La Calahorra

Day 1 of our hikes here in the Sierra Mountains of Southern Spain. Today we're trekking in the foothills near Jerez de Marquesado. It's been a long time since being out in nature like this, or a workout like this for that matter. As we all know, travel stopped mid-March 2020, and I haven't really gone out for similar hikes near home in the time since.

Prior to our hike, we made a pit stop at Castillo de la Calahorra. It belonged to the Marquis in this area as a gift from the king and queen of Spain at the time. We weren't able to go closer though as they were filming something in the castle.

The hike itself was meant to be the easies on our trip. There's a bit of up and down, but it flat for the most part. The pinecones were huge and the trees were green and a vibrant yellow. As we climbed up, we saw more and more sweeping views of Sierra Nevada forests. Definitely felt great to be back out and about, even though it was tiring. This was probably the most exercise I've done in one go in a long time.

After the hike, we checked a cave musuem in the town of Guadix. It was cute to see it was decorated, and we were also treated to a view of the town's fairy chimneys and cave dwellings. For a moment, I felt like we had gone back to Cappadocia.

One more stop for the day, sunset at Mirador Geologicos. Another sweeping view of the landscape. This time I felt I was back in San Pedro de Atacama. Mother Nature sure is amazing for these formations to have been created, and we'll see more of that to come.Read more