The Alpujarra is a spectacularly scenic area of Andalucia lying along the southern foothills of Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. Walking through Las Alpujarra is a delight at any time of the year with routes running through dramatic valleys and crossing mountain streams using ancient packhorse bridges. This historical landscape is dotted with Andalusian white villages and Moorish ruins all linked by packhorse trails and ancient acquis or water courses. The unspoiled nature of the area means it abounds in wild flowers and unspoiled habitats. Walking there is relaxing and restful as we pass through olive and almond groves following well-trod routes through this historical landscape. The Alpujarra is ideal if you want to enjoy relaxed walking, taking in the dramatic scenery before a relaxing drink in a shaded area.

Thursday 19 March 2015

We eleven intrepid trekkers (Shay, Mary, Tom, Pat, Joe, Joy, Maire, Dympna, Richelle, Noreen, Terry) departed Dublin bound for the Sierra Nevada. Our destination was Lanjarón a picturesque village (pop.4, 000) set on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada (659m/2,162ft) and located 39 km from the beach/coast and 50 km from Granada. Lanjarón is famous for its high quality mineral water springs, which are used for one of the bestselling brands of bottled water in Spain. However the village is notorious for the greatest water battle in Spain held every midsummer! In addition, the World Health Organisation has recognised Lanjarón as one of the places with the greatest longevity for its inhabitants on the planet. We were met at Malaga airport by our guides Mike & Jane Hunt. We were driven along the smooth scenic coastal road passing by well-known resorts such as Nerja and Almunecar, finally stopping for lunch at a pleasant beachside restaurant. The food & service were extremely good, fish jumping from sea to pan - well almost! The cost for 3 courses and a copa de vino or cana was € 10. A welcome introduction to the good value to be had in Spain. Then we swung inland driving along the recently built motorway zig zagging upwards over spectacular bridges spanning deep ravines and gorges ... miracles of modern civil engineering.

The Hotel Alcadima(3 *) where we stayed was very centrally located with a beautiful garden south-west facing with an abundance of citrus trees, flowers and terraces overlooking the valley with views to the distant sea. In addition there was an outdoor swimming pool. All our rooms had balconies which overlooked all this. Not letting the grass grow under our feet, the first day's goal was a circuit of Lanjarón. So, we followed Jane our driver and guide through the narrow streets and alleys lined with potted plants and tiny quaint courtyards, marvelling at the oranges and lemons on the branches and the birds enjoying (to our minds) the unusual windfalls!! Jane pointed out the more famous shrines set into recesses in the walls of houses and also the celebrated fountains. Each fountain had a name with a plaque in situ with a verse by a famous poet (such as Garcia Lorca) extolling its unique charm. We left the village behind us and climbed up to the dizzying heights of the battlements of the old Moorish castle. Here we enjoyed spectacular views over the village, valley and the mountains. Wonderful fresh air combined with the aromatic scents from wild thyme, rosemary, fennel, lavender and eucalyptus ... a welcome relief for some congested Irish sinuses. At the freshly lit log fire in our hotel bar we were introduced to Martin Riley our third guide and our leader the next day. Dinner later on was superb, not that it was really necessary after the marvellous lunch!!

Distance 8km. Height gained 100m

"In Lanjarón, oh mountains! Oh orange trees! I am reborn to your friendship. " -Garcia Lorca

Friday 20/03/2015

Acequia Cecartas and the Parquet Natural

After a lavish buffet breakfast our group met Martin & headed out to the mountains direct from the hotel (with generous packed lunches). The walk took us to Huerta de Las Manjas (Garden of the Nuns) where there is a picnic area high above the Rio Lanjarón. From there we followed the picturesque acquis Cecartas traversing the hillside above Lanjarón. Passing fincas and cortijos (rural properties) this was a chance to see the agriculture of the area. We then followed an old mule track up to a natural rocky amphitheatre on the hillside which at 1000m was the highest point of the day and also where we had lunch. Finally we descended through a pine forest on the edge of the Parquet Natural to the village. With almond blossom in the spring and autumn colours at the end of the year this is a great walk at any time. Although the sun was shining initially, the mother of all electric thunderstorms blew up. Very scary stuff!! Even back at the hotel there were shortlived power cuts. The stalwart trekkers completed their trek and nobody died. Saturated cold feet, sodden socks, ruined boots and freezing cold hands were the main misery. However the hotel facilities were more than adequate to deal with the crisis! As the severe rain almost swept away the road to their house higher up on the mountain our guides moved into our hotel.

