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Spain 2025 - Malaga province
  • Elaine and Ned
  • Elaine and Ned

Spain 2025 - Malaga province

Three areas in the province of Malaga, walking from village to village:
1. GR 92 - Senda Litoral - Malaga to La Duquesa (blue pins)
2. Gran Senda de Malaga - Casares to Ojén (red pins)
3. P.N. Sierra de las Nieves - Monda to Alozaina (orange pins) Read more
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  • Trip start
    March 2, 2025
    Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    One of the two pedestrian bridges that make it possible to walk directly from the airport to Málaga.113

    Malaga Airport to Guadalmar

    March 2, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    What a magnificent first day in Spain! Our goal was to walk directly from the airport without taking any other sort of transportation to our starting point, and we did it! Our route took us through the Guadalhorce Parque Natural where the strong winds across the Mediterranean from Africa gave an adventurous thrill to the river delta. We waded through flowers and birdsong. To top it all off, when we reached the hotel, they gave us a room with a front-row view of the crashing surf. Tomorrow, we start off on the GR 92, the senda litoral.

    Trail link: https://www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/churrian… (Churriana - Puente Guadalhorce - Puente sobre el Río Guadalhorce - Guadalmar)    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    4
    1Paseo marítimo2Donald Gray house1

    Guadalmar to Torremolinos

    March 3, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    In spite of waking up to a weather forecast of strong winds and heavy rain with possible flooding for the next seven days, we were actually able to make all of today’s walk without getting a bit wet. We started out just after 6 AM in an attempt to beat the rain. As the sun rose, we could see rain falling in the mountains above us, but the costa litoral remained dry. It was actually quite exciting to walk close to the surf accompanied by the roar of the same wild winds as yesterday.

    One of our goals in walking this section of the coastal path is to see the urbanizations built by the architect Donald Gray. In the 1960s, he designed four urbanizations in this area to preserve elements of traditional Andalusian architecture. One of them, Lomas de Marbella, has a house available for weekly rental, so we are using it as a base for this week. More on that in days to come.

    Wikiloc trail link: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/guadalmar…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Final tower in a tramway that transported iron ore to waiting shipsTorre Vijía Río Real

    Marbella to Torre Vigía Río Real

    March 4, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Today was our first chance to try out our plan for using local buses to ferry us back to our casa rural in Marbella after walking a stretch of the coastal path. Luckily, Google Maps shows the location of all the bus stops that are near the coastal path as well as the number of the bus that travels that route and the fare. So it turned out to be pretty easy to leave from our house this morning, walk a portion of the coastal path from one end of Marbella to the other, continue along a boardwalk through a wilder part of the coast, and then catch a bus back to Marbella. Tomorrow we will use a bus to get back to the point where we left off, and start walking from there.

    One of the things we’ve been looking forward to seeing is the series of torres vigías (watchtowers) along this stretch of coast. Today we had an up-close view of Torre Vigía Río Real, built in 1571 and used as part of the coastal system of surveillance to warn of pirates or attackers.

    The sea was much calmer today, so the coastal path was well used. We met plenty of other walkers, joggers, and cyclists. There were even kayakers out on the sea.

    Wikiloc link: https://www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/nueva-an…?    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Our plaza

    A slight bump in the road

    March 5, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    In spite of the wind and rain, we were looking forward to exploring the Dunas de Artola natural area today. However, my slip on some wet rocks meant a quick trip to Hospital Ochoa instead. The staff in the emergency clinic were wonderfully kind and efficient. An x-ray showed no broken bones in my wrist, but a cut under my chin that I had not even noticed needed a few stitches. With Ned’s patient help, the wrist sprain will heal up quickly and soon we will be back on track. In the meantime, we’ll continue to enjoy our beautiful little spot here in the Donald Gray urbanization.Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    1

    Las Lomas de Marbella

    March 6, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    If someone had told me a year ago that I could enjoy staying in Marbella, I would not have believed them. The parts of Spain that I love are its rural areas and mountain villages. However, here we are, enjoying immensely our stay in this special place. I’m clearly not going anywhere today (many thanks for your well-wishes yesterday), so it’s a good time to write a little bit about Las Lomas de Marbella.

