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  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    1
    22
    Day 49

    Easter Sunday

    April 19 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We celebrated Easter thinking of all the people around the world who are working to make life better for their families, friends, and fellow human beings.

    No walk today - just getting ready for our move to El Burgo tomorrow. Alozaina was not our first choice for this week, but it has proven to be an excellent one after all. Lots of possibilities for walks, all very different, and a great rooftop terrace to watch the Semana Santa processions.

    Photos from earlier days this week…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    15
    Day 49

    A locked gate

    April 19 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    The only direction we haven’t walked from Alozaina is east, so last night I searched on Wikiloc for a walking route that would head that way. To my surprise, there wasn’t one. I studied the IGN map and fell in love with a nice loop I could envision through the olive groves on the intriguing-sounding Camino del Monje del Esperón and Camino de la Jara. Now I just needed a connecting lane between those two parallel lanes, and I spotted the perfect one: Camino de Valentín. I checked carefully to be sure all three lanes showed recent usage on Wikiloc, and was pleased to see somebody had cycled on Camino de Valentín only 10 days ago. “That’s all set then,” I thought. But when we reached the connector today, it was firmly locked and obviously private. What a disappointment. The dirt lane beyond it looked so appealing, stretching out along a ridge with views on both sides. Oh well, after some head-scratching and checking on Gaia GP S, we backtracked. In the end, Ned found a farm track that would take us down to Camino de la Jara, and it worked perfectly well. We were back to the house in time for a great lunch of codfish steaks, mashed potatoes, and salad.

    Video note: Our rooftop terrace has proved to be an unexpected bonus. We get a view of the Semana Santa processions turning the corner here, giving us a look at their faces: everything from pride in doing a job well to covert waves to family and friends.    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    2
    Day 48

    Marching down the mountain

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    First, of course we had to go up (and up, and up) aiming for the top of the red band of rock that cuts across the grey limestone of the Sierra Prieta. We were delighted to find that early on, the town and outlying houses disappeared and the feeling of being in a remote mountain park prevailed.

    When we reached the red sandstone, I sat down for a much needed rest. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a tan shape racing down the ravine at my back, and realized it was a loose dog intent on dislodging me. In an instant seven more joined him and the pack was on all sides of us. I screamed, and a man came down the path, shouting to the dogs. Luckily, they obeyed him. We’ve met a lot of fiercely growling dogs behind fences and a few loose ones that backed off without attacking, but this was the most menacing encounter we’ve had.

    It was too beautiful for that incident to mar the day, though. We walked a red dirt trail between flowers and grey limestone slabs and green pines, had a reviving snack, and marveled at our good luck with the weather.

    Working our way down the mountain on the PR-A 272, we were still far above town when we realized we could hear the drumbeat of the Viernes Santo (Good Friday) procession. We got in step with the music and marched down the mountain and into town to find the procession still going on with a big enthusiastic crowd in the main square.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/alozaina-circular…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    1
    11
    Day 47

    Butterflies, flowers, and olive groves

    April 17 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We were amazed today at how extensive the olive groves are south of Alozaina. We think of Jaén as being the province dominated by olive groves, but clearly Malaga province is also.
    (Google says that in a normal year, Malaga province produces about 85,000 tons of olives compared to Jaen’s 3.2 million tons - which is more than the entire country of Italy!)

    We were pleased to see that today the olive trees looked much healthier than they had on our walks in Jaén two years ago. The leaves were green and plump, not yellow and dry; the blossoms were thick and robust rather than small and spindly. On our route, we were able to see examples of all the work that goes into maintaining a grove. There were piles of cuttings waiting to be burned. There was clear evidence of how the trees have been pruned for easier picking; all the trees had been trimmed to prevent them reaching their full height. One thing we couldn’t figure out is why some trees have a trunk that grows straight up like a regular tree, while in other groves, every single tree had a mound at the bottom, as if it had been forced to grow over a boulder.

    Our walk itself was easy, through the orchards on paved lanes lined with spring flowers that were attracting butterflies.
    The rain clouds bathing the mountains in mist kept nipping at our heels but never escalated beyond a brief shower. We made it back in time for Ned to get a haircut before the barber closed for the afternoon.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/alozaina-circular…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    12
    Day 46

    Jorox

    April 16 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We walked from Alozaina to Jorox today. This little aldea, population 12, has been settled since Paleolithic times, thanks to the spring that gushes out of the ground just above the aldea and flows down with the strength of a river. It has never gone dry, even during the hottest summers. During Arab times (more than 1000 years ago), a network of acequias was established, directing the river water to the various orchards and olive groves scattered around the steep gorge. In addition, the water powered nine flour and olive oil mills. It must have been an idyllic place to live.

    We saved our walk here for a day with a good weather forecast, knowing that we would want sunshine for exploring the village. It’s a good thing we did have perfect weather because the ascent of the dirt track we walked to get to Jorox was one of the steepest gradients I’ve ever been on. I kept thinking I needed a parachute for safety’s sake. It was too steep to take a photo of it - getting out a camera would have upset my precarious balance! Once there, we revived ourselves by having the house specialty for lunch at Venta Rivita, complete with tables behind us in the cave part of the building.

