This user’s experienceby Matt Henderson, since 2003

Today we met up again with the Senderitos.com folks, and headed down the highway, just past Nerja, where we parked the car just off the highway, to explore the trails and jagged cliffs of the Málaga coast.

We parked the car at the pull-off for the Playa del Cañuelo, and started down the steep downhill dirt roads towards the sea. After just several meters from the car, we detoured off to the left, and started walking a rolling path down towards the Playa de Cantarriján.

As we managed to repair the backpack, our little boy got a free ride again today, and daddy suffered. When we arrived to the playa de Cantarriján, I was good and tired, and very thankful to find a beach-side cafe serving some cafe-con-leche. As I drank my coffee, and looked around at the photos on the wall, I was kinda startled that many of the photos were of naked people. Turns out, the Cantarriján is a nudist beach, or “naturalist” beach, as the Spanish like to say.

Today, however, the wind and cool temperatures kept all but the most determined nudists at home, I guess. The beach was practically empty except for a few scuba divers getting thrown around in the rough water.

We had lunch just near the beach, and on the way back, our masochist leader Luis decided what we really needed to do (or what Matt really needed to do with a 15kg kid on his back), was march down the treacherous path to the rocky coastline. Somehow we made it down safely, and then hiked around to the Playa del Cañuelo, where we rested up before walking up the road back to the car. And man what a walk back it was — 30 minutes of almost vertical climbing. Ok, well it wasn’t that bad, and I was in good company with my new buddy Julia, who likes my little boy, and speaks Spanish and German.

That’s the report from this week!

Click here to view the day’s photo gallery.

Today’s outing took us on this gorgeous day to nearby (well, relatively), Pizarra. From Marbella, we took the Ojen highway to Coin, then on to Cártama, and then on to Pizarra — all in all, about a 45-minute drive. In the small town of Pizarra, we parked next to the “Recreation Area” (a small playground/park type thing), had a cafe-con-leche at the bar across the street, and then started walking up the Hacho de Pizarra walking route. Since my neck was a bit sore from jiu-jitsu this week, I didn’t take the child backpack, and our poor little boy had to walk. ;-)

The walk starts out steep as it climbs through the playground, and then eases off as it continues upward. The path winds its way through some very pretty trees and rocks. It was kind of slow going with the little one having to fend for himself, but we finally arrived to the point where the path enters a giant rock, in which some steps have been constructed, leading to a “mirador” (a look-out) at the top. We had a snack, snapped a couple of pictures, and headed back down to the car.

Lunch was at the incredibly busy “Venta Platero”, located almost at the entrance of Coin. We had some nice mixed salads, and rabbit in a garlic sauce. Definitely recommended.

Technorati Tags: family, hiking, spain

Once again we ventured out with the Senderitos.com crowd for a weekend hike, to the beautiful “Montes de Málaga,” about an hour’s drive from Marbella. And what a beautiful October day it was, sunny and warm, with a just a crispy hint that winter’s on the way.

From downtown Málaga, the never ending ascent to the Montes de Málaga park reminded me that I’ll be back here again early next year, for the annual “Reina” (Queen) early-season bicycle race up this very same peak. Anyway, we turned off at the top of the mountain, and parked about two kilometers down the dirt road, where we began the hike.

We hiked the wide, level trail, constantly looking out at the spectacular views of the Málaga/Granada area mountain ranges. Our daughter didn’t have such a hard time this week, since she we joined by a friend, and spent most of the day figuring out how to keep a stuffed teddy bear entertained. My back was quite thankful this week, as our little boy decided he preferred to walk (rather than ride in the backpack.) Maybe it was the presence of his big sister’s friend, or something.

Note to the regular readers and photo viewers (that’s you, Mom): I do wash these clothes from week to week.

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!.

Technorati Tags: family, hiking, spain

It’s pretty amazing what kids are capable of doing. Today, we went on hike, again with the folks from Senderitos.com, and watched a group of kids hike for over five hours, including a climb of nearly 800 meters!