    The architect Donald Gray designed four “villages within cities” on the Costa del Sol. His goal was to create an alternative to the ubiquitous concrete apartment-block expansion that was taking place during the Franco years. He began Las Lomas in 1973, and continued to work on it until 1984.

    Gray wanted to create a community where you could walk out your door in the morning and feel glad to be alive. He drew upon the lessons he learned from living in the small mountain villages of the Alpujarra. The streets here are narrow and winding, more like paths than thoroughfares. No cars are allowed within the urbanization. They are parked at the edges, and residents walk to their homes through a variety of small plazas and gardens. Buildings and greenery frame peaceful corners of such beauty that it is a visual treat for us to walk back and forth to our house each day. Being able to sit at the table on our patio and not hear a single car is pure bliss!

    Video interview with Donald Gray: https://culturasconstructivas.org/en/initiative…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    La Concha
    Puerto BanusI guess we won't be renting a yacht today...Backpack straps make a substitute slingTorre vigíaLa Concha is still visible at the end of the day.

    Puerto Banus to Marbella

    March 7, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We woke up to blue sky this morning! For about an hour, we had a clear view of La Concha from our patio. In two weeks, we will be close to the many tracks up the mountain, but for today, just seeing it was a delight.

    After a quick trip back to the hospital for the two-day check of my stitches that the doctor had requested, we took the bus to Puerto Banus and walked back to Marbella. The straps on the 2.5 ounce daypack I threw in at the last moment served a double purpose today, functioning quite adequately as a sling.

    The coastal path was full of walkers, cyclists, and dogs chasing balls, all relieved to have a day without rain. At one point, we saw heavy machinery clearing away debris at the mouth of one of the rivers that rushes down from the mountains and empties into the Mediterranean. Lots more rain is forecast, so I bet that task will be repeated for many days to come!

    Wikiloc: www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/playa-duque-marb…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    The trillo under the glass tabletop
    1Small stones embedded in the boardsAiring pattern on all the cupboardsShutters and...balustrades

    Still raining

    March 8, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

    Area news reports say that local beaches have lost 20% of their sand in the recent storms. Walkways along the GR 92 have been damaged, and invasive algae has been dumped on the shore. (But the reservoirs are filling! Yay!) We have lightweight hiking umbrellas that we can attach to our packs, but the high winds would certainly turn them inside out today. Combined with the doctor’s orders to keep my chin stitches dry, today is a good day to enjoy the inside of our casa.

    Our house would feel right at home in any Andalusian village. It has typical architectural elements such as arched entries, a fireplace, sensibly compact rooms, shutters on the windows, wooden balustrades, ventilated cupboards, and tile floors. Some of these elements were constructed at Gray’s Taller Workshop School of Lebrija where artisans taught the next generation old skills.

    Our favorite item at the house is the dining table. It has a flat sheet of glass covering a curved “trillo”. This was a wooden implement shaped sort of like a small toboggan with its front end curving upward. It was used for threshing. Animals pulled it over grain strewn on the stones of an “era”, a circular threshing floor created with paving stones. The trillo had small sharp flints embedded in its boards that cut the grain, thus freeing the seeds. It’s been wonderful to see this implement close up at every meal and to contemplate what a tremendous amount of work had to go into producing the flour for bread and cereal only a few decades ago.    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Tie-rods reinforcing the barrierThe Rock of Gibraltar appears for the first time.La Concha is briefly visible!

    To the Villa Romana de Río Verde & back

    March 9, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

    A few minutes of sunshine between thunderstorms gave us a chance to see dramatic surf crashing on the beaches of the Mediterranean today. This stretch of the coastal path includes some heavily reinforced barriers against the power of the sea. Iron rods tie rocks together and wooden walkways rise above areas where the beach no longer exists. There were a surprising number of people out on the trail, armed with umbrellas of all sizes. We envied the people with the huge double tiered ones. Or better yet, the many babies in their fancy strollers with wrap-around rain shields.

