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  • 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

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    11
    Day 40

    Pinsapo Pines and Pozos de Nieve

    April 10 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We wanted to walk some trails high up on the side of Torrecilla in the national park today, but walking up would have taken much of the day, so Francisco, the owner of our apartment, kindly offered to drive us up. We were able to start our hiking from a high elevation, see some of the more remote mountain sites, and walk back to town.

    Before we came on this trip, I thought the national park was named Sierra de las Nieves because it snows a lot here. But this week, I read that this area got its name long ago from the thriving businesses that sprang up in the last century selling ice year round from the many snow wells located along mountain trails here. We saw the remains of one of those wells today. We estimate it was about 20 feet across, and would have been much deeper than what currently is showing. Snow was packed into the wells in layers during the winter and then sold as ice during the summer. The info panel next to the well showed a drawing with a ladder allowing access to the lowest layers, but the well we were at had protruding stones that were clearly meant to be used a steppingstones to get to the bottom.

    Many hectares of pinsapo pines are protected in the park. These rare trees (found only here and in Morocco) survived the last Ice Age, but are endangered now by loss of habitat and viruses that thrive with climate change. We were surrounded by thousands of the trees today, including one curious specimen shaped like a candelabra. It grew like this due to unusual stresses, perhaps from snow or perhaps from animals colliding with it. We were also thrilled to see that we arrived in the area just at the time when the pink pollen cones are being formed (similar to the golden pollen cones we saw in Tolox last week).

    It was very windy today, with gusts to 44 mph in town and even higher in the mountains as you will see at the end of the video. But we were grateful that it did not rain, and we had another day to enjoy the area surrounding the highest town in the province of Malaga.

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

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    Day 39

    Best day yet in the mountains!

    April 9 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    We were amazed at how well today’s route turned out. The track began practically in our backyard and led up to near the treeline on Cerro de la Blanquilla. We didn’t know much about the track beforehand and were keeping our fingers crossed that it would be doable by me. Not only did it turn out to be possible, it was glorious! It was wild and remote, and we had 360° views with all the mountains we are familiar with in sight and new ones coming visible around every corner. We even had our first view of El Burgo, the village we will be staying in two weeks from now.

    A highlight of the walk was coming upon an old era. These stone-paved threshing floors were laid out in a circular pattern that was slightly different in each location. They were situated in windy spots to make separating the wheat from the chaff easier. As the bundles of threshed grain were tossed into the air with a wooden fork, the wind carried off the lighter chaff, and the seeds fell to the ground. On a previous trip a miller’s son told us that when he was a child, he and his dad would come around to these remote eras with mules, load up the threshed wheat, take it down to their mill to wash and grind, and deliver the flour back to the mountain location when it was done.

    We can confirm that this era was in a windy location; the wind was so strong that you can’t hear a single word in the video!

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

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    111
    Day 38

    Three firsts

    April 8 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    On today’s walk, we had views from the peak of Torrecilla (1918 m/6292 ft) all the way to the Mediterranean at sea level. It’s the first time we’ve seen the Mediterranean since we started walking in the mountain villages. We think the area we were looking at was near Malaga, about 60 km away.

    Seeing an almond orchard in blossom was another first. We have been too late to see the blooms around the other villages further south, but Yunquera must be high enough that some of the trees here are still blooming.

    We followed the SL-A 246 south from the village toward the Rio Grande. Just as we left the village, we passed under an arched aqueduct that carried water to the Molino Los Patos. This was a flour mill of the rodezno type. Instead of the drive wheel being placed vertically in the river, water was carried via an aqueduct to a height far above a horizontal drive wheel located in a cárcavo (arched opening) at the bottom of the mill. The rodezno wheel was connected to a shaft that drove a grinding wheel on the floor above. An experienced miller could tell if the wheels were too close or too far apart by the smell of the grind. This is the first time we have seen a rodezno mill in the province of Malaga, although we’ve seen the remains of many of them in Huelva and Granada provinces.