Today’s trip was a little closer to home for us, just up the road to the Juanar area, near Ojen. After meeting with Luis and the Senderitos gang, we parked down close to the refugio, and began the five hour hike up, over and then down the Pico Juanar.

I just couldn’t believe how well our four year old did. Well, we did have a small crisis at the steepest point of the climb (Can’t. Go. Any. Further. Daddy.), and that’s when we discovered the secret to getting kids to march indefinitely — scary stories. We went through vampires, mummies, werewolves, ghosts and “Evil Queens”, on route to the 800 meter peak. Daddy had the 14 kg younger one on his back all day, and did noticeably worse than the four-year-old.

For those of you familiar with the area, we took the backside trail up, turned left at the split off to La Concha, and then took the steep switch-back trails back down the front. All in all, a very nice day!

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!.

I am constantly impressed with the variety of interesting places to visit available in southern Spain. This past weekend, we joined Luis and a group of families from Senderitos.com, and took a day trip out to a place called, “El Torcal,” about an hour’s drive from Marbella, and had a fantastic afternoon walking and climbing through this beautiful natural park.

The El Torcal Nature Reserve is located about 30km north of Malaga, near the city of Antequera. Once you arrive to the small town of Villanueva de la Concepcion, you continue on — up, up, up the winding, twisting road to some 1,300 meters above sea level, where one finds the entrance of the 17 square kilometer natural reserve. Over the years, the erosion from the wind and rain have created some spectacular shapes, formations and landscapes within this ocean of limestone. (Be sure to walk through the photo gallery below!)

The park used to offer four hiking trails, but in the interest of preservation, only two are now offered — the “green” trail, and the “yellow” trail. Our group opted for the yellow trail, a circular route of 3 km, perfect for a half-day out hiking with small kids. The trail, well marked with sign posts, snaked its way through the rocky labyrinth. Walking through the odd rocky formations gave me the impression of exploring another planet. It took a long time to get through the 3 kilometers, mainly due to the fact that for the kids, this place looked like one gigantic playground, where everything in sight needs to be climbed and conquered. We also stopped about three times for water and snacks.

Senderitos.com is a website run by a guy from Malaga named Luis, dedicated to the organization of outdoor activities suitable for families with small children. A public forum on the site creates a virtual community, where people swap stories, ideas, and general get to know each other. Except for the hottest months of the year, the group gets together each weekend for an outing. This week’s hike at El Torcal was the first of the season, and we look forward to getting involved regularly with this group.

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!

This weekend (well, Sunday through Wednesday), we decided to take a few days and go on a short vacation to the Alpujarras — the mountainous region south-east of Granada that we discovered a week or so ago. In particular, we visited the valley of Poqueira, leading up to Sierra Nevada, and the highest point in the region, Pico Veleta. There are three Galician-named mountain pueblos in the valley — Pampaneira, Bubion and Capileira — all of which offer some interesting hiking, visiting and culinary options.

Day 1: Balcon de Pitres.

We left Sunday afternoon from Marbella, and headed up the coast, turning inland as we did last time at Salobrena. Entering the mountains in Lanjaron, we began ascending the small and winding road leading up to the valley of Poqueira. Rather than staying in one of the valley pueblos, we decided, after reading our Lonely Planet guide, to stay close to the lesser known town of Pitres. This turned out to be a great suggestion, as Pitres is just as beautiful as the other towns, but much less touristic.

Some four hours after leaving Marbella, we arrived to the Balcon de Pitres, the rural campsite where we planned to stay each night. The Balcon sits just outside Pitres, and offers camping and bungalows year-round to travelers. The four-person Bungalow we rented was small, clean, very rural, and offered more or less the bare necessities — three small beds (later, upon checkout we learned there was a forth hidden in a wall), a tiny kitchen and a bathroom.

I highly recommend the Balcon de Pitres. I don’t know whether it was just good luck, or characteristic of the place, but the travelers we met there were all really, really pleasant. Next to us was a group of German/Austrians on an ad-hoc spanish language course, a retired British couple, and a family of Spaniards from Alicante.

