Spain, The Mountains of Andalucia

Hi, and welcome to this month’s blog.  It’s a bit late because I’ve just been on one of the best holidays ever!  I appreciate that’s a big statement, but let me explain why.

Jamie and I love to hike, but until last year, we’d never exchanged our beach holiday for a walking one. We went to Andalucia in March 2023, and both agreed it had been the best holiday we’d ever taken. This made us nervous about booking a second one just in case it wasn’t as good.  Was it? Read on, and I’ll reveal all.

An early flight meant a 3.30 am alarm on day one.  This was accompanied by an email cancelling our taxi transfer from Gran Canaria Airport to our first destination. We should have booked the transfer through Inntravel (our holiday agent). Still, we’d used this transfer company many times before and assumed it would be OK.  We didn’t panic as we were confident we’d pick up a taxi at the airport on arrival, which we did.  Our driver was a lovely chap who’d lived in Gran Canaria all his life but had never driven to our hotel! Alarm bells?

We hadn’t studied how many metres Cruz de Tejeda was above sea level.  Everything looks flat on a map 😊. To give you an idea, Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, is 970 metres above sea level.  Our destination was 1510 metres above sea level! Our taxi wasn’t the most powerful, and our driver followed his SatNav, which always goes for the shortest and most traumatic route possible.  He was ecstatic when he reached the top of the mountain pass, and so were we. We later discovered the Inntravel transfer company was a chap who lived in the mountains and knew roads well and the best route!

On arrival, I was stunned by the magnificent view and completely in awe of this unexpected landscape. Relaxing on our balcony with the mountains ahead, their imposing height and rugged terrain were magical. A foundation of trees and shrubs, grassland with blue skies above was the most idyllic real-life picture I’d ever seen, impossible to capture on camera. I couldn’t wait for our first sunset and the three days of walking ahead.

After the best breakfast, the walks didn’t disappoint: outstanding hiking with sweeping views of the cliffs and ravines of the collapsed volcanic crater of Tejeda.  We chose a holiday with grade 2-3 walks as we like a challenge, but you could easily find leisurely trails. We sampled the hotel’s amazing spa, crossed many paths among the splendid mountains, and enjoyed the sunshine and skyburst red and yellow sunsets before the stars stole the evening show.

After four nights in this paradise, transfer day arrived, and it was hammering down! The mountains had disappeared, replaced by low clouds and mist.  We debated whether to set off, but due to the length of the walk ahead, we needed to get going as the weather forecasted thunder and lightning later that day.  We were lucky; we didn’t get too wet and arrived just as the first clap of thunder could be heard in the distance.

If you want to disconnect from everybody and everything, this next location is just for you. It’s perfect for enjoying nature. It’s a family-run business with a lovely lady called Fatima caring for every detail.  Unfortunately, Gran Canaria experienced one of its worst storms with extreme cold for our one-night stay. A small electric heater in our cabin and two extra blankets helped, but with the thunderous claps overhead, a frightened barking dog and church bells on the hour every hour, it was an interesting stay.  A superb breakfast awaited us, and a hearty picnic was provided for our onward hike to our final location.

There’s a lot of elevation gain and decent over the seven days, and this route to Agaete, our final destination, was no exception. It was tough, and our knees started to feel the 1000m descent of the Barranco.  We were exhausted on arrival at our Finca, but another wonderful welcome in an idyllic setting soon made us forget our weary legs. This colonial mansion dates from 1895. Mountains encircled the Finca’s abundant orchards of oranges and lemons. Set in a deep valley, craggy peaks loomed above us in a dramatic backdrop to breakfast as we sat in the courtyard.

The last two days of walking took us to the highest peaks and our most difficult walks. A hair-raising descent down a steep, sloping mountainside with ravines and abrupt cliffs finally opened up to the spectacular coastline, with views similar to those of England’s beautiful Cornish coastline, our home. Our final two evenings were spent in Puerto de Las Nieves, where the restaurants are frequented predominantly by Gran Canaria locals who know it as a good place to go for a seafood meal. Watching the sun go down where the mountains meet the sea, feeling proud for pushing ourselves beyond our limits and eating freshly prepared paella was the perfect end to another fabulous holiday.

Life definitely begins outside of your comfort zone. Until next time xxx