Malaga, Granada, and Flash Fiction Retreat in Andalucian mountains

 

I am so fortunate to have been able to travel to Spain (and soon to Iceland). This is my first extended travel experience since the pandemic began in early 2020. My friend Karen Matthews and I spend a few nights in Malaga and Granada offering us warm weather, the history and architecture of the Al-Andalus period when Muslims ruled the Iberian peninsula. The Alhambra was spectacular and I was glad we went early as it was crowded. We wore our masks in the inner rooms, but not everyone did. The heat was also bearable (Karen likes it).

The layers of mosaics, stone and wood carvings, courtyards, fountains and calligraphy make it one of the most spectacular marvels of antiguity with mystery and grace I cannot begin to explain. I will plan to read about its history and the craft involved in these designs when I get back home.

Now I am fortunate to be at House of Light retreat center in a tiny village near Orgiva, in the mountains. Taking a flash fiction workshop with two well-published and experienced teachers in this form, Nancy Stolman and Kathy Fish (no relation to me althought one of my cousin's wives has the same name.) So far, the prompts and discussions have pushed me out of my comfort zone in terms of what I am writing in the short prose form.

More to come on the workshop and the other writers and this gorgeous terrain.

Carataunas, Spain