Although we didn’t eat there, the camp’s restaurant made some of the best coffee I’ve had in a long time. Their Rancilio non-electric espresso machine must be 50 years old, and creates its pressure using long pump arms. It takes a minute or so to make the coffee, but man it’s worth the wait! (By the way, the espresso machine I have at home is a Rancilio Miss Silvia — and is probably the finest home espresso machine on the market under $500.)

After getting setup in the bungalow, we decided to drive into Pitres for some dinner. We found an absolutely fantastic vegetarian restaurant named El Jardin, run by a British lady. We shared a stir fry with chinese noodles, quesadillas and humus with bread and raw vegetables. And, of course, the beer of choice in this area is Alhambra, from Granada.

Day 2: The hike up.

Monday morning we took the car early, and drove up the valley through Bubion to Capileira. We discovered why Pitres is such a good choice, as the valley towns of Pampaneira, Bubion and Capileira are just a bit too touristic for our tastes. They are beautiful, no doubt, but the Bavarian-looking painted signage and bad/expensive food left (literally) a bad taste in my mouth. In Capilleira, I had the worst breakfast and lunch I’ve had in a long time. (If you visit, don’t go the the Mameira pizzeria.)

After breakfast, we drove (as recommended by the very friendly Dutch lady working at the tourist office) 12 kilometers up the tiny, windy dirt road to the point where the road is closed, called Hoya de Portillo. We left the car, and started our three hour hike through the shady pine forrest to the Puerto Molina, where one has an almost 360 degree beautiful panoramic view.

On the way up, the backpack in which I carry our two-year old son broke, and I had to carry him part of the way up (the only non-shaded part, of course) and all the way down sitting on my neck. As a result, I’ll probably be visiting the chiropractor when I get home. My wife found the price of the cheap-o backpack quite attractive. I hope some day she comes to realize you get what you pay for.

Fortunately, we later found a hardware shop in Pitres, and I had the lost screw nut replaced, and then, in a moment of revenge, led my wife on for several minutes that I’d paid 10 cents for the nut, and 10 Euros for labour to have the man install it. When she started off towards the store with a tire iron in her had, I had to come clean. My back didn’t feel much better, but somehow I did. :-)

Day 3: The hike down.

We began Tuesday with some breakfast at the bungalow — cocoa krispies and milk, much better than the rock-hard toast I had the day before in Capileira — and then took the car back to Capileira to do another hike. This time, however, the hike was downhill, towards the river at the bottom of the valley. We walked for about 45 minutes before the nicely prepared path turned into a steep, snaking single-track trail. With a 15kg child in the pack, and a slightly aching back from yesterday, we decided to call it quits, and sat down under a shade tree for a snack. I must say that the valley was really beautiful — much greener than the high-mountain terrain we’d seen the day before.

We climbed the path back to Capileira and took the car down to Pampaneira, where we explored the town until lunchtime. A coke, nestea and two juices set us back eight Euros — most definitely a tourist town.

After lunch we made our way back to the campground, and headed down to the restaurant for some refreshments. We sat out on the shady porch and talked to our British neighbors who’d just bought a lot nearby, on which they plan to build a small farmhouse. (They need to talk to us at Henderson & Henderson, through I’m not sure our subs would travel that far. :-) The kids, in the meantime, chased a family of cats around the terrace garden.

Around 7:30 pm, we decided to check out some of the really isolated pueblos on down the road from Pitres. I was simply amazed at the beauty of this area, namely Mecina and Busquistar. I think if we ever look into a weekend getaway, this will be the place.

For dinner, we couldn’t help ourselves, and just had to return to the vegetarian restaurant in Pitres, “El Jardin.” The menu tonight included crepe with mushrooms, and (one of my favorites) Pimiento del Piquillo. For dessert we had a rasberry crumble pie, that was out of this world. We talked to the owner afterwards, and found out that she’s closed during the wintertime, since (a) the whole town is deserted, and (b) it’s far too cold to sit in their terrace. She closes in late October, and we promised to be back before then.

