My approach to Granada was cut short when on the highway after a longer stretch of 120km/h the engine cut out again. Luckily the engine kindly announces that it will lock up within the next second  because before it does it completely loses all power. Only a second later it goes out. So I hit the clutch again, switched on the hazard lights and rolled to the hard shoulder.

Earlier in a post I complained a bit about drivers in Spanish cities but in general I was very pleasantly surprised about people on the highways. Nobody seems to be speeding even when they are almost alone on the highways. And they always switch on the hazards when there is any sight of danger or a jam. Especially the trucks often use the hazard lights when they are slowly crawling up a hill on the highway or going down. And most people got onto the lane farthest away from me making me feel safer despite having stopped facing the sun – in a left turn – on the peak of an incline.

Periodically I poured a lid full of water from a water bottle onto the engine to see how quickly it would evaporate.

At first it was instant. But when it was down to four seconds before it started to disappear I decided to get back on the road. The engine seemed cool enough to take another few dozens of kilometers, which it was.

It was and I reached Granada in the evening just as planed.

The landscape had changed drastically in just an hour. All of a sudden there were trees once again.

Wild camping would be getting easier again from here on.

Though in Granada I wanted to stay a longer than just one day so in order to not have to set up and pack my tent a few times in the same spot every day and get into the city from outside with all my things I decided to stay at a hostel.

Arriving in Granada I rode through the little lanes searching for the hostel I had found on the Hostelworld app.

The people at the hostel were really nice and at the end of my stay I didn’t want to leave the town. I had planed to stay for two days but if I recall correctly I stayed for four.

We ended up being a group of six people exploring Granada together.

From left to right: Amy (Australia), Asia (Poland), me, Pakorn (Thailand) later we were joined by Eyve (Switzerland) and Sofia (Mexico)

One of the most impressive places we visited was the Alcazaba, a medieval Muslim fortress decorated with incredible detail.

(Unfortunately I can’t rotate the photo at the moment.)

The view from up there was fantastic.

All kinds of citrus trees were scattered around the city and all over the south of Spain for that matter.

On one of the many free walking tours which you can attend all over Europe in touristy cities we learned about the (Muslim) history of Granada.

At a particular point in Granadas history all mosques were either destroyed or turned into churches. Not the case however with the cathedral of Granada.

The next morning my tent was covered with dew and because I didn’t want to pack a wet tent I waited until the sun came out to quickly dry it up and immediately turn the tent into a greenhouse forcing me out.

Today I was going to visit the last of the three western towns of the Tabernas Desert.

This one was going to be special. It was supposed to feature the main shooting location of what is said to be the best western movie of all time. The farm house of “Once upon in the west”. Another one of Sergio Leones masterpieces.

Finding the this last town was a bit more tricky because it was not signposted. Spending a bit of money on advertising wouldn’t be a bad idea. Although it seems to me that only people who plan a visit there and actively search for these places will come go there.

I did find the place and after purchasing a ticket at the entrance from a man who did not hide the fact that I was an inconvenience to his quiet day sitting in his booth I parked the bike in front of the gates.

“No Ingles, no credit card”

And with a calm voice he slowly but firmly -showing and incredible routine- uttered the words “Henry Fonda”  ——— “Claudia Cardinale” while slowly yet firmly pointing at the completely bleached photos behind him of the two Hollywood Stars of times long past. (They were part of the main cast of “Once upon a time in the west” shooting many scenes at this location.)

The first thing you see when you enter the palisades enclosed village is what you are looking for visiting this place. Bett McBains farm. The poor farmer who is about to get married but ends up dying along with is family at the hands of the villain – Frank (Henry Fonda).

On the outside the building is largely kept in it’s original state except for a few elements missing here and there and a new roof.

There really wasn’t much to see in this place other than the farm house but it was exactly what I was after. Another little part of big movie history.

The final scene. The duel that defined the word duel for all future movies to come. Henry Fonda facing off the hero “Harmonica”, Charles Bronson.

Like at the other villages this one was subject to constant alterations to suit different productions. In this instance the wall was removed and other buildings and a well added.

I spent a good three hours at this place before I decided to say goodbye to this mecca of the Spaghetti Western genre.

Before I left the Tabernas desert for good I wanted to explore a few gravel tracks leading into the heart of the desert.

 

On my way back I stopped one last time to capture the surreal European landscape.

By chance I took this photo opposite from where Monco and his horse are facing in a scene in “For a few dollars more”.

You can see the same road on my photo in the left lower corner.

It was time to keep going. My next stop would be Granada and I wanted to reach the medieval city which used to be of great importance many centuries ago before the end of the day. Not before a little detour though.

I got onto the highway aiming for Granada knowing that right on my rout there would be one last bit of western movie history I didn’t want to miss. It was the location of the train station of the opening sequence of “Once upon a time in the west” and the location of “Sweetwater”, the town with a railway station that Brett McBain wanted to found but didn’t get a chance to.

I reached the first location after an hour. It was great having found such a specific location in the middle of nowhere but it was a bit underwhelming. There is nothing left of the iconic train station. Only the mountains in the background and the still remaining earth deposit of the train tracks gives a hint that this is where the iconic opening scene of “Once upon a time in the west” was shot.

Filming one of the shots – (Sergio Leone with his hands on his back)

The very last western movie location on my Spain trip was the town in which “Misses McBain” (Claudia Cardinale) arrives before finding her husband to be dead on his farm.

In its place today, a farm. Again you can see the same mountain in the background.

Not knowing it I had stopped at a place which was actually two film sets in one location. I just had to turn my head to my right. Another train station. Featured in “The good the bad and the ugly” in “Once upon a time in the west” and I think also one of the original Django movies and last but not least one of my favorite movies “My name is Nobody”. I looked at the station and thought it looked oddly familiar but since I hadn’t read anything about it I disregarded it after taking a photo just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.

Only later I realized that in fact it was a much used location. I even saw photos of a graffiti on the main buildings walls that reads “viva Leone”.

Here is the station in “The good the bad and the ugly” …

… and from the opposite direction in “Once upon a time in the west”.

These final locations conclude my Spaghetti Western movie history hunt. I got back onto the bike and back onto the highway. Up next was Granada.