    The second century Roman villa is only open limited hours, but we knew this ahead of time, and also knew we would be able to see its well-preserved mosaics showing kitchen implements through the fencing that surrounds the site. This villa was part of a larger community that probably included a garam factory for sending the prized fish sauce to other parts of the empire. The large number of murex (muricadie) shells found here indicates that purple dye was also produced nearby.

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/roman-villa-marb…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    1

    Last day in Marbella

    March 10, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 52 °F

    Luckily, it looks like there might be a few hours without heavy rain tomorrow. Rain or shine, we will be moving on along the coastal path in an easterly direction heading eventually for the inland village of Casares, the spot where we left off the Gran Senda de Malaga several years ago. Our plan is to pick up the GSDM at this spot again.

    In spite of the storms, or maybe even because of them, we’ve had a great week in our Donald Gray house. It’s been especially nice to stay in a community that has no cars or traffic. We’ve also learned to look for some of the specific details of vernacular architecture that Donald Gray mentions in the three books he wrote about villages in the Alpujarra. I first ran across them several years ago when I was researching tracks and trails in the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Granada. The books are a beautiful way to learn about everything from adarves to tinaos. At the end of each book, Gray gives a guide for avoiding the most common errors in the renovation of vernacular architecture, illustrating features that are typical of the vernacular architecture of that area contrasted side-by-side with examples of features that violate the vernacular. All three books, with their evocative watercolor illustrations, are available free online.

    www.alpujarragranada.com/wp-content/uploads/201…

    www.alpujarragranada.com/wp-content/uploads/201…

    www.alpujarragranada.com/wp-content/uploads/201…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Breakwater- one of several in a row
    Sunshine!1Blue skies!Torre vigíaThe sign said Roman bóvedaPlenty of wind to keep these on displayHmm...

    Puerto Banús to Atalaya

    March 11, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    What a marvelous morning we had. We felt like real walkers! It was just the kind of day one would wish for, especially someone who had an injured wrist and hadn’t been able to walk for a week. The coastal path was flooded with sunshine. It was easy to walk on the basically flat, sandy surface. The views were magnificent, and all the people we passed had smiles on their faces.

    The first part of the track out of Puerto Banús was particularly interesting with numerous breakwaters curving out into the sea. We are guessing that they are there to preserve the beaches from losing all their sand to storm damage.

    We stopped partway along to have something cool to drink, and within 10 minutes, everything changed. The sky went from blue to black, the wind picked up, and to top it all off, the coastal path disappeared. What had been a wide, level esplanade became jumbled boulders with surf crashing over them. We don’t know if this was due to recent storm damage or has been like this for a while. In any case, we peered at the maps on our phones, trying to shield them with our umbrellas, and debating whether the bridges over storm- swollen rivers would still be there if we managed to reach them along the beach. We ended up picking out a route that would take us through urbanizations, over a river about three times its normal size, and then eventually back to the coast.

    All in all, I would say it was a very successful day. I was able to carry my own pack in spite of the wrist problems because Ned kindly carried ALL of the heavy stuff. The biggest problem was that every time I saw a slope I had to walk down, my mind started to race, I got dizzy, and I pictured falling. I think it will take a few days before I feel confident again. Luckily, this is a route where we can just amble along at a slow, comfortable pace. We are staying overnight in an area called Atalaya, and will walk to Estepona tomorrow.

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/playa-duque-marb…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Torre de Baños catching the early morning light
    11Invasive algae brought in by the recent stormsTorre de Guadalmansa1

    Atalaya to Estepona

    March 12, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    Today was just as interesting for what was NOT showing on our maps as it was for what WAS showing. We expected to see the three gorgeous torres de vigía that were shown along our Wikiloc route (complete with historical notes compiled by a local walker), and we also expected to have to make wide detours in order to be able to cross rivers too swollen from two weeks of storms to cross at the seaside. But to our delight, all three rivers we crossed today had new bridges right close to the shore that were not shown on our map. They must be very recent.