Day 4: Back to Marbella.

Leaving for home on Wednesday morning, we decided to take the “long way”. We first drove up to Trevelez (just to say we’ve been in the highest town in Spain), and then back down the way we came, arriving to Orgiva. In Orgiva, instead of heading back directly, we detoured over the mountain pass. That was one heck of a long, hair-raising (due to the sharp drop-offs), but very pretty drive.

Final note: One nice thing about the area we visited, is that there’s surprisingly good Vodafone coverage, which, through a GPRS connection from my Powerbook via a palmOne Treo, allowed for anytime internet connectivity. I know there’s a lot of people that would consider it heresy to connect to the net in a place like this. But, to be honest, I found it very convenient. Such access instantly turns a remote location like this into a feasible get-a-way work place.

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!

This past weekend, we decided to stay a bit closer to home, and take a little tour through the local mountains. We started the day by heading down the coast towards Estepona (about 15 minutes away), and then turning inland to climb the towering mountain of “Los Reales.”

When the Vuelta de España cycling tour passes through here, this mountain is categorized as a first category climb. It’s big. There’s 20 km from Estepona to the top of Los Reales from the main road, and then another 5 km on a tiny road to the very top, where there’s a small “Refugio” built. I’ve climbed this mountain on a bicycle before … once.

About 2 km before the refugio, there is a footpath known as the Paseo de los Pinsapos. The path goes out and back, through some beautiful forest of Pinsapo trees (evergreens, like pines) and is about 3.5 km long. We walked this with the kids for what seemed like forever, but when we got back to the car, I checked the map, and it looks like we did about 1/10th of the path. Oh well.

We then drove the last 2 km to the top, where we found a small group of British painters who’d come up the mountain for some landscape painting. Rare for the summertime, there was a lot of cloud cover, so the Brits had to be content painting pine cones.

My big disappointment of the day came with the discovery that the kitchen at the refugio was closed. Last time I was here in the wintertime, it was open and was serving some hearty potato soup, iberian ham sandwiches and the like. With limited options, we sat down at one of the massive wooden tables, opened the cooler, and had some homemade sandwiches and fruit.

After lunch, we decided to head down the opposite side of the mountain (inland), and worked our way down to the mountain village of Jubrique. The scenery in this area is absolutely spectacular. Leaving Jubrique, the winding road eventually heads up an unbelievable climb to the small town of Algatocin. (Just outside Jubrique, we passed the Venta San Juan, where we should have eaten. We stopped for a coffee, and man did that barbecue smell good!)

From Algatocin, we continued upward to Gaucin, a bigger (though still in the category of “small”) town, which seem to be oddly populated with foreigners. We stopped at a park in Gaucin, where the kids played, and Daddy smashed his head on the top of a swingset that was just under six feet tall. (Don’t they have standards or something for this kind of thing?)

Leaving Gaucin, we worked our way down and around towards Casares, a “mountain” town one arrives to about 10 minutes from the coastline. We stopped off in Casares for another coffee, and let the kids spend some quality time terrifying some poor cat.

By this point in the afternoon, I was pretty tired, but we decided to stop in Estepona, and let the kids play on the massive playgrounds they’ve constructed along the boardwalk.

Just when I thought we were finally going to head home, my wife got the idea that we should make a final stop at Agro Jardin — sort of a Home Depot of gardening located between Estepona and Marbella. The kids joined in, and quickly let me know I’d have a mutiny on my hands if I didn’t stop.

In addition to plants, terrace furniture and garden tools, Agro Jardin also sell all sorts of living things — dogs, fish, mice, lizards, scorpions and tarantulas. After scaring off an iguana, and then getting terrified by a giant squawking exotic bird, the kids went off to play on the two-level enclosed indoor playground. (The playground is situated next to a bar. Agro Jardin make sure there’s plenty to entertain dad and the kids, so mom has all the time she needs to buy boatloads of plants.) It’s interesting to observe the social rules and patterns that emerge when about 15 kids of various sizes and ages end up together inside an enclosed plaything like that.