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

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    1
    1132112
    Day 37

    Yunquera

    April 7 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Ever since 2009 when we came over the pass at Lifa station on our mountain bikes and saw the trail marker pointing one way to El Burgo (where we were headed) and the other way to Yunquera, we have wanted to see this spot. Who could resist a village with such a magical name, not to mention that arrow pointing temptingly deeper into the mountains! Now, exactly 16 years and five days later, here we finally are. And it is indeed magical. When we stand at our front door, we are directly at the foot of Cerro de la Blanquilla. It is only 6 km by trail from here to the top of the mountain! (Of course, there’s also the little matter of 776 meters /2545 ft of elevation gain on an unmarked expanse of bare rock…but maybe a bit of it is doable by me.)

    We have a very traditional Spanish apartment right at the edge of town. Francisco, the friendly owner, has been corresponding with me for a couple of weeks, giving me ideas and helping me with logistics. His mother and father ran the restaurant below the apartment for 46 years; his dad was the manager and his mom the cook. Now that they have retired, the restaurant is closed, and I think Francisco is converting the building into apartments. We are very grateful for his enthusiasm and help, and also for the empanadas his mom made us as a gift for lunch.

    Our walk today was around town, but I forgot to turn on Wikiloc. The GR 243 connects Tolox and Yunquera, but we came by taxi for the usual reasons. The middle of the route beyond the point where we walked yesterday is totally along a river that is deep and wide. We have no information about its current status.    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    1
    Day 36

    Water channels

    April 6 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    This morning as we walked north on the GR 243, we stumbled upon what we originally speculated was a very large acequia carrying water to be used in irrigating the terraced orchards covering the steep hillsides rising from the Río Grande. But on checking in the GR 243 topoguide after we got home, we saw that it was actually an old channel that carried water to the now-abandoned San Augusto power station. (A reminder that we should read the topoguide BEFORE we walk rather than after! The topoguide also warned that the small path to the gauging station “is not recommended for sufferers of vertigo or those uncomfortable on unsteady terrain.” Luckily we didn’t even see that trail.)

    In 2018, we spent a lot of time admiring the incredible engineering of the long-distance acequias in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada province. Those date from the time when Muslims settled in Andalucia between 800 and 1400. They developed a system where acequias de careo led snowmelt to permeable ground where the water could seep into fissures and re-emerge in village fuentes during the dry summer months. It was then led through acequias de riego to irrigate crops. Those acequias were all beautiful stone-lined channels of great antiquity. I imagine the same would have been true here a hundred years ago, but the ones we are seeing now have all been remodeled with concrete channels - not anywhere near as pretty, but easier to maintain.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/tolox-gr-243-nort…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    211
    Day 35

    Thanks to Wikiloc…

    April 5 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    We were lucky with conversations this morning. A man who was out early cleaning the streets saw our hiking gear and chatted with us for several minutes about the state of the trails, how much water there was in the rivers, how many days a week he worked, and all the other questions we could think of to ask him. Next we noticed a gathering just outside the village with women cooking refreshments and setting up tables. One of them turned and called out to us. We were surprised that anybody would notice us, and then all of a sudden, we realized it was the friendly woman from the museum yesterday who had given us so much background about the village. She told us they were getting ready for a celebration that included a 20 km horseback ride with all the horses decked out in their best finery.

    They certainly had a great day for the fiesta. A few clouds in the sky gave welcome shade, but yesterday‘s rain was gone. We made our way up the GR 243 between Tolox and Guaro following the plentiful GR markings. When we were up high enough to see both Yunquera and Alozaina, we stopped for a snack break and then took a rough dirt track back to Tolox.

    Every day that we have a successful walk like this, we marvel that we can come to a village that we knew nothing about a year ago, and thanks to the Wikiloc app, we can find interesting tracks to walk in a different direction every day. By using the filters in Wikiloc’s search function, we can find local tracks of a certain length or a certain elevation gain, and we can even sort tracks by how recently they were uploaded They all have copious notes from local walkers, pointing out things to see and spots that might be tricky. It really is amazing to be able to find such obscure trails and follow them so easily.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/tolox-gr-243-loop…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    123
    Day 34

    Rest day in Tolox

    April 4 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    It would be more accurate to call it a business day because we had some paperwork we needed to complete for my wrist accident. Ned found a helpful papelería where we could print up the necessary forms.