    On the way back (on a much more reasonable lane), Ned immediately recognized the bird we were hearing as a nightingale. When I asked him how he could possibly know that, he said he’s heard the recorded song of a nightingale hundreds of times in Respighi’s orchestral work, Pines of Rome.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/alozaina-jorox-20…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    2
    11
    Day 45

    The second half of the story

    April 15 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    We think today’s walk provided the second half of the story to the question that has been in our minds since our walk from Tolox where we stumbled upon the gauging station and the large canal whose destination at that time was unknown to us. Today’s walk supplied the answer: it appears the canal fed a very long penstock that delivered water from the Aguilera stream to the San Augusto hydroelectric station (no longer functioning) on the Río Grande de Tolox. What a tremendous undertaking that must have been. The date on the building is 1932, so its construction preceded the Spanish Civil War by four years. There were evidently three hydroelectric stations that were part of the same system: the one just below Yunquera that we almost got to, but not quite; the San Augusto station that we saw today; and one in between those two points that we haven’t walked anywhere near, San Pascual.

    Our route took us south from Alozaina, and gave us wonderful views of the surrounding mountains as well as Alozaina and Tolox as we walked downhill to Arroyo de Los Valles. There were five stream crossings which had us wondering ahead of time, but all turned out to be easy to cross. For the return leg, we walked up the valley of the Río Grande de Tolox, past the power station, along a section of single track, and then onto wider dirt and concrete tracks before joining the A366 back to Alozaina.

    Note re the video: We met the shepherd and his dogs shortly after, and he confirmed there were more than 200 sheep in his flock.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/alozaina-central-…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    1
    1113
    Day 44

    Settling into Alozaina

    April 14 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Our location this week is entirely dictated by the fact that it is Semana Santa. Our original plan was to walk from Yunquera to a mountain refuge, La Rejertilla, that offers accommodation and food at a spot halfway between Yunquera and El Burgo. By the time we realized that La Rejertilla was not going to answer any of our emails, WhatsApp messages, or phone calls, almost everything in the area was booked for Easter week. We were lucky to find a spot in the village of Alozaina. This was originally going to be our last village on this trip, but is now our base for this week instead. We will have to figure out how to get from here to El Burgo next week and then on to Casarabonela, probably by the reverse of the bus we used to get here.

    Alozaina seems different from the mountain villages we’ve been in. It’s closer to the coast and is not on the GR243 (although there are plenty of local trails nearby). If you look in one direction, you see palm trees; if you look in the other, you see the Sierra Prieta with La Blanquilla just visible over the top. Alozaina also has a small-sized Día supermarket, so we were able to find several items that have been entirely absent from the tiny shops in the places we’ve been recently. We stocked up on muesli and unsalted almonds!    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    115
    Day 43

    Where are we?

    April 13 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Today was one of those days when lots of little things tipped the scale from “Great, let’s continue on,” to “You know what, I think we should turn around.” There wasn’t any one big reason, but we couldn’t quite make the map and GPX track match up with what we were seeing on the ground; the clouds were steadily moving down the mountainside in front of us; and the wind was picking up. After we got back and I looked closely at the IGN topographical map, I realized that if we had gone a few feet farther, our way forward would have been clear. Well, we’ll just have to come back to Yunquera another time.

    We did get to see the so-called Yunquera “Castle” on the way down. It’s actually a torre vigía from the Arab period with slots in the walls for defensive purposes. It gives a panoramic view of town and the surrounding mountains.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/yunquera-explorin…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    2
    2213
    Day 42

    Meeting Señor Merchán

    April 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    What we thought was going to be a routine museum visit today turned out to be anything but. We’ve been saving the museum for a rainy day, and today certainly fit the bill. We found the old family house that has been turned into the museum, walked in the door, saw the usual interesting things, and then came around a corner to a room where paintings were displayed. A familiar sketch caught my eye, and I called Ned over to look. “It’s the sketch that’s on the church!” The man at the information desk heard my enthusiasm. He quickly came over and greeted us with a long string of very rapid Spanish. We soon realized that he was talking about the paintings. And then it dawned on us: he was the artist! We told him how much we had enjoyed seeing the sketch on the wall of the church, and even showed him our little photo of acting out the scene. He then told us about his favorite places to paint in Andalucia, where the light was good, and where he had other paintings in town. We realized we had seen another of his sketches the day we were by the old mill, and he confirmed that yes, that was another one he had done. He was so kind and generous in responding to our questions that it turned a routine visit into one we will remember for a long time.Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    1111
    Day 41

    Wandering among the olive groves

    April 11 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We started out today following a Wikiloc track that I think was made by a long-distance runner (www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/travesia-casarabo…). I know they have a lot of mountain races in this part of Andalucia. Participants often run throughout a day and night on mountain tracks. The woman who made this route ran 53 km with more than 2000 m of elevation gain in 10 hours. We only planned to do the part leading northeast out of Yunquera. However, when we got to a spot where her track went cross-country without any sign of a trail, we decided we would work our way back and explore every lane that we saw on the way. This gave us a chance to see some wonderfully quirky olive groves, including one where the trees were set between such large boulders that we could hardly believe anyone would choose to plant a tree there.

    Given that all the long distance views were obscured by haze today, we could see how incredibly lucky we were to have done the La Blanquilla route two days ago when the sky was sunny and clear. Today was just perfect for close-up views of the olive groves, though.

    The weather forecast says we are due for what they call Calima rain. This occurs when rain brings down red sand that is in the air having blown across the Mediterranean from Africa. It’s also called a mud rain. We aren’t seeing any of the typical orange atmosphere though - just the usual grey rain clouds.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/yunquera-wanderin…    Read more

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