    This section of the coastal path is quite different from the paths we’ve been on the last few days. There are far fewer people, and sometimes you have to pick your way along the tide line because there is no walkway. (I sure will be glad when my wrist is healed enough to be able to use my hiking poles again for more stability in situations like this.) It just generally feels wilder. At one point, we could look down and see remnants of an older coastal path that is no longer usable because of storm damage. You can see it in the video, but you can’t really hear me describing it because the wind is so strong! Other than the wind, we really lucked out with the weather today. There was no rain until after supper! In fact, it was so warm, that for a good part of the day we walked in short sleeve shirts and no jackets.

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/atalaya-isdabe-p…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    A jacket becomes a parasail
    The coastal path is both the GR 249 and the GR 92.1A noria wheel...1fed by an aqueductIncredibly, they really were out kayaking today!3A little kiosk kept us dry during a squall with thunder and lightning.Torre Velerín2

    Wind, wind, wind!

    March 13, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    Halfway through today’s walk, we had a discussion about whether this was the strongest wind we had ever walked in (gusts of 45 mph/ 72kph). Our conclusion was yes; it could only be rivaled by a day near the Rodalquilar gold mines on the Transandalus mountain bike route and a day near Alcaucin on the Andalucian Coast-to-Coast walk. The wind was actually quite invigorating because we were walking east today to meet the point where we stopped yesterday and so the wind was at our backs pushing us along.

    For a good part of the day, we were the only ones on the path. I think the wind and the intermittent showers must have kept a lot of people at home. We again had good luck with bridges having recently been completed along the coastal path to cross three rivers, even though the map and the Wikiloc track did not show those bridges.

    The only really tricky part of the day came right at the end when we walked out to catch a bus back to Estepona. We had to cross over the six lanes of the motorway on a high pedestrian-only bridge that was completely open to the wind. At that height, the wind was so strong that I was terrified I was going to get blown off the bridge and into the traffic racing along below. Ned held on to me to provide an anchor. That was enough of an adrenaline rush that we completely forgot to turn off Wikiloc when we got to the bus stop, so if you look at today’s track, ignore the straight line return. At the end of the ride, a nearby Mercadona supplied freshly baked rolls, jalapeño guacamole, and salmorejo for us to celebrate the day.

    wikiloc.com/walking-trails/la-rada-parque-del-a…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    11212Home in time for a snack of fresh bakery rolls, jalapeño guacamole,and salmorejo1

    Estepona Murals

    March 14, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    The map the tourist office supplies for the murals route in Estepona has an amazing 74 listings for murals painted on the sides of buildings. We had a lovely time today wandering around the narrow streets, admiring the color-coded lanes with pots full of flowers, and keeping our eyes peeled for the giant murals.

    As we left the information office, a headline on a stack of newspapers caught our eyes: “Ronda to Marbella road out of action until at least August!” Evidently, the recent deluges of rain caused a rockslide on this mountain road, and the supporting viaduct underneath the outer lane collapsed. Given that this is the major route between the coast and Ronda, its closure is going to cause a lot of problems. The rain is pouring down again as I write this.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/estepona-murals-2…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    The Strait of Gibraltar flanked by Jebel Musa in Africa and the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe
    2Mural at the portEverybody's enjoying the sunshine!321Meeting Stevan, the owner (center)33-D fish mural

    A banner day

    March 15, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    Today was a day for celebration beginning with getting my stitches out at a local hospital and ending with an afternoon spent with friends. For the first time in the 15 days we have been in Spain, the sun shone all day, and it didn’t rain even once! It made our midday walk along the Paseo Marítimo extra special because we had a clear view of the Strait of Gibraltar and the landmarks which frame it, the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe and Jebel Musa in Africa.

