Back to Self: Granada

Journey to Granada and Cordoba.. and journey back to myself

Throughout 2024, a lot was happening, both in the world around me and in my inner world. But if I had to summarize it simply, I would say this: 2024 was the year of anxiety. As someone who normally enjoys spending time with people and meeting new ones, for the first time in my life I felt myself shutting down. I began avoiding people, and in crowded spaces I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of discomfort, like an invisible hand tightening around my throat. In those moments I had to repeat to myself: “You’re breathing. The ground isn’t disappearing beneath your feet. You’re breathing.” I could feel my world getting smaller. I was trapping myself, and with every passing day I recognized the person in the mirror a little less. A new fear appeared as well, that I would limit myself completely, retreat into my comfort zone, and spend my life deprived of different experiences because of the invisible shadow of anxiety. I couldn’t explain it, but I could feel its presence.

Grounding exercises became my best friend that year. And out of fear, a desire was born: to travel alone. The idea was simple, to face myself and prove that I could deal with my own mind. I thought: if I can do that, then I can do anything. I won’t remain trapped inside my own head. Of course, it turned out that this was only one step, not the destination. Because, in the wise words of Miley Cyrus: “There’s always gonna be another mountain, you’re always gonna wanna make it move.” Still, it was a step that was absolutely worth taking.

April 2025. My solo trip finally became reality. The destination: Spain. In the spirit of facing my fears, after landing in Málaga I decided to take a night ride to Granada using BlaBlaCar. I truly believe there are more good people than bad in the world, but caution is still necessary. After reading through all the reviews and photos, my intuition told me the decision was a good one. The driver was Italian and had been living in Granada for years. The passenger in the front seat was Spanish, originally from Granada, but now living and working in the United Kingdom. Most of the conversation happened in Spanish. I didn’t understand much, but it was interesting to follow the tone and context as topics shifted quickly. They made an effort to explain what I should see in Granada. We talked about different regions of Spain, about Italy and Croatia. At one point the conversation turned to El Camino, which both of them warmly recommended. Since we were arriving in Granada late, around one in the morning, they made sure to drop me exactly where I wanted so I wouldn’t have to walk alone at night. (Although I gave them a slightly different hotel location, safety measures, and later called an Uber.) I genuinely enjoyed the ride and the simple beauty of meeting new people.

Granada - Plaza de las Pasiegas

Granada — day one

I woke up not too early, got ready, and stepped outside, only to realize that I had woken up before the rest of the city. It was Sunday. Only a few people were out on the streets, the café had just opened, and the tables were only just being carried outside. The art of slow living. I bought a coffee and a sandwich and sat down on the first sunny bench I could find. Without rushing, I watched the neighborhood slowly waking up, people passing by, greeting each other, clearly knowing one another.

I was sitting close to the cathedral, so after breakfast I went for a walk and started taking photos. The bells reminded me that it was Sunday and gave me an idea: free entry to the cathedral. Since I had arrived at the perfect moment, I stayed for the mass. Honestly, it was an interesting glimpse into Spanish religiosity. The biggest surprise came during the sign of peace. Instead of shaking hands, people hugged and kissed each other on the cheek. I remember thinking: lucky me, I’m sitting alone in this row. And then I watched, slightly surprised, as the married couple in front of me hugged, kissed each other on the cheek, and then turned toward me. My immediate thought: what now? They simply smiled and waved. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Apparently the ritual is reserved for people who came to mass together.

Orange trees everywhere - perfectly blending with the architecture

After the service I continued wandering through the narrow streets, which were now much busier, eventually finding myself in the loudest place in every city, the market, La Alcaicería. For the next hour or two I wandered through those small streets what felt like a million times. Each time something different caught my eye. Everything was colorful, lively, full of people. As the sun moved across the sky, every corner revealed something new under its light. Later I went into the city center for lunch and churros and had to take a break afterwards because I had clearly eaten too much. In the afternoon I continued walking toward Sacromonte and Albayzín, planning to finish the day watching the sunset from the viewpoint of St. Nicholas.

Sacromonte is an old Roma neighborhood where Roma people, together with Muslims, escaped slaves, and others, hid and lived in cave houses during the Spanish Inquisition. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to visit the museum and the original cave homes, but I hope to return someday just for that. It is also one of the places where flamenco was born. In inhumane and incredibly harsh living conditions, a dance emerged. One detail that caught both my attention and my camera was the glass embedded on top of the high stone walls. A friend originally from that area explained that it’s a common sight and serves as protection from thieves, more precisely, so that thieves trying to escape would cut themselves on the glass. Creative.

Broken glass on the stone wall

Eventually I reached the Mirador de San Nicolás viewpoint. It was already full of people, guitars, singing, flamenco dancing. And in front of us was the most breathtaking view: the Alhambra glowing in the golden light of sunset, with the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada rising behind it. The sight actually brought tears to my eyes. I stayed there for a long time, trying to photograph and absorb as much as I could. I left just before the sun completely disappeared, mostly because by then I was freezing. The difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures in Granada at that time of year is surprisingly dramatic.

Alhambra - view from the Mirador de San Nicolás

Alhambra

The second day was reserved for the Alhambra. The Mexican poet Francisco de Icaza once wrote after visiting it: “There is nothing sadder in life than being blind in Granada.” I only understood the weight of those words when I arrived there. Before I try to describe this place, a small disclaimer: there are no words, and no photographs good enough, to truly capture its beauty and grandeur. The Alhambra leaves you speechless. Even now, almost a year later, I still struggle to find the right way to describe it.

What stayed with me most was the thought of human persistence, precision, and craftsmanship, the hands that carved those perfectly symmetrical details, the minds that thought about how light would fall through colored glass, about ceramics, about gardens and acoustics. Everything felt intentional. The irrigation system alone seemed more advanced than what we might even design today. At one point I caught myself wondering: are we truly progressing as a species, or are we simply moving faster and faster toward a wall we will eventually crash into?

I spent at least four hours inside the Alhambra, and even that didn’t feel like enough. But I had to catch a train to Córdoba.

You can read about Córdoba in the next blog post. 😊

And for more photos of Granada and Alhambra, you can visit: Sunchica photography