    We had enough time left over to visit the local museum. It has a personalized collection of items donated by local families. The trillo (thresher) was particularly interesting because, unlike the one that formed our table base in Marbella, it did not use embedded sharp stones for the cutting edges. Instead, it had iron bars that were notched into the toboggan-like wooden sled. Old photos show local farmers sitting on these while a mule pulled the sled around and around on a stone threshing floor (an era) to separate the wheat from the chaff.

    The lady in charge of the museum explained everything, particularly emphasizing how hard life was all through the 1900s in villages like this. All the water used in a house had to be hauled up from the river in jugs that were stored in specially designed holders, los cantareras, in the kitchen.

    She pointed out a photo of the central plaza taken in 1900 (125 years ago!) showing a water channel that ran through town. It was opened from time to time and in the summertime, children delighted in splashing in it.    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    12
    Day 33

    Carril cortado

    April 3 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Just as we left the village on a Sendero Local, the SL-A 238, Sendero Virgen de las Nieves, we saw a sign indicating that the route was closed at some point ahead. We hoped that meant closed for vehicles but passable for walkers, and as it turned out, that was the case. We worked our way up the lush green Río de los Horcajos valley, passing so many interesting things in the first kilometers that we could hardly make any progress.

    Tolox is located between two rivers. The villagers made use of the water power available, and in the 1900s there were 14 mills that operated along the rivers: 7 olive oil mills and 7 flour mills. We saw the remains of two of these, quite an exciting find, with their aqueducts and arched openings to let the water in and allow the excess to flow out. In addition, the valley presented us with medieval bridges, dry stone walls for terracing, orchards and grapevines, and balsas to collect water for use in the huertas (vegetable gardens).

    When we came upon the actual spot where the lane was cut, it was quite clear that it was going to be a long time before the vehicles trapped on the far side of the collapsed roadway were going to be able to make their way into town. This was certainly damage from the 21 days of March storms. We could also see that at other points, the roadway had been underwater at some recent time. There were huge clumps of accumulated sand, rocks, and reeds strewn around.

    It made us wonder how the romería is going to get up to the shrine next month. Each May, the villagers carry a statue of the Virgen de las Nieves from the village up to the shrine itself. There are lots of picnic tables and a refreshment kiosk to accommodate the gathering. This year, I think the supplies will have to come up the old-fashioned way, by horse or mule.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/tolox-sendero-vir…    Read more

  • TravelerSpain 2025 - Malaga province
    131341
    Day 32

    An unexpected discovery

    April 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    When I was planning this trip at home last winter, I ran across an article online saying that the Diputación de Malaga was establishing two new trails in Tolox, one highlighting the rocks of the area and the other the plants. The news article didn’t tell where the trails started, and there weren’t any helpful tracks on Wikiloc yet, so one of my main goals this morning was to get back by 2 PM from whatever walk we took in order to get to the information center before it closed and ask them about the trailhead locations.

    We started out by exploring the area around the spa, marveling at the old buildings and the tall eucalyptus trees. As we worked our way up Cerro de Hijar, we came around a corner and there right in front of us was a big sign announcing Sendero Geológico. Even better, Sendero Botánico was right across the lane!

    The Sendero Geológico was quite informative. It turns out that the Río Horcajos area in Tolox is the site of an eruption of peridotitic rocks of colossal size, the largest of this class of rocks known in the world . The outdoor display has boulder-size chunks of 14 different types of rocks prevalent in this area plus an explanatory timeline and map. We came away feeling like we could at least identify the peridotitic rocks with their greenish shadings.

    The Sendero Botánico identifies 28 plants, some of them endemic to this area, in its kilometer-long loop. Parts of the trail are rocky and steep, meaning I was concentrating more on where I was putting my feet than on the plant names. I did learn that the bees love matagallo.

    www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/tolox-balneario-s…    Read more

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