    The highlight of the day was spending time with friends. Any meal eaten with Roman and Teresa would be special, but this one turned out to have an interesting twist. The fish restaurant that was recommended to us was overflowing with people, so we turned to the next restaurant down the hill, knowing nothing about it. When Roman recognized the owner’s accent as coming from the Balkans, conversation ensued, and soon we were being treated to specialties of the house. If you ever come to Estepona, be sure to eat at Cafeteria Las Orchideas, and don’t miss the Bulgarian salad or the meat in a sauce that takes four hours to cook! We finished up the day by stumbling upon a local celebration complete with singers and musicians, and then a walk to the 3-D fish mural for another of Estepona’s special treats.

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/estepona-paseo-m…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    2Sierra Bermeja
    A ford that is normally dryEasy to step across, but not to drive across1Our cottage11

    In the mountains

    March 16, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    We are thrilled to be up in the mountains, the Sierra Bermeja to be exact, which means the vermillion range in English. It gets its name from the reddish color caused by the minerals in the rocks.

    Our cottage is a true casa del campo, out in the country, not in any village. Our original plan had been to walk along the coastal GR 92 as far as Casares Playa and then use a local trail along the banks of a river to get to the village of Casares where we could pick up the GR 249 to reach this spot. Thanks to all the rain that has washed out bridges and fords, that couldn’t happen, and instead we used a taxi to come the 13 km inland today on an alternate route. These are the mountains where we’ve seen the rain pouring down day after day after the clouds swept across the coastal strip and hit the uplands. Tomorrow’s forecast is for rain all day.

    We had about an hour of walkable weather today, so we walked down to see where the road has been flooded and cut by a deep ditch that the water dug. Rain or no rain, it’s great to be out of the city and walking on mountain tracks again.    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    2GSDM trail marker
    QR code on signpost to connect to information via appUsing the QR code reader1The route of the Gran Senda de MalagaStage 29You can really see the red color of the rocks in the Sierra Bermeja in this satellite view.Pine processionary caterpillars1

    Gran Senda de Malaga

    March 17, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

    Our cottage is directly on stage 29 of the Gran Senda de Malaga. This 850 km footpath makes a loop around the province of Malaga. (www.gransendademalaga.es/en/ ) We’ve walked many of its stages before, and we intended to complete the ones in this area on this trip. The route is very well signed posted, and a new addition is that some of the sign posts also have an image for a QR reader that gives additional information about that particular spot. The app is called Senderismo Realidad Aumentada. We tried it out on our short walk between downpours today (first video) and got information about local birds, plants, and animals, as well as trail info.

    There’s also a loop trail here that intersects the GSDM. We are hoping to walk it tomorrow. It will take us to a birds of prey viewing area, our main reason for this stopover. Today the weather service has put out an orange warning for rain, predicting up to 80 mm in 12 hours. The host of our cottage does a lot of walking around here, and she told us that the waterfall trail we had hoped to walk today was slick and dangerous from all the recent rain.

    While out on our walk yesterday, we saw our first pine processionary caterpillars of this trip (second video). While these look endearing and we have whiled away many minutes watching trains of as many as one hundred caterpillars marching along head-to-tail, their bristles are poisonous and should be avoided. They are particularly dangerous to dogs. If they sniff them and the bristles get in their tongues and noses, it can cause an allergic reaction that leads to death. So now we keep a careful distance!    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    222

    Raptor Feeding Site

    March 18, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    La Red Andaluza de Comederos de Aves Carroñeras has set up 23 feeding centers in Andalucia, and this morning we set out to see the one nearby. Their purpose is to preserve endangered species by “supplementing the natural diet of raptor populations while complying with current health measures.” Birds at the various centers include griffon and black vultures, Egyptian vultures, bearded vultures, red and black kites, and golden and imperial eagles. We’ve known about the feeding center near Casares for several years, and specifically planned to stay in our current cottage because it is within walking distance of the feeding site. However, we didn’t count on arriving after 16 days of continuous rain in the area!

