Sunlit sollitude at the foot of the Sierra Nevada
Tucked in the south of Spain near Granada, Cadiar sits beneath Sierra Nevada’s watchful heights and is just 40 kilometers away from the Costa del Sol. Seeking an Indian summer workaway from Belgium’s gray, I landed a three-week housesit in a secluded cortijo—an old olive farmhouse perched in the hills. Right here you can find the highest peak of the Iberian Peninsula. Mulhacen takes the crown at 3,478 meters high—higher than the Pyrenees—and over 20 other summits breach 3,000 meters. Locals tell me you can ski in the morning and have a beachday in the afternoon in spring, thanks to a wild microclimate: alpine chill up high, Mediterranean warmth below. Two dogs and two cats kept me company in a rolling landscape, once rich with olives, now quiet under a vast, unpolluted sky perfect for spotting the approaching comet Atlas. October surprised me with lingering sun, vibrant sunrises, and sunsets painting the dried-out autumn landscape. Fresh figs and the sweetest pomegranates were everywhere, while fattening olives hinted at the season’s shift. This was my sunlit solitude—a warm, colorful retreat beneath the peaks of the Sierra Nevada.
Mulhacen Summit