Distance 10 km, height gained 400m.

Saturday 21/03/2015

GR7 and the Mountain Views

Mike and lane drove the group to the Lecrin & Pedro Calvo area. The main vantage point, with spectacular vistas, was the Ermita del Santo Cristo Del Zapato. A tough climb and at times vertiginous. This walk makes use of the GR7 long distance trail to climb west of the village through citrus, almond and olives up to the pine forests above the western Alpujarra and the Lecrin valley. We climbed to a church or shrine at the top of the mountain which gave us a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. The church is very distinctive and can be seen from our hotel. We continued down a trail on our descent back to Lanjarón and took a well-earned break at "Fuente de Pedro Calvo", which had a water reservoir in place, before we traversed the mountain side from which, on a clear day, there are views of the Rif Mountains of Morocco. We returned to the cars and drove to a nearby town and had refreshments and tapas. The taverna had a policy of supplying each person who bought a drink with a tapas which were small burgers plus a bowl of stew. The atmosphere in the bar was great, similar to an Irish country pub on a Saturday afternoon with the local farmers playing cards or dominos. All returned to the hotel to hear a welcome rugby result.

Distance 14 km, height gained 300m.

Sunday 22/03/2015

Lecrin Valley

The group was driven further up the Lecrin Valley and had a pleasant trek through almond and olive groves. The almond trees were in early stage of bloom and very colourful. This was a demanding walk, we climbed up to 1285 metres and came across many isolated cottages owned by locals who use them in the summer. There was no power supply in most except what could be gained by using solar panels or small electric generators. The water supply in most of the cottages comes from local streams fed by springs. It was channelled around the mountain sides and availed of by the residents. An interesting aspect of the water supply is that each cottage owner has legal rights written into their land deeds to a certain amount of water from the spring. There did not seem to be a problem with this arrangement as all owners complied with the agreements. We walked on part of the Sulayr Route which is a 19 day walking route across southern Spain and we came across a number of areas where gorse fires had damaged the local hillsides which is always a problem in southern Spain. In all we had a good day's walking and we returned to the hotel tired but happy. At one stage we had an opportunity to view our guide's house from a distance in an isolated area on the mountain side.

Distance 13 km, height gained 900m.

Meanwhile Richelle went to the 16th century Iglesia de L'Incamation with a beautiful interior and a three storey silver baroque style screen behind the altar. The Church was very full mainly with young families. The mass itself was interactive with the youngsters very involved with singing and readings. A nun from the Vincentian order gave a PowerPoint talk detailing their worldwide missions, seeking funds and vocations, lasting a good 35 minutes. When the time came for the Pater Noster a posse of youngsters thundered to the altar to participate almost flattening the poor padre!! Almost two hours later Richelle emerged blinking to enjoy a welcome coffee.

Monday 23/03/2015

White Villages and Granada

We awoke to a glorious blue sky, a sunny morning and perfect weather for sightseeing. We split into two groups, one heading off to the White Villages, as they had seen Granada, the other driving to Granada.

White Villages of Poqueira Gorge

This tour takes in three picturesque villages of Capileira, Bubion and Pampaneira. We drove to the villages which are positioned high in the mountains and stopped at Capileira in the village square for coffee before taking in a tour of the village. The villages in this area are very pretty and the small houses really gave us a feeling of ancient mountain living conditions. Among the small factories/shops we visited were a chocolate factory with plenty of samples and a carpet or rug factory. We enjoyed watching the workers working the looms to make the rugs, (shades of Ireland many years ago), and spoke with two women workers who were from England and Sweden. The last stop was a deserted village which was built in 1918. The electric power company decided to build a hydropower station and dam and in addition they built a village to accommodate the building workers and the power company workers. The village is now abandoned and the power station is run automatically. However it was most interesting to take in the complete village which was built in a deep valley beside the large dam.

Distance 6km. Height gained 100m.