The junk yard outside Granada

He wasn’t humming to himself or softly strumming his guitar, but Fernando – owner of a reclamation junk yard near Granada – can sure talk the hind legs off a donkey. There may even have been one tethered to his ramshackle ‘office’, complete with woodworking tools, varnishes and steel wool. A few elderly men whose bodies had seen better days hung around the place sipping wine and enjoying the sun, passing the time surrounded by elaborate iron rejas (window security bars), tiles, marble columns and children’s tin cars. Spanish – or perhaps Greek – gods in a blue-sky fun fair.

A friend who lives off-grid in the middle of nowhere told us about this place. A verbal ‘map’ like in the film The Beach that only a few know about but whose treasure await those looking for such stuff. Actually it was quite easy to find on the road from Alhendín to Granada.

We bought a marble slab with a bowl carved out to use as part of a fountain. It was so heavy we laughed and cried simultaneously as it was lifted into the car. How could something that size weight so much? It was possibly heavier than the car. Another purchase, a table, partly collapsed while ramming it into the boot. Next time we buy a dozen eggs we’ll punch a few to repeat the feeling.

Fernando threw in a couple of tiles having no doubt felt guilty about ripping us off. The old men waved their walking sticks at us as we left. We will return, possibly to buy a large, grinning kangaroo with a peseta slot.

Related posts:

Granada junk shops

A camel stop in the Lecrin valley

A special shop and an old tile

© con jamón spain