Andalucia Impressions: Walking in Andalucia - in general
Walking is an essential component of our slow travelling. Walking
allows you to discover the world slowly, to stop and savour the moment, walking
to a destination provides the opportunity to discover unexpected treasures
along the way; it allows you to 'earn' the right to visit places because you
have to meet some effort to get there.
You can go to the Mezquita in Cordoba by taxi, but to get up early (well, by Spanish standards) and set off on foot from the campsite through the outskirts of the city while local people are on their way to school and work, and through the historical centre while sleepy waiters are starting to put out tables and it’s October and the morning is fresh and the sun just coming up and you have to keep an eye on the route and your watch because you want to be there at 8.30 to get in free, well……... You can get to Playa Monsul at Cabo de Gata by car, but walking up and down the primordial coastline from San Jose getting nearly blown over by the wind, the wild rocky landscape glinting in the autumn sun and finally heading down the sand dune with the beach getting closer and closer in all its rugged splendour, well…
During our two months in Andalucia we covered 727 kilometres on foot, this is according to Andrea’s fitness tracker watch which we had tested before and found to be pretty accurate. This was the first time we recorded the total number of kilometres but all of our holidays involve a lot of walking, both in cities and surrounded by nature. I’m 50ish and Andrea is 60ish and we’re reasonably fit but not marathon runners so I think all the walks we did would be ok for any other reasonably fit people. It may sound obvious but I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a range of comfortable shoes. Packing light is important but not when it comes to shoes, a few blisters can ruin an entire day, week, holiday.
You can go to the Mezquita in Cordoba by taxi, but to get up early (well, by Spanish standards) and set off on foot from the campsite through the outskirts of the city while local people are on their way to school and work, and through the historical centre while sleepy waiters are starting to put out tables and it’s October and the morning is fresh and the sun just coming up and you have to keep an eye on the route and your watch because you want to be there at 8.30 to get in free, well……... You can get to Playa Monsul at Cabo de Gata by car, but walking up and down the primordial coastline from San Jose getting nearly blown over by the wind, the wild rocky landscape glinting in the autumn sun and finally heading down the sand dune with the beach getting closer and closer in all its rugged splendour, well…
During our two months in Andalucia we covered 727 kilometres on foot, this is according to Andrea’s fitness tracker watch which we had tested before and found to be pretty accurate. This was the first time we recorded the total number of kilometres but all of our holidays involve a lot of walking, both in cities and surrounded by nature. I’m 50ish and Andrea is 60ish and we’re reasonably fit but not marathon runners so I think all the walks we did would be ok for any other reasonably fit people. It may sound obvious but I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a range of comfortable shoes. Packing light is important but not when it comes to shoes, a few blisters can ruin an entire day, week, holiday.
Before we left I spent quite a lot of time researching walks and
in particular found this blog http://pavostrotones.blogspot.com/
, to be excellent to find out about the
areas we were going to cover and to get some general ideas about landscape,
environment etc and whether that particular walk was right for us, there are
loads of photos and information, all in Spanish. On the spot, especially in El
Torcal, Cabo de Gata and the Tabernas desert area Wikiloc https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas/senderismo/espana/andalucia
was incredibly useful. You can download an itinerary onto your smart phone and
follow it just using GPS so it works even if there’s no phone reception.
We found Andalucia to be very hospitable for walkers. First of all
we never bumped into stray dogs, a walker’s big worry, especially in Sicily for
example. Secondly, we were around from mid-September to mid-November and we
never found many people but there were usually a few other walkers, enough to
feel you weren’t totally alone. Thirdly, in Andalucia you aren’t tied by
mealtimes as you are in Italy. Pretty much whatever time you arrive at your destination
you’re going to find some form of sustenance, usually, as I mentioned in my
post about food, cheap and delicious. As I say, we are reasonably fit and used
to walking also in the mountains so we generally found that estimated walking
times were very generous. Surprisingly, for us, quite a lot of paths are
signposted, in red and white. When they are signposted they are well signed and
you are unlikely to get lost. This symbol, for example, means ‘don’t go this
way’.
Essential equipment for all our walks consisted in smart phone for
Wikiloc, emergencies, time, some photos and a pretty inaccurate compass, enough
water (if you’re used to walking you’re going to know how much that is), sun
hats, sun cream, tape and plasters in case of blisters, some sort of salty
snack, small umbrella (for rain, for sun, for fending off dog dangers – not needed!)
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