Got home around 8:00 pm or thereabouts, eventually put the kids to bed and sat down to decide between GTD planning, or watching some tube. The TV won out.

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!

This weekend’s day trip led us to the water producing city of Lanjaron, Spain, near the mountainous area of Sierra Nevada known as the Alpujarras. We’d actually planned on visiting Trevelez, supposedly the highest village in Spain, and famous for its cured hams, but we left the house a bit late, and, really, from Marbella, Trevelez would be better made as over-night trip.

From Malaga, we took the costal highway, passing cities such as Nerja and Almuñecar. The coastline in this area is spectacular, as the mountains come right up to the sea, forming some beautiful drop-offs to the clear blue water.

Near Motril, we turned right to head inland, and found ourselves behind a lunatic and his girlfriend puttering along on a 50cc scooter. After about 15 minutes, there as a queue formed behind them, led by us, of about 50 cars. After what seemed like an unbearably long time, we finally arrived at the turn-off for Lanjaron. (The scooterist had mercifully turned off a few kilometers earlier).

Lanjaron, the city where the famous mineral water by the same name is produced, was a 6 km drive from this turn-off. According to our Lonely Planet Andalucia guide book, there shouldn’t have been much to see or do in Lanjaron, but we found it to be a nice, clean and lively little town — full of people at the morning streetside markets. (Mind you, our guidebook is five years old, but the wife refuses to upgrade…)

About a kilometer outside Lanjaron, we passed a really nice looking restaurant, “Venta El Buñuela”, and since it was 1:30 p.m., and with hopes of arriving to Trevelez at a decent hour growing dim, we decided to stop and eat, and then return to spend the afternoon exploring Lanjaron.

The highlight of my day was lunch. We had as a starter Pimiento Piquillo Relleno con Bacalao y Gamba (Piquillo peppers stuffed with bacalao and shrimp), followed by a Ensalada Buñuela for my wife, and grilled Merluza fish for me. We had some tinto verano, and, of course, Lanjaron water. We finished off lunch with flan and natillas for dessert, and a cafe-con-leche. Oh man, was it all good.

The kids entertained themselves playing around the fish pond, and, after lunch, the small playground next to the restaurant.

We eventually headed back into Lanjaron, and began the search for a place to park — “free” parking, mind you, as my wife simply can’t enjoy herself with the knowledge that we’re being subjected to a running parking meter. I really wish I’d taken a picture of the treacherous incline where I had to leave our car. (My wife, of course, had exited the vehicle with the kids long earlier, to help “direct” my parking.)

We walked around town, checking out the shops, and visiting what seemed like sort of a cross between a municipal park and a zoo. It was all quite nice.

Finally, on the trip back home, we decided to stop off for a quick visit to the Nerja cave — definitely worth a visit if when you’re in the area.

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!

Today we took a trip to a day trip to Ardales, Spain – about an hour and a bit from home. We’d hoped to visit El Chorro, home of the (in)famous Camino del Rey. Unfortunately, the road to El Chorro was cut, and, being Spain, without any notice of why or how long it will remain so.

So, apart from driving around, we visited nearby Ardales. Note to self: Never Visit Ardales in August. It’s actually a beautiful place, but in the middle of Summer must be the hottest spot on the planet. No kidding, even the breeze was horrible.

The park at Ardales was full of local Spaniards camping away their Summer holidays. We ambled down the hill at the park, and let the kids splash around in the lake, which was sadly almost empty. After 15 minutes, Daddy couldn’t take it any longer, and we packed up and headed back to the air-conditioned car. (Thank goodness Hondas are the most reliable cars in the world.)

The highlight of the day came at lunchtime, when we had a wonderful meal at the Restaurant El Cruce, in downtown Ardales. Lunch included some Gazpacho, a chilled tomato soup dish that must be the most delicious and refreshing thing one can eat/drink on a hot summer day, some grilled rosado (fish) and lamb.

As usual, I snapped some photos, so be sure to check them out in the photo gallery!