    We set out for the feeding area in mid-morning during a break in the weather. The dirt track was noticeably more water-logged than yesterday, with new rivulets racing down the middle of the track. After navigating several washed out areas and flooded fords, it dawned on us that if the heavy black clouds in the area ahead of us started to pour out rain, our return might be cut off (second video). We reluctantly turned back, and were rewarded with a rainbow and glimpses of raptors flying overhead (first video). This is a gorgeous area, definitely worth returning to see more of the raptors on another trip.

    www.juntadeandalucia.es/medioambiente/portal/la…

    Many nearby areas are reporting rain damage. Arroyo Vaquero, beside the track we planned to walk out tomorrow, has overflowed its banks. A house collapsed in Marbella. Some villages have been completely inundated with floodwaters, with stairs and roads turned into waterfalls and rapids. Tomorrow is supposed to be a dry day with the rain returning on Thursday.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/valle-acedia-2052…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    1A few of the 180° turns the bus had to make to climb out of OjénMonda1Lots of trails to choose from around Monda!41

    Raptors overhead!

    March 19, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Blue sky this morning revealed masses of raptors circling overhead. Maybe they have been there all along and we just have not seen them because of the persistent clouds. Ned estimates we could see as many as a hundred at a time. We’ve seen raptors in lots of places in Andalucia, but never this many at once. It was truly a stunning sight.

    This afternoon was a repositioning trip by bus to the eastern side of the new Parque Nacional Sierra de las Nieves. In 2018, we hiked around the seventeen villages on the western side of the park, but we have never explored the area around the eleven villages on the eastern side. So that’s where we’ll be spending the next month. We will use the GR 243 to walk from village to village, and various local trails to explore the areas around each village. I found lots of tracks on Wikiloc, color-coded them, and transferred them to a master map on Gaia so we can see at a glance what our choices are. For the next eight days, we will be venturing out from our cozy house in the village of Monda.

    We had originally planned to walk here using the GSDM, but three weeks of steady rain dashed that plan. The bus ride up into the mountains from Marbella was plenty exciting enough in its own right, though. To gain height, there were numerous 180° turns in the road, and the bus had to beep before entering each one to warn oncoming traffic that it was occupying both lanes. I was glad I couldn’t see over the edge. Quite an exciting trip! (And the restrooms in the Marbella bus station get a gold star for being the cleanest bus station bathrooms ever. 😊)    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    1
    Calzada RomanaVia Augusta and secondary routesThe Río Seco isn't dry today.Castillo de MondaRemains of the Arab castleMonument to the men of the area who worked as carboneros, making charcoalLa Jaula fountain and lavaderoPretty steep3Did you see that car go down this?2

    Monda

    March 20, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Monda is quite a large village with a population of around 2000, a working town, not a seaside resort. It’s built on a hillside with an Arab castle at the top and a Roman road at the bottom, so there’s lots of history to explore.

    During the Roman era, the main coastal route, the Via Augusta, ran from Narbonne through Malaga and then on along the coast in the area we have just walked. The Calzada Romana here in Monda was part of a secondary group of roads that connected to the Via Augusta. It would have been used for moving agricultural products such as wheat, wine, and olive oil to the port of Malaga where they were shipped to Rome and to the legions stationed in Britain and Germany.

    Everything I’ve read about Roman roads mentions what a good job they did of building them with a slight crown in the middle so water would drain off, so I don’t know what happened with this one, but it sure was wet and soggy this morning - beautiful to see, though, with a herringbone pattern in the stones.

    The castle, Al-Mundat, was built as a fortress in the 9th century. After the Reconquest, many of the stones were reused to build houses in the growing town, but one of the old towers still remains. The rest has been incorporated into a hotel that has quite amazing views over the countryside.

    Between those two points, everything is steep! We saw a car go down the steepest road we have ever seen a vehicle on. As we watched, the entire front part of the car disappeared, leaving just the brake lights visible. You’d have to be pretty brave to drive that street!

