streams), both days have some surprises along the way....  

Local resident on his day off
On the "Magic Trail"
 
Las Alpujarras: Come explore white villages in the Alpujarras! Southeast of Granada, this low range of mountains has pretty good weather year-round, and a number of charming villages with opportunities to buy crafts or just relax....  not to mention two part-day cooking classes and options walking or other activities. Click HERE for photos of guest house and read on to learn more....  

Itinerary: Day 1: Meet in Granada late morning. Lunch at a restaurant-deli, where we'll have an introduction to Andalusian food with a local expert, sampling olive oil, cheeses, cold meats, wines and more. Afternoon in Granada (activity to be confirmed, maybe the Alhambra, maybe a walking tour of old quarter). Transfer to the village by private bus, about 75 minutes. Dinner at the guest house. Day 2: Morning cooking class with English chef from a restaurant in a nearby village, followed by lunch. Theme of cooking classes to be determined, but this chef likes to use local ingredients in imaginative ways. Afternoon is for activities in or near the village: relaxing, walking, or painting / drawing classes (extra charge, varies on number of participants). Dinner at the guest house. Day 3: Cultural tour of "white villages" in this area, opportunity to see local culture, buy handcrafts, try wine at a local producer. Lunch at the guest house. Afternoon cooking class with same chef as previous day. Dinner at the guest house. Day 4: Morning return to Granada by private bus, stopping for about three hours at Lanjaron spa, famous for its crystalline waters. Entry fee for spa and for optional massage: if you prefer not to participate in spa visit, there are walks from the village (www.balneariodelanjaron.com).  Continue to Granada, arriving mid-afternoon.

Highlights: Intro to Andalusian cuisine and  cooking classes with local experts. Small-group experience exploring a relatively unknown part of Spain. Nice guest house run by an expat woman. Flexibility of afternoon day 2 to do what you prefer. If nature does its usual thing, the almond trees will be blossoming in February. Option for ending the trip with a visit to a spa.

Weather: The Alpujarras are sheltered on the north by the Sierra Nevada, a high mountain range that protects these lower mountains from most of the rain and cold. February is usually sunny and pleasant, though you will need something warm for evenings and nights. 

 
Street scene in the white villages
Where it all starts..
White village scene
Almond tree walk
Dates: Group:  Minimum 7, maximum 10 or 12 depending on group makeup (couples? family? or all individuals?)

Price:  Depending on group size:    7-8 people: 545 euros / 9-12 people: 495 euros.

What's included: 3 nights at guest house, 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners, 4 lunches (one picnic), transportation from Granada to village and return, 1 half-day excursion visiting villages (sampling wine at one village, opportunities to buy crafts), 2 half-day cooking classes.

Guesthouse(s): Rooms are in main house or in renovated outbuildings around a courtyard. Most rooms are doubles, two singles and 1 triple suitable for a family (double bed + single, will be used as double if no family). Single rooms share bath with doubles - maximim 3 people per bathroom in those cases. If group is large, 2 people may be at second guest house minutes from the first one.

Options: Half-days: painting class: 1-2 people,  extra cost 18 euros/person and hour. 3+ people, extra cost 14,50 euros / person and hour. Spa visit (Lanjaron) entry ticket is now 32 euros, half-hour massage is 28 euros. If you want to participate in these activities, please advise upon signup. 

White village scene
Transportation options to Granada: By train: Schedules are not posted for 2009 yet but will probably be similar to 2008: four trains most days in both directions, Altaria or Talgo fast trains (not bullet), taking about 4 1/2 hours. See www.renfe.es  By bus:  Alsa has lots of departures for Granada, including some "Supra" class buses, taking about 4-5 hours. Bus is considerably less expensive than the train.  See www.alsa.es  By plane: Granada does have an airport, but as schedules vary so widely (as do fares) and considering the additional time required for getting to Madrid airport, check-in, collecting luggage and getting into Granada, flying might not be the best option for this distance. Driving  Mon-Thurs date was chosen to allow you the option of spending the previous weekend in Granada, Cordoba or Sevilla before or after this trip - maybe that's your best choice for at least one direction of Madrid - Granada!
 

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