Spring has finally arrived this week, just in time for Semana Santa and the Lecrin Valley will be bursting with sunshine, flowers and Easter parades!
February and March have been atypical weather – much colder then usual, because of #beastfromtheeast, the cold Siberian weather everyone in Europe has been experiencing. What the beast has brought in abundance however, is water!
Yes, we’ve had weeks if rain, and to be honest, it’s been a blessing. In the valley, the reservoirs have been topped up nicely, so the farmers are happy and up in the ski resort, they’ve had meters of fresh snow and the ski slopes will now stay open until May 6th!
Oranges have been harvested with a small delay, and the Ayuntamientos have allowed an extension of bonfire season to the end of April, for everyone with a licence, so that we can clear away all the winter dead wood and leaves.
Now, finally we will get our sunshine back! With all this water, spring in the Lecrin Valley will be even prettier than ever, with lots of wild flowers you can already see amazing shades of green everywhere.
From today (Tuesday 27th March) onwards, temperatures are set to rise above 20C again.
This weekend was the annual Fiesta de los Naranjos or orange festival in Melegis and now Semana Santa is in full swing, with with all the colourful processions and other Holy Week activity.
Most of the villages have an Easter procession of some sort, but for the really big ones it’s definitely worth going up to Granada. Molly’s Piccavey Blog has all the info you need to do Semana Santa like a local… https://www.piccavey.com/semana-santa-easter-spain/.
However, if you want to avoid the crowds, then Semana Santa in Padul is always recommended and its procession is really good and goes on for ages. Watch along the route with ease or park yourself in one of the cafes by the starting point and enjoy drinks and tapas with a view!
The main procession in Padul is Friday evening, and starts around 20.30.
Happy Easter everyone!
Lecrin Valley Team xx