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/monda-calzada-ro…

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/castillo-de-mond…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Fuente de los Morales
    2Cerro Gordo11Lime kilnPeridotite areasErmita de San Roque1Here comes the next storm...2

    PR-A 276 Fuente de los Morales

    March 21, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Our constant refrain to each other this morning was, “Look at that sunshine!” After downpours and strong winds last night that made doors and shutters crash, it looks like the weather has briefly taken a turn for the better. There is more rain forecast for the coming days, but after that, there are ten days in a row of sunshine.

    We are using long distance trails (GR’s) to get from village to village, and local trails (PR’s) to explore the areas around the villages. Today’s PR took us to an ermita and a fuente - or to be accurate, to within 100 m of a fuente. We could see our goal, but the water in the river was running too fast for us to cross and reach the fuente itself. No matter, because the walk there and back was full of flowers, birdsong, pine trees, orchards, and acequias (irrigation channels). The explanatory signposts along the way were some of the best we have ever seen on any trail. We are hoping this will prove true of trails in the Sierra de Las Nieves in general. There was a lot of information that was new to us, including that this is one of the few areas on earth where rocks known as peridotites are visible.

    The big excitement of the day was coming upon a front-end loader that was clearing up debris blocking a ford in the Alpujata valley. When we passed him on the way up, it looked like a jumbled mess that would take days to clear, but by the time we came back, he was making the last few passes necessary to open up the ford.

    www.wikiloc.com/walking-trails/monda-ermita-de-…    Read more

  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    Cerro del Pino
    Have some oranges with your olives...2Acequia for irrigationMondaMonda castle1

    Cerro del Pino

    March 22, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    To reach Cerro del Pino, we had to cross the Arroyo de Alpujarra. I was worried that the water in the ford might be deep or have a fast current like the crossings we saw yesterday, so I edged into it very cautiously, but it turned out to be the easiest crossing one could wish for. The water didn’t even come up to the toes of my shoes. I had to laugh when I got to the other side because it was absolutely the opposite of what I expected.

    The walk up the hill was delightful in the sunshine. We passed numerous olive groves, including one with two orange trees thrown in for good measure. Chaffinches and great tits cheered us on when we got to the steep parts. Looking back we had a great view of Monda and the mountains behind it, the first chance we’ve really had to see its setting. I wish I knew the names of the mountains we are looking at. I know there’s an app that names the mountains one’s phone camera is showing . I’ll have to see if I can get it set up to use tomorrow.

    It’s Saturday, so we saw groups of cyclists out for mountain rides. I wonder if they start in Marbella. If so, it’s a long way up.

    Delicious chicken stew for dinner!

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  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    GR 243
    White limestone alternating with red peridotitesMule track11

    GR 243 toward Istán

    March 23, 2025 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 48 °F

    The village of Monda sits directly on the GR 243, the Gran Senda de la Sierra de las Nieves. We’ll be taking it north to the village of Guaro on Thursday of this coming week, so today we thought we might take a walk in the other direction, toward Istàn, to see what it was like.

    There have been several reports on Wikiloc saying that the Río Seco is running too high to cross right now, and indeed, they were right. However, we did get to see the portion between here and the river. Again, there were excellent explanatory signs telling us, for example, that historically, the single track part between Mirador Cuesta de la Jambré and the river was too narrow to be used by carts or carriages. It could only be traversed by mules. With a sharp drop off on one side of the trail, we could see that was undoubtedly true!

    Rain caught us on the way back, but our featherweight Montbell trekking umbrellas kept us dry. Ned has the extended version that covers his pack as well as him; mine is actually just a sun umbrella, but I find it works fine in the rain as long as there isn’t a lot of wind. Of the 22 days we’ve been in Spain, it has rained sometime during the day or night on 21 of them. That might be a record!

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  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    1Torrecilla
    Cerro GordoRed peridotitesThis tree has a precarious toehold in the cliff face.The view using PeakFinderThe mountains we are headed for later this week, as shown in PeakFinderAvocado plantation3A happy bee spent many minutes diving deep into flower after flower while we ate our snack nearby.Olive oil mill, complete with conveyor belts to take the olives up to this hopper

    Mountains! Snow!

