Dympna Thunder, Mary Murphy, Pat Chapman
Photography: Fiona O'Sullivan, Jim Bourke
Day One
Lunch by the beach on day I in the beautiful resort of Salobrenca was a great start to the holiday, followed by a swim in the pool in the lovely gardens of the charming Alcademia hotel.
Each day's walks proved to be totally unique and different, we encountered orange groves, almond, cherry and olive plantations, we crossed deep ravines, high peaks and snow filled gullies.
Assembling for the first walk in beautiful sunshine watching the swallows swooping over the pool was a good omen for the week to come.
Day Two
Day 2 started walking into and out of a deep gorge of the Rio Durcal. 
We wound our way through some stunning rock scenery. Leaving the gorge we picked up narrow paths by the acequia (water channels that bring water from the mountains to the villages below) skirting almond groves and vineyards to the old Arab watch tower at Atalya which was the highest point of the day.
Descending through orange groves provided rich pickings and delicious oranges for everyone; we finished up with refreshments on a sunny terrace in a little village of Conchar.
Day Three
Day 3 highlights included passing a Buddhist retreat centre with its shrines; life sizes icons and prayer wheels. At lunch by a big pond we were serenaded by a chorus of mating frogs, which needless to say encouraged some lively conversation. We ended up in the village of Sopotujar renowned locally for its witches.
Day Four
Day 4 we took a break from walking which provided the opportunity for those who wanted it to go to Granada and visit the amazing Alhambra.
The others headed for to the breach and a delicious seafood lunch with an assortment of deep sea creatures including octopus.
Day Five
Day 5 we completed a high circuit of Lanjaron,
passing the Honey museum, the area is renowned for the production of this sweet treat.
We picked our way through forests above the town and along paths surrounded by an array of lovely spring flowers.
Mike and Jane kindly invited us to lunch on the terrace of their unique mountain retreat high above the town with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
Day Six
Day 6 we took off up corkscrew roads, finally on dirt track, to 2176 meters above the village of Capileira. Initially the walk passed through forests with evidence of wild boar, despite trepidation we didn't spot any and soon came out onto a spectacular ridge to reach our high point of Alto del Chorillo at 2700m. This afforded magnificent views of snow-capped mountains and the village of Trevelez, the highest in Spain. From here we descended on paths, at times crossing snow filled gullies, to the remote Refugio Poqueira where we lunched in the sunshine.
On the walk we encountered a herd of Iberian Ibex, wild horses and were serenaded by sky larks. Everyone was delighted to complete what was a challenging but spectacular walk, one not to be missed.
Day Seven
Day 7 and the weather Gods finally decided that we had too much of a good thing and provide a "little" rain. However we had coffee in a whited washed village, visited an ancient Arab spring in the village square. On the way back to Lanjaron we stopped to look at a trio of spectacular bridges ravine, that spanned the centuries, the earliest of which was constructed by the Romans.
After a leisurely lunch in the hotel the weather improved in the afternoon and some people ended the week with a walk around the town climbing up to the old castle.
Others chose more leisurely pursuits and availed of the delights of the town Spa.
Many thanks to Shay for organising such a terrific week's walking and to Jane and Mike for being great guides.