Spain, Andalucía, Málaga and Granada

Murcia

December 2006

Walk

Thu 21^st December 2006

20.4 km.

Málaga to Rincón de la Victoria.
Bus. The route started in central Málaga at the bus and railway stations. The dense urban environment gradually thinned out until we reached our base at Rincón. Most of the route was along "golden miles" and beaches. We were mostly able to avoid the main coast road.

Fri 22^nd December 2006

27.4 km.

Rincón de la Victoria to Velez Málaga.
Bus. We followed the coast and the main road for a while. Since Gibraltar, we had been doing this so at the first opportunity we headed up into the hills. This made the walk rather long but much more interesting. We were rewarded by the discovery of Viscum Cruciatum or red mistletoe growing on olive trees.

Sat 23^rd December 2006

Wet Day.
We did some large scale shopping for our Christmas dinner. We carried rucksacks laden with food and drink and we were festooned with carrier bags too. The mile from Mercadona to our flat seemed a long way loaded up like that. We had a quiet day indoors while the thunder and showers died away.

Sun 24^th December 2006

17.4 km.

Velez Málaga to Torrox.
Bus. We located a quite road out of Torrox using a GPS way mark generated from a Google Earth view. What did we do before Google Earth? Of course there are still "Google Voids" where the old methods have to be used. There were fine views of snowy peaks after the Saturday rains.

Mon 25^th December 2006

6 km.

Christmas Day.
Bus. With Mini, we got a bus to a point about 2 km west of the centre of Rincón de la Victoria. For the second time, we had a pathologically angry bus driver. He tried to drop us before our stop and then drove two stops past where we "solicited" to get out. He drove like a pig too; tail-gating, breaking, accelerating and fretting. On a long run you would get travel sick. Almost everyone we have met has been delightful but there is always the odd exception. We walked 6 km east through interesting coastal path tunnels back to our flat. Christmas lunch was on the beach. Nice!

Tue 26th December 2006

Álora.
Bus and Train. We went with Mini to Málaga by bus and then to Álora by train. A new high speed line is being built so there are lots of engineering works near Málaga. Away from the centre, the route winds through fields and orchards in a wide river valley. Álora is dominated by a hill top castle. We had a draughty lunch in a small park. The weather was bright but cool inland.

Wed 27^th December 2006

15.7 km.

Torrox to Maro via Nerja.
Bus. We took two buses to Torrox. The connection was poor and we had to wait over an hour in the chilly pre-dawn bus station at Torre del Mar. We walked to Nerja and then a little beyond. Maro is near the Nerja caves which are a local tourist honeypot. This is where the Autovia ends and we are expecting a lot more traffic for the rest of our walk.

Thu 28^th December 2006

24.5 km.

Maro to Almuñecar.
Bus. We took two buses to Maro. The first took us in the wrong direction to the centre of Rincón. After a 20 minute wait, we caught the "directo" to the Nerja Caves. We got out at Maro a short distance before the caves. Here we had to back track from the village centre to our destination the previous day. The walk was interesting with stunning mountain and sea views. The old road bypassed tunnels and gave the best walking. We assume that pedestrians are not allowed in the tunnels. In any case it looked distinctly dangerous and unpleasant. Often we could not avoid the new road which was was busy. It will be better when the Autovia is finished.

Fri 29^th December 2006

22.3 km.

Almuñecar to Motril.
Taxi and Bus. To catch the first bus to Almuñecar, we got a taxi to Torre del Mar bus station. The terrain forced us to walk long stretches on the main road. There were some escapes though including one past a tall fortress hill where the town had been built up the hillside. This was at Salobreña.

Sat 30^th December 2006

Rest Day.
We shopped for a few odds and ends for the New Year lunch. We took Mini to the beach and had roast chicken from the local "Pollo" shop. Very nice it was too and we regretted not discovering this take-away earlier. We took the feast to the beach and ate in warm sunshine.

Sun 31^st December 2006

19.8 km.

Rincón de la Victoria to Almayate Bajo.
Bus. This local walk took us up and along a ridge on the out bound leg. On the return, we went through a valley filled with orchards and plasticos (poly-tunnels). There are distinct signs of spring in the verges.

Mon 1st January 2007

New Year on the Beach.
We only walked a few hundred metres. The new year feast included smoked salmon, asparagus and philly cheese. It was warm enough to bask in the sun and read and sleep on the soft gray sand.