    March 24, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    What a great day! We climbed to the top of Cerro Gordo, and a glorious panorama of mountains and snow appeared in front of us, visible for the first time since we arrived. No wonder this national park is named Sierra de las Nieves! Torrecilla, at 6296 feet (1928 m) the highest peak in the park, dominates the skyline. No matter which direction we looked, we saw more peaks.

    This route, the PR-A 275, is full of surprises. It has a bridge to cross the river, very useful in times of high water; the track is wide and well-graded without any sign of mud in spite of three weeks of rain; and the variations in the colors of the rocks are visible all the way from the bottom to the top.

    Last night I was able to figure out enough of how to use PeakFinder that we were able to identify the peaks around us today. We did get a good laugh out of my misidentification of the unit of measurement being used, though. Since we are in Spain, I initially assumed the numbers were given in meters. But when that translated to Torrecilla being more than 20,000 feet high, I realized the measurements must be in feet. 6296 feet high is a little more reasonable than 6296 m!

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  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    4Hoping a protein bar will fortify me for the next climb
    4Quite overgrown on some steep uphillsMost of the crossings were very easy.Torrecilla's snow of yesterday is gone!1Old olive stump2He really wanted to squeeze the rest of his body through the bars and follow along.4Salmon fillets for lunch

    Dry socks?

    March 25, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    When we were putting things into the day pack for our loop walk this morning, I considered throwing in an extra pair of socks for each of us. Nah, I thought, we won’t need them. If we come to a river that is too deep to cross, we’ll just turn around and come back like we have on other days. Bad decision. Just when we reached the point where it made more sense to go forward rather than turn around, the nice wide track we had been following turned into an overgrown, rocky, narrow path working its way up a steep arroyo.. The first six creek crossings worked out well, but no matter how many rocks Ned threw in at crossing number seven, it was clear I was not going to be able to keep my feet dry, much less make the required leap at the end to head up a muddy, slippery slope. After much agonizing, I did what I should’ve done in the first place. I just rolled up my trousers, walked right through, came out the other side and up the slope fine, and within five minutes didn’t even notice that my feet were wet. Ned’s were too, after all his efforts to help me. But wool socks do a great job of keeping one’s feet comfortable, wet or dry.

    When we weren’t in the ravine, we had great views of the same mountains we saw yesterday in all their snowy glory. But today, we were very surprised that there was no snow on them. It seems it was just a lucky break that we did a trail yesterday that allowed us to see the snow that had fallen during Sunday’s storm two days ago.

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  • Elaine and NedSpain 2025 - Malaga provinceTraveler
    3Eurasian blackbird (we think)
    11Our casa rural11Our rooftop view

    Last Day in Monda

    March 26, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    We’ve been in Monda for seven days now, and amazingly, we’ve been able to walk a different route every single day. This village has a remarkable number of trails leading out from it.

    Ned has been having great fun using the app Merlin to identify the birds we are hearing as we walk along. Today we not only heard a Eurasian blackbird’s song, but he also sat nicely on a branch right in front of us as he sang. (Ned joked that what we need next is an app that identifies dog breeds by their bark so we can have more information about the endless number of vigorous growls, yelps, and yips that come from behind the fences we are passing by.)

    The final steep ascent on the PR-A 277 was covered with loose stones that I estimated I could go up, but probably could not come down safely. So only Ned climbed up to see the wide-ranging view from the top, including an active limestone quarry (which I had mistakenly told him was a marble quarry). Meanwhile, the activity at the bee boxes kept me entertained while I waited.

    Our casa rural here proved to be in a very handy location for all the trailheads, as well as the village food shop. The house has a number of things that remind us of what it would have been like to live here several generations ago: three-foot thick walls; beamed ceilings; an old hand pump; and a collection of artifacts lovingly displayed. It feels good to have